Afforestation is an extensive areal intervention aim to the creation of areas covered with trees, associated with shrub and herbaceous vegetation, with an extension of no less than 5,000 square metres, with a prevalence of tree species that at maturity exceed 5 m in height and with a forest tree cover at maturity greater than 10% (FAO 2020). This action contributes to the creation of multifunctional systems that play an important role in the ecology of human habitats because they determine changes in the climate and the economy, are recreational places for city dwellers and at the same time represent refuge areas for wildlife (Salbitano et al. 2016). In this sense, it is recurrent to assign this action a structural role in the context of green infrastructure (Tzoulas et al. 2007). The intervention may include the maintenance and preservation of existing vegetation, with particular attention to spontaneous trees and shrubs and/or those resulting from the recolonization of abandoned or underutilized areas. The action may include interventions aimed at the creation of surface water regimentation, drainage and retention systems, carried out with low-energy input materials and technologies; paths made with natural filtering materials; elements for geomorphological management derived from local culture and tradition – e.g. dry stone walls – or made with naturalistic engineering techniques. Such forest transformations of the territory can benefit from landscape and forest protection conforming to property rights that prevent or in any case minimise the possibility of building, also prevailing over town planning instruments at municipal level. Given the same area availability, it is preferable to implement the solution in a geometrically regular plot, whose perimeter to area ratio is no greater than 1/8 and average width no less than 20 metres. In relation to the open space system in which it is inserted, this solution can play different roles, e.g. it can take on a protective function – for other habitats –, a connective function – between habitats –, or a generative function – as a habitat.

Forest planting, Forest creation, Woodlands creation

In medium-density urban environments, the availability of open spaces may be limited, and the integration of the afforestation areas must be adapted to spatial and geometric conditions made complex by the presence of buildings, roads, utilities, and subsurface services. These elements, in addition to constituting physical constraints and stressors on the new environments, necessitate compliance with regulations and codes – e.g., maintaining required distances from roads or private properties –. For sourcing plant material, it is advisable and preferable to use species native to, or compatible with, the environmental context; alien species should be avoided, while the use of invasive exotic species is strictly prohibited. In the design – new development and/or redevelopment – of areas accessible to the public for recreational, play, and social activities, and particularly those used by children, consideration must be given to the allergenic potential of the species to be introduced.

Based on implementation experience and the technical and scientific literature, six guiding principles can be identified.

A correct design approach enables the establishment of a complex vegetation formation capable of rapidly achieving a dynamic equilibrium with the environment, facilitated by its structure being open to self-variations. The management of such areas must aim to support the self-organization of the afforestation area, without directing it towards a predetermined structure. Monitoring and control constitute the essential elements for assessing the evolutionary processes. Silvicultural and utilization interventions are cautious, continuous, and localized, based on the needs of the various stands. At planting and for the subsequent years – a minimum of five –, particular attention must be paid to the water requirements of the newly established vegetation. Silvicultural care must be guaranteed to ensure the proper development of the flora, along with targeted interventions to reduce the impact of pathogens and phytoparasites. The management model can also be based on differentiation criteria for distinct zones and/or by levels of functionality/pressure related to anthropogenic use, applying more extensive and experimental maintenance in areas with low anthropogenic pressure. Experimental maintenance approaches can also be implemented to pursue objectives of public awareness and participation in the care and management of these places.

Afforestation is a crucial strategy for the restoration of forest ecosystem functions. Plant species diversity in afforested sites is dependent on previous land use, the proximity of natural vegetation, soil properties – e.g., texture, pH, and total nitrogen –, and plantation age. Afforested soils showed higher plant diversity and an improvement in edaphic parameters – soil organic carbon, nitrogen, and potassium – than arable cropped soils. Nevertheless, the conversion from treeless landscapes to forests can have negative impacts on organisms adapted to open habitats (Elmarsdóttir et al. 2008), in particular vascular plant diversity decreases – e.g., shade tolerant plant are favoured – but other functional groups are favoured – e.g., fungi and soil invertebrates –. Finally, considering that forest management and tree species affect all functional groups, it is crucial when planning afforestation to include strategies for biodiversity conservation by preserving endangered habitat and species. To that, urban and metropolitan afforestation projects showed the importance to work in multidisciplinary teams to ensure ecological, historical, spatial quality as well as social goals (Resemini et al. 2025).

