Ecological integrity in urban forests

Ecological integrity refers, broadly speaking, to “the wholeness and proper functioning of an ecosystem,” with regard to its structure and function. The exact meaning and application of the concept are not without controversy, however, and in particular it can be challenging to apply the idea of ecological integrity to human-nature ecosystems like cities. Here the authors propose a values-based understanding of the term to better explore how it can be applied to urban forests. They focus on notions of ecosystem health, biodiversity, native species, resilience, and self-maintenance.