Abstract
Recent rapid urbanization is globally placing strain on ecosystems and with it a growing awareness of the issues of urban biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of ecosystem services. The purpose of this study is to clarify the relevance between urban activities and ecosystems. The research approach applied evaluates the degree of dependence of consumer sectors on forest ecosystem services at municipalities in Osaka Prefecture. This evaluation was followed with hierarchical clustering using variables representing the characteristics of consumer sectors of each municipality. It was found that urban activities in Osaka Prefecture primarily depend on the service of CO2 absorption. The results also show what activities are most likely to create a demand for ecosystem services. From the hierarchical clustering, the municipalities can be divided into five separate clusters of varying characteristics. Furthermore, it was understood that there is an overuse, or imbalance, in ecosystem service use at almost every municipality in Osaka. It is believed that these results can contribute to the development of indices for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of ecosystem services in urban ecosystems. Future research includes increased coverage of ecosystem services, and expansion to examine other regions for a more precise and holistic grasp of dependences on ecosystem services.