Forests store and sequester carbon in the above ground vegetation and in the soil, providing climate change mitigation benefits (World Bank 2021; Doelman et al. 2020). Forests have a great potential to mitigate the urban heat island effect by shading building surfaces, deflecting radiation from the sun, and releasing moisture into the atmosphere. Shaded surfaces may be 11-25°C cooler than peak temperatures of unshaded materials. Evapotranspiration, alone or in combination with shading, can help reduce peak summer temperatures by 1–5°C (EPA n.d). Forests provide large carbon stocks owing to the high carbon content of the above and below ground biomass. Among terrestrial ecosystems and their habitats, forests have the highest carbon sequestration rates, reaching up to three times that of wetlands and agroecosystems (EEA 2026). Forests absorb and retain stormwater. Trees and soils of forested areas intercept precipitation and recycle the water through evapotranspiration, root water uptake, and infiltration (Gehrels et al. 2016). Mountain forests with deep soils can intercept and infiltrate rainwater, reducing flood hazards along canals and rivers downstream (Ozment et al. 2019). Forest soils have an ability to reduce atmospheric and aquatic pollutant sources. The beneficial effects of forests on air quality are well established (Beckett et al. 1998) and forests can also facilitate improvements in surface water and groundwater quality (NRMW). Forests play an important role in the hydrological cycle and its components, having a major influence on the amount of water flowing to groundwater, streams and other water bodies. Forests have a crucial impact on the amount of surface water as well as soil and groundwater (EEA 2015).

Urban forests make a positive contribution to the physical, mental, social, and economic wellbeing of societies (World Bank 2021; Bratman et al. 2019). Forests, rich in photosynthesising biomass, improve air quality by removing tropospheric ozone, a pollutant harmful to human and plant health (Calfapietra et al. 2016). Urban and peri-urban forests are able to absorb ozone through their leaf stomata, thus contributing to the improvement of air quality. Differences between tree species and environmental conditions influence the effectiveness of this process. It is important to promote the selection of species with high ozone uptake capacity to maximise the ecosystem benefits of green areas (Calfapietra et al. 2016). A nationwide assessment estimated that, in 2010, trees and forests in the US removed approximately 17.4 million tonnes of air pollutants, with human health benefits estimated at $6.8 billion. Although most of the pollution removal occurred in rural areas, the health effects were more significant in urban areas (Nowak et al. 2014).

Tree Rows are linear interventions aimed at establishing vegetated open space bands, incorporating trees, associated shrubs, and herbaceous vegetation. These rows must have a minimum length of 50 m and a minimum width of 1.5 m, with planting arranged in rows. They can be situated in either mostly unpaved areas like parks and gardens, or predominantly paved areas such as infrastructure surrounds, traffic islands, squares, and parking lots. This solution can be integrated with surface rainwater management and sustainable urban drainage systems. Depending on their context within the open space system, tree rows can serve a role in de-fragmentation and connection.

Street trees; Tree-lined Streets, Green Corridors, Boulevard

In high and medium-density urban environments, the availability of open spaces may be residual, and the integration of the tree row must be adapted to spatial and geometric conditions rendered complex by the presence of building structures, road configurations, and the presence of utilities and subsurface services. These elements, in addition to constituting physical constraints and pressure factors – stressors – on the new environments, necessitate compliance with regulations and codes, for example, maintaining required distances from roads or private properties. For the sourcing of plant material, it is advisable and preferable to use species native to, or compatible with, the environmental context; alien species are to be avoided, while the use of invasive exotic species is strictly prohibited.

Based on implementation experience and the technical and scientific literature, six guiding principles can be identified.

A correct design approach allows the establishment of a complex vegetation formation capable of rapidly achieving a dynamic equilibrium with the environment, facilitated also by its structure being open to self-variations. The management of such areas must tend to support the self-organization of the tree-shrub row, without directing it toward a predetermined structure. Monitoring and control constitute the essential elements for the verification of evolutionary processes. Silvicultural and utilization interventions are cautious, continuous, and localized capillary, according to the needs of the various stands. At planting and for the subsequent years – a minimum of five –, particular attention must be paid to the water requirements of the newly established vegetation. Silvicultural care must be guaranteed to ensure the proper development of the flora, along with targeted interventions to reduce the impact of pathogens and phytoparasites. The management model can also be based on differentiation criteria for distinct zones and/or by levels of functionality/pressure related to anthropogenic use, applying more extensive and experimental maintenance in areas with low anthropogenic pressure.

