Science Innovation | Natural Capital Project

Skip to content Skip to navigation

The Natural Capital Project advances research frontiers around sustainable development and sustainable, livable cities. Currently, we are developing new science focused on:

Less-studied yet vital ecosystem services relating to health, including improving mental health, promoting physical activity, and supporting urban biodiversity
Equity in access to nature and its benefits - developing new assessment approaches
Resilience of interconnected human and natural systems
Modeling of ecosystem services at the global scale
Using AI to generate insights from new data sources such as social media, satellite imagery, and human movement data.

Recent Publications

Plant functional diversity mediates indirect effects of land-use intensity on soil water conservation in the dry season of tropical areas

Forest Ecology and Management

Supply and demand assessment of urban recreation service and its implication for greenspace planning-A case study on Guangzhou

Landscape and Urban Planning

Increasing decision relevance of ecosystem service science

Nature Sustainability

Community-based governance: Implications for ecosystem service supply in Berg en Dal, the Netherlands

Ecological Indicators

Next-generation visitation models using social media to estimate recreation on public lands

Scientific Reports

Avian cultural services peak in tropical wet forests

Conservation Letters

A brighter future: Complementary goals of diversity and multifunctionality to build resilient agricultural landscapes

Global Food Security

Modeling seasonal water yield for landscape management: Applications in Peru and Myanmar.

Journal of Environmental Management

Shaping Land Use Change and Ecosystem Restoration in a Water-Stressed Agricultural Landscape to Achieve Multiple Benefits

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

View more publications