Urban Ponds and the Emerging Role of Garden Ponds: Ecosystem Services and Disservices, Multifunctionality, and Trade‐Offs

ABSTRACT Urban ponds serve as important objects both for ecological research—spanning biodiversity conservation, landscape connectivity, ecosystem properties—and for studies on evolutionary dynamics due to anthropogenic stressors driving rapid adaptation in these ecosystems. They are strongly connected to human society, and these interdisciplinary connections can be tackled within the ecosystem services—disservices framework. Garden ponds, a specific subset of urban ponds, have mostly been overlooked elements of urban landscapes, even though they might fulfill some of the same ecosystem roles as their generally larger counterparts and may even be more numerous in many areas worldwide. By synthesizing knowledge on urban ponds and distinguishing garden ponds as a specific subtype, we highlight their ecosystem services (i.e., nature's contributions to people, NCPs) and disservices, and their connections to biodiversity conservation. We also identify potential ecosystem service multifunctionality and trade‐offs that might be tackled by future research in the context of ecosystem services, climate change, and urban sustainability. This article is categorized under: Water and Life > Conservation, Management, and Awareness