Tree rows can play a role in defragmentation and connection, and can also become an integral part of the habitat for birds and invertebrates. Tree rows soils showed higher plant diversity and an improvement in edaphic parameters –soil organic carbon, nitrogen, and potassium – than other types of soils.

Tree rows sequester carbon in aboveground vegetation and soil, providing climate change mitigation (World Bank 2021; Doelman et al. 2020) and microclimate regulation benefits by shading surfaces, diverting solar radiation, and releasing moisture into the atmosphere. Shaded surfaces can be 11-25 °C cooler than the peak temperature of unshaded materials. Evapotranspiration, alone or in combination with shading, can help reduce peak summer temperatures by 1-5 °C (EPA n.d.). Trees and soils intercept precipitation and recycle the water through evapotranspiration, root water uptake, and infiltration (Gehrels et al. 2016). Trees play an important role in the hydrological cycle and its components, having a major influence on the amount of water flowing to groundwater, streams and other water bodies (EEA 2015).

Tree rows as an urban forestry intervention make a positive contribution to the physical, mental, social, and economic wellbeing of societies (World Bank 2021; Bratman et al. 2019). Trees, rich in photosynthesising biomass, improve air quality by removing tropospheric ozone, a pollutant harmful to human and plants health (Calfapietra et al. 2016). Tree rows are able to absorb ozone through their leaf stomata, thus contributing to the improvement of air quality.

Vegetation clusters are small-scale, localized interventions aimed at promoting the spread of complex vegetation structures, including tree, shrub, and herbaceous layers. These interventions can be implemented in urban green spaces such as gardens, parks, building grounds, and areas surrounding squares and infrastructure. They can be used to replicate mini and micro forests in urban settings (Eisenberg et al. 2022). In some urban contexts, like abandoned areas undergoing natural rewilding, vegetation clusters can be formed around spontaneously established groups of trees and shrubs, often made up of pioneer and ruderal species undergoing free, dynamic evolution (Eisenberg et al. 2022). This solution can also be combined with surface stormwater management and sustainable urban drainage systems. Depending on the open space system in which it is integrated, it can play a supporting role in strengthening ecological networks, helping to reduce habitat fragmentation and promote habitat reconnection.

Group of trees; Micro forest, Vegetation Patch, Plant Clump

The integration of vegetation cluster must be adapted to complex spatial and geometric constraints imposed by built structures, road configurations, and the presence of subterranean utilities and services. These factors not only constitute physical limitations and exert stress on the new environments but also mandate strict adherence to regulations and codes, such as maintaining prescribed distances from roadways or private property. Regarding the procurement of plant material, the use of species that are native to, or at least compatible with, the local environmental context is strongly advisable and preferred. Alien species should be avoided, and the use of invasive exotic species is strictly forbidden.

Based on practical implementation experience and the techno-scientific literature, six guiding principles can be delineated:

A correct design approach facilitates the establishment of a complex vegetation formation. This formation is capable of rapidly achieving a dynamic equilibrium with the environment, a process aided by its structure being open to self-variation. The management of such areas must be oriented toward supporting the self-organization of the vegetation clusters, rather than directing it toward a predetermined structure. Monitoring and control represent the essential elements for verifying evolutionary processes. Silvicultural and utilization interventions should be cautious, continuous, and highly localized capillary, tailored to the specific needs of various stands. Both at planting and during the subsequent years – a minimum of five –, particular attention must be devoted to the water requirements of the newly established vegetation. Continuous silvicultural care must be guaranteed to ensure the proper development of the flora, alongside targeted interventions to mitigate the impact of pathogens and phytoparasites. The management model can also be predicated on differentiation criteria, distinguishing between distinct zones and/or by levels of functionality and anthropogenic pressure. This allows for the application of more extensive and experimental maintenance strategies in areas subject to low anthropogenic pressure.

