Insect biodiversity in urban tree pit habitats

Lundquist, Matthew J.; Weisend, Madison R.; Kenmore, Hope H.

doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2022.127788

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…This may be due in part to differences in street tree and local gardens availability and distribution as well as greenspace area, quality, and size throughout these cities. Street trees and local gardens can offer food sources and simultaneously serve as refugia and habitat for wildlife, including birds and insects, thereby promoting local biodiversity ( 50 – 53 ). In tandem, urban greenspaces can often function as de facto biogeographic “islands,” with larger and closer patches showing increased species richness ( 54 , 55 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical redlining is associated with disparities in wildlife biodiversity in four California cities

Estien,

Fidino,

Wilkinson

et al. 2024

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Legacy effects describe the persistent, long-term impacts on an ecosystem following the removal of an abiotic or biotic feature. Redlining, a policy that codified racial segregation and disinvestment in minoritized neighborhoods, has produced legacy effects with profound impacts on urban ecosystem structure and health. These legacies have detrimentally impacted public health outcomes, socioeconomic stability, and environmental health. However, the collateral impacts of redlining on wildlife communities are uncertain. Here, we investigated whether faunal biodiversity was associated with redlining. We used home-owner loan corporation (HOLC) maps [grades A (i.e., “best” and “greenlined”), B, C, and D (i.e., “hazardous” and “redlined”)] across four cities in California and contributory science data (iNaturalist) to estimate alpha and beta diversity across six clades (mammals, birds, insects, arachnids, reptiles, and amphibians) as a function of HOLC grade. We found that in greenlined neighborhoods, unique species were detected with less sampling effort, with redlined neighborhoods needing over 8,000 observations to detect the same number of unique species. Historically redlined neighborhoods had lower native and nonnative species richness compared to greenlined neighborhoods across each city, with disparities remaining at the clade level. Further, community composition (i.e., beta diversity) consistently differed among HOLC grades for all cities, including large differences in species assemblage observed between green and redlined neighborhoods. Our work spotlights the lasting effects of social injustices on the community ecology of cities, emphasizing that urban conservation and management efforts must incorporate an antiracist, justice-informed lens to improve biodiversity in urban environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical redlining is associated with disparities in wildlife biodiversity in four California cities

Estien,

Fidino,

Wilkinson

et al. 2024

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Increased tree canopy cover and age diversity are positively associated with urban biodiversity, for example, the richness of bird species in residential yards (Lerman et al, 2021). Trees provide an important habitat for a diverse set of organisms, such as insects, lichens, and fungus (Lundquist et al, 2022). Large old trees are a biodiversity-rich habitat type that is declining globally (Lindenmayer et al, 2012).…”

Section: Woody Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimizing the co-benefits of biodiversity and carbon sinks in urban residential yards

Ariluoma,

Kinnunen,

Lampinen

et al. 2024

Front. Sustain. Cities

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Urban green infrastructure is recognized for its potential to combat biodiversity loss and enhance carbon sequestration in cities. While residential yards constitute a significant part of urban green infrastructure, their role in providing urban ecosystem services remains largely understated. There is a lack of systematic measures for effectively implementing urban vegetation to enhance ