Green Infrastructure Development

The concept of green infrastructure (GI) offers a comprehensive approach for environmental sustainability with the network of multifunctional ecosystems providing positive ecological, economic and societal benefits. In our study, we showed a five step conceptual framework with a case study for Hungary to evaluate GI and spatially prioritise its development methods. The national ecosystem base map provided the input for the ecosystem state assessment, the first axis of the zone cube model. Assessment of ecosystem services, and the connectivity among natural ecosystems, all normalized to five levels, provided the other two axes of the zone cube model. Restoration targeting and prioritization further fine-tuned the selection of ecosystem preservation, enhancement and conversion areas.

Ecosystem base map
Tanács, E., Belényesi, M., Lehoczki, R., Pataki, R., Petrik, O., Standovár, T., ... & Maucha, G. (2022). Compiling a high-resolution country-level ecosystem map to support environmental policy: methodological challenges and solutions from Hungary. Geocarto International, 37(25), 8746-8769.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2021.2005158

Ecosystem condition assessment
Tanács, E., Bede-Fazekas, Á., Csecserits, A., Fodor, L. K., Pásztor, L., Somodi, I., ... & Vári, Á. (2022). Assessing ecosystem condition at the national level in Hungary - indicators, approaches, challenges. One Ecosystem, 7, e81543. .
https://doi.org/10.3897/oneeco.7.e81543

Ecosystem service assessment
Vári, Á., Tanács, E., Tormáné Kovács, E., Kalóczkai, Á., Arany, I., Czúcz, B., ... & Kovács-Hostyánszki, A. (2022). National Ecosystem Services Assessment in Hungary: Framework, Process and Conceptual Questions. Sustainability, 14(19), 12847.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912847

Ecosystem service synthesis
Tanács, E., Vári, Á., Bede-Fazekas, Á., Báldi, A., Csákvári, E., Endrédi, A., ... & Török, K. (2023). Finding the Green Grass in the Haystack? Integrated National Assessment of Ecosystem Services and Condition in Hungary, in Support of Conservation and Planning. Sustainability, 15(11), 8489.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118489

Green infrastructure development
Szitár, K., Bánhidai, A., Csecserits, A., Csőszi, M., Halassy, M., Kertész, M., ... & Török, K. (2024). The zone cube model–A tool to operationalise green infrastructure prioritisation. Landscape and Urban Planning, 243, 104976.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2023.104976