Vegetation clusters can be used to replicate mini and micro forests in urban settings (Eisenberg et al. 2022), play a role in defragmentation and connection, and can also become an integral part of the habitat for birds and invertebrates.

Vegetation clusters sequester carbon in aboveground vegetation and soil, providing climate change mitigation (World Bank 2021; Doelman et al. 2020) and microclimate regulation benefits by shading surfaces, diverting solar radiation, and releasing moisture into the atmosphere. Shaded surfaces can be 11-25 °C cooler than the peak temperature of unshaded materials. Evapotranspiration, alone or in combination with shading, can help reduce peak summer temperatures by 1-5 °C (EPA n.d.). Thanks to their permanent vegetation intercept precipitation and recycle the water through evapotranspiration, root water uptake, and infiltration (Gehrels et al. 2016). Trees play an important role in the hydrological cycle and its components, having a major influence on the amount of water flowing to groundwater, streams and other water bodies (EEA 2015).

Vegetation clusters are tree planting interventions with an important role in covering, shading, and protecting underlying surfaces. They contribute to making a positive effect on the physical, mental, social, and economic wellbeing of societies (World Bank 2021; Bratman et al. 2019).

Tree plantations on paved surfaces are tree planting interventions to be implemented in predominantly paved areas with intense anthropogenic use such as squares, playgrounds, outdoor sports areas, picnic areas, and seating areas. Tree plantations can have an important role in covering, shading, and protecting underlying surfaces. This is an option for designing shaded paved urban areas that can offer advantages in terms of rainwater management and sustainable urban drainage, climate resilience, and mitigation of urban heat stress (Eisenberg et al. 2022). Tree plantations on paved surfaces represent a solution for introducing arboreal vegetation in spaces where, due to surface functionality and accessibility, it is not possible to introduce linear tree rows and vegetation clusters. Their use can perform a subsidiary function and enhance the ecological network, contributing to the de-fragmentation and reconnection of the system. Planting density, species, and diversification of forms and behaviors are to be established according to environmental conditions – phyto- and pedo-climatic – and human presence and related usage and management methods. Preference should be given to trees with expanded canopies, plantations diverse in species and varieties, and with adaptability to critical soil, water, and pollutant conditions.

Mixed plantations for recreation; Regular plantations; Tree canopy for shaded pavement surfaces

In high and medium-density urban areas, residual open space availability complicates the integration of tree-shrub elements due to spatial constraints from buildings, road configurations, and sub-services. These factors impose physical limits and stressors, requiring adherence to regulations – e.g., distances from roads/property –. For plant material sourcing, native or compatible species are preferable; alien species are to be avoided, and invasive exotics are prohibited. In public recreational areas, especially those used by children, the allergenic potential of species must be considered to avoid exacerbating allergies and asthma.

Based on implementation experience and the technical and scientific literature, six guiding principles can be identified.

A correct design initiates a complex vegetation formation capable of rapidly achieving dynamic equilibrium, aided by a structure open to self-variation. Management should support the system’s self-organization rather than imposing a prefixed structure. Monitoring and control are essential to verify evolutionary processes. Silvicultural interventions must be cautious, continuous, and capillary, responding to stand needs. Post-planting (minimum five years), critical attention must be paid to the water needs of new vegetation. Cultural care is necessary for proper flora development and to mitigate pathogens/phytoparasites. Management models can be differentiated by zones or levels of anthropogenic pressure, applying more extensive/experimental maintenance in low-pressure areas. Experimental approaches can also foster public awareness and participation.

Tree plantations on paved surfaces is an option for designing shaded paved urban areas that can offer advantages in terms of rainwater management and sustainable urban drainage, climate resilience, and mitigation of urban heat stress (Eisenberg et al. 2022). They represent a solution for introducing arboreal vegetation in spaces where, due to surface functionality and accessibility, it is not possible to introduce linear tree rows and vegetation clusters. Their use can perform a subsidiary function and enhance the ecological network, contributing to the de-fragmentation and reconnection of the system.

