Key plant traits for sustainable urban greening: A framework for plant selection.

In the future, we will have to deal with periods of drought, storms and severe climate change impacts. Insufficient green spaces worsens these challenges in urban landscapes. Rising urban populations and ecosystem degradation demand innovative solutions to enhance resilience of our cities. Some evidence suggests that urban plants offer a range of significant ecosystem services, such as mitigating heat islands, improving air quality by removing pollutants, storing carbon in their topsoil, and capturing rainwater. Although urban plants provide these essential ecosystem services, the selection of appropriate plant species in an integrated approach for urban greening remains a complex task. Existing studies have addressed various aspects of urban greening, but a framework of key plant traits for plant selection that balances ecological, aesthetic, and functional values is missing. This study addresses this gap by introducing a standardized plant trait matrix that evaluates plant species across multiple functional, ecological, and aesthetic dimensions relevant to urban conditions. We assessed 2000 plant species using a multi-trait matrix based on indicators, such as drought tolerance, pollutant filtering capacity, carbon storage, shade provision, maintenance needs, and soil adaptability. By aligning plant traits with site-specific environmental and societal needs, this framework can serve as a practical decision-support tool for urban planners, landscape designers, and policymakers, offering scalable solutions for optimizing urban sustainability, resilience, and biodiversity. Unlike existing trait-based methods, which often rely on expert opinion or isolated traits, our framework integrates spatial environmental assessments and stakeholder input to ensure site-specific applicability. The proposed framework addresses environmental challenges by contributing to sustainable urban management strategies and creating livable cities equipped for future climate change.