Assessing the effects of local economic activities on stream ecosystem services across cities with contrasting urban development histories.

This study compared urban streams in two cities in central Portugal that have contrasting urban development histories to investigate how ecosystem services are associated with the local economic activities. For this purpose, we identified the predominant local economic activities in two cities in central Portugal, Aveiro and Coimbra, and selected thirty urban streams for assessment. The streams were evaluated based on the degree of urbanization, measured through impervious surface coverage (IMD), and several indicators of provisioning, regulating, and cultural services, using the Urban Stream Assessment System (UsAs). Aveiro is characterized by a higher concentration of manufacturing and local businesses, while Coimbra is dominated by health and education-related activities. IMD within a 500-m buffer around each stream ranged from 1.2% to 67.0% (mean 34.5 ± 19) in Aveiro, and from 0.6% to 46.4% (mean 24.4 ± 14) in Coimbra. Increasing impervious surface coverage was consistently associated with lower scores of ecosystem service indicators. Streams in Aveiro, characterized by a stronger industrial profile, exhibited greater degradation of freshwater ecosystem services, particularly the regulating and cultural ones. In contrast, streams in Coimbra showed comparatively better ecological conditions and supported a broader range of ecosystem services, although negative impacts were still evident. These findings highlight the importance of considering both urban development histories and local economic activity profiles in urban planning, as they are closely associated with the ecological condition of urban streams and the ecosystem services they provide.