Tree plantations on paved surfaces store and sequester carbon in the above ground vegetation and in the soil, providing climate change mitigation benefits (World Bank 2021; Doelman et al. 2020). Tree plantations can have an important role in covering, shading, and protecting underlying surfaces. Evapotranspiration, alone or in combination with shading, can help reduce peak summer temperatures by 1–5°C (EPA n.d). Among terrestrial ecosystems and their habitats, Paved Surfaces can contribute to the carbon sequestration rates (EEA 2022). Thanks to their permanent vegetation, tree plantations on paved surfaces offer favorable conditions for effective water infiltration and slowing surface flow. They thus promote natural water retention. Along slopes, they can reduce soil erosion by intercepting and slowing surface water runoff (Catalogue of NWRM 2013).

Tree plantations on paved surfaces are tree planting interventions to be implemented in predominantly paved areas with intense anthropogenic use such as squares, playgrounds, outdoor sports areas, picnic areas, and seating areas. Tree plantations can have an important role in covering, shading, and protecting underlying surfaces. They contribute to make positive effect on the physical, mental, social, and economic wellbeing of societies (World Bank 2021; Bratman et al. 2019).

Hedgerows and shrubs strips are predominantly linear areas characterized by vegetation cover. Their specific vegetation configuration is determined by environmental conditions – phyto and pedo-climatic –, competitive or cooperative interactions with other plant and animal species, human presence, and associated usage and management methods. These strips can range from alliances consisting solely of herbaceous species to highly structured associations of herbaceous, shrubby, and arboreal species. Hedgerows and shrubs strips are typically located at the margins of watercourses – known as riparian strips –, woodlands – clearing shrublands –, grasslands, and cultivated areas – field hedges –. They are also found in parks, public gardens, and adjacent to transport infrastructure – hedges and shrub strips –. They differ from tree lines primarily because they are composed mainly of herbaceous and shrubby species, with arboreal species being more sporadic. Beyond serving as habitats for various species, including plants, animals – vertebrates and invertebrates –, fungi, and bacteria hedgerows and shrubs strips can play a significant connectivity role. Where they form linear systems and nearly continuous networks, they are utilized by certain species for movement between different areas. Strips featuring species that produce berries, fruits, and nectar are important foraging sites, particularly for insects and birds. In rural contexts, hedgerows and shrubs strips are typically used for controlling livestock, delimiting boundaries, or providing shelter. In urban areas, they can constitute boundary hedges or function as separation and protection strips for other vegetation structures. Thanks to their permanent vegetation, hedgerows and shrubs strips offer favorable conditions for effective water infiltration and slowing surface flow. They thus promote natural water retention. Along slopes, they can reduce soil erosion by intercepting and slowing surface water runoff (Catalogue of NWRM 2013).

Street hedgerows, buffer shrubs strips, green fences, roads verges.

In high and medium-density urban areas, residual open space availability complicates the integration of tree-shrub elements due to spatial constraints from buildings, road configurations, and sub-services. These factors impose physical limits and stressors, requiring adherence to regulations – e.g., distances from roads or property –. For plant material sourcing, native or compatible species are preferable; alien species are to be avoided, and invasive exotics are prohibited. In public recreational areas, especially those used by children, the allergenic potential of species must be considered to avoid exacerbating allergies and asthma.

Based on implementation experience and the technical and scientific literature, six guiding principles can be identified.

A correct design approach facilitates the establishment of a complex vegetation formation. This formation is capable of rapidly achieving a dynamic equilibrium with the environment, a process aided by its structure being open to self-variation. The management of such areas must be oriented toward supporting the self-organization of the hedgerows and shrubs strips, rather than directing it toward a predetermined structure. Monitoring and control represent the essential elements for verifying evolutionary processes. Silvicultural and utilization interventions should be cautious, continuous, and highly localized capillary, tailored to the specific needs of various stands. Both at planting and during the subsequent years – a minimum of five –, particular attention must be devoted to the water requirements of the newly established vegetation. The management model can also be predicated on differentiation criteria, distinguishing between distinct zones and/or by levels of functionality and anthropogenic pressure. This allows for the application of more extensive and experimental maintenance strategies in areas subject to low anthropogenic pressure.

Where hedgerow and shrubs strip form linear systems and nearly continuous networks, they are utilized by certain species for movement between different areas. Strips featuring species that produce berries, fruits, and nectar are important foraging sites, particularly for insects and birds. In rural contexts, hedgerows and shrubs strips are typically used for controlling livestock, delimiting boundaries, or providing shelter. In urban areas, they can constitute boundary hedges or function as separation and protection strips for other vegetation structures. Thanks to their permanent vegetation, hedgerows and shrubs strips offer favorable conditions for effective water infiltration and slowing surface flow. They thus promote natural water retention. Along slopes, they can reduce soil erosion by intercepting and slowing surface water runoff (Catalogue of NWRM 2013).

Hedgerow and shrub strip store and sequester carbon in the above ground vegetation and in the soil, providing climate change mitigation benefits (World Bank 2021; Doelman et al. 2020). Evapotranspiration, alone or in combination with shading, can help reduce peak summer temperatures by 1-5°C (EPA n.d). Among terrestrial ecosystems and their habitats, Hedgerow and shrub strip can contribute to the carbon sequestration rates (EEA 2022). Thanks to their permanent vegetation, hedgerows and shrubs strips offer favorable conditions for effective water infiltration and slowing surface flow. They thus promote natural water retention. Along slopes, they can reduce soil erosion by intercepting and slowing surface water runoff (Catalogue of NWRM 2013).

Hedgerows and shrubs strips as an urban forestry intervention contribute to make positive effect to the physical, mental, social, and economic wellbeing of societies (World Bank 2021; Bratman et al. 2019).

Flower meadows are habitat characterized by the dominance of annual and/or perennial herbaceous species, favored by low-intensity anthropogenic management, related usage patterns, environmental conditions – phyto and pedo-climatic – and the interactions with other plant species – trees and shrubs –, animals, fungi, and bacteria. Flower meadows can take various shapes and sizes: from small patches or strips in areas adjacent to buildings and infrastructure, to large meadow extensions in parks or grazing meadows in urban rural areas. They are distinguished from high-intensity anthropogenically managed grass lawns – seeding, mowing, irrigation, fertilization – by a greater diversity of plant, animal, bacterial, and fungal species and a different human approach to use and management, which allows herbaceous populations to complete their entire life cycle, accommodate other spontaneous herbaceous species, and change over time and with the seasons. Given that flower meadows are characterized by plant species that have evolved zoogamous pollination strategies through co-evolutionary processes with pollinating insects (Adams 2005), this type of habitat, in addition to representing a great opportunity to increase plant diversity in urban areas (Chollet. et. al. 2018), has high potential for the protection of animal biodiversity, as the very survival of a flowering meadow depends on the presence of a wide range of invertebrates – pollinators and their predators – for which it simultaneously represents a habitat and an ecological corridor (Klaus 2013). Two types of urban flowering meadows can be distinguished: those with a prevalence of annual herbaceous plants or those with a prevalence of perennial herbaceous plants. The first type is characterized by the presence of species that complete their life cycle in one year or one season; therefore, they develop and change very rapidly with short cyclical phases. The second type is characterized by the presence of perennial species whose life cycle is multi-year. These meadows take two to three years to establish because perennial grasses have a deep root system and spend much of their energy in the first year on root growth, in the second on root system expansion, and in the third on above-ground establishment. Numerous experiments on the formation and management of urban flowering meadows have shown that the creation and/or maintenance of a mosaic of diversified types of flowering meadows: varying in height – controlled through the number of mows –; in species richness in the initial seed mix; and in the alternation between annual and perennial species, improves biodiversity – plant, animal, fungal, and bacterial – over an annual cycle, to a greater extent than creating habitats with only one type of meadow (Norton et. al. 2019).

Wildflower Meadow, Perennial Meadow, Wildflower Field

In high and medium-density urban areas, residual open space availability complicates the integration of tree-shrub elements due to spatial constraints from buildings, road configurations, and sub-services. These factors impose physical limits and stressors, requiring adherence to regulations. For plant material sourcing, native or compatible species are preferable; alien species are to be avoided, and invasive exotics are prohibited. If a survey determines the site already contains a degree of wildflower diversity and old meadow grasses – and no pernicious weeds –, this diversity should be retained.

Based on implementation experience and the technical and scientific literature, six guiding principles can be identified.

A correct design approach facilitates the establishment of a flower meadow formation capable of rapidly achieving a dynamic equilibrium with the environment, a process aided by its structure being open to self-variation. Monitoring and control represent the essential elements for verifying evolutionary processes. Botanical surveys should be conducted by a suitably qualified person at fixed points within the meadow for at least the first 5 years. These surveys must assess vegetation establishment, species abundance, sward height, vegetation cover, and flowering potential. The management model can also be predicated on differentiation criteria, distinguishing between distinct zones and/or by levels of functionality and anthropogenic pressure.

In the first year of management, particular attention must be paid to control weeds and reduce competition from grasses. For spring-seeded meadows, the first cut – to 5cm – should be in May. For autumn-seeded meadows, the first cut – 5cm – is March/April. The sward should be cut every 2 months, or when it reaches approximately 15 cm. Cutting must cease from June to August to permit wildflowers to set seed. A final cut is required in September/October. It is critical to remove all cuttings to prevent smothering the sward. For future maintenance – perennial meadows – first cut – to 5cm – should be performed in March/April. The second, primary cut – 5cm – must occur at the end of the flowering season, during September/October. All cuttings must be removed. Additional cuts may be necessary in autumn to remove untidy growth if the growing season is extended.

Flower meadows, spontaneous or sawn-on-purpose provide habitat and connectivity increasing diversity at many levels. Flower meadows create continuity between rural and urban areas, increasing the diversity of plant species and invertebrates (Bretzel et al 2016), represent a fundamental strategy and an often-overlooked opportunity to enhance and sustain biodiversity in urban environments. These spaces, when properly managed, counteract the ecological sterility of traditional short-mown grasslands, which dominate urban greening initiatives but offer scarce ecological value. The primary importance of FM lies in their capacity to transform low-biodiversity green areas into complex and vital habitats. This management shift permits a variety of wildflower species to complete their life cycle -flowering and setting seed- which is impossible in grasslands subjected to continuous cutting. This increase in plant diversity triggers a positive cascading effect on the entire ecosystem. Flower meadows provide essential food resources – nectar, pollen, seeds – and shelter for a wide range of wildlife, particularly pollinators – such as bees and butterflies –, birds, and other small fauna that struggle to survive in the built environment. Finally, this biodiversity is not an end in itself: it contributes to the general stability of the meadow ecosystem and enhances the resilience of the urban environment.

Flower meadows contribute to carbon storage through rich herbaceous biomass (Wang et al. 2021), carbon accumulation in topsoil (Kortleve and Mogollón 2023), and higher net primary productivity. Plant diversity and low-intensity management further enhance this effect (Thölix et al. 2025). Flower meadows reduce surface runoff thanks to vegetation cover, which intercepts rainfall, and more porous soil due to root systems. Studies show a 20-50% reduction in runoff compared to conventional lawns (Lin et al. 2020) and better infiltration than cultivated fields (Zimmermann et al. 2006). Root biodiversity improves soil structure (Bardgett et al. 2014), enhancing water retention. Flower meadows improve water quality by reducing erosion, retaining nutrients – e.g., nitrates and phosphates –, and filtering pollutants. Roots stabilize the soil and increase nutrient uptake (Zhang et al. 2010; Tilman et al. 2002). Meadow buffer strips reduce nitrates by up to 80% and phosphates by up to 90% (Hefting et al. 2005). Additionally, requiring fewer fertilizers, they lower contamination risk (Tzoulas et al. 2007).

Flower meadows increase physical activity by making green spaces more attractive and inviting (Pretty et al. 2005; Norton et al. 2019). Their biodiversity and aesthetics encourage walking and outdoor recreation, especially in urban areas (Giles-Corti et al. 2005; Hoyle 2016). Exposure to natural settings also improves mood, indirectly boosting motivation to move (Barton et al. 2010). Meadows thus support healthier, more active lifestyles. Flower meadows improve mental health and reduce chronic stress by providing restorative natural environments that lower cortisol and anxiety (Ulrich et al. 1991). Their biodiversity enhances wellbeing through sensory stimulation (Fuller et al. 2007). Urban meadows encourage social interaction and physical activity, benefiting mental health (Hoyle 2016). Reduced mowing increases natural aesthetics, promoting relaxation (Chollet et al. 2018). Natural sounds in meadows further decrease stress responses (Alvarsson et al. 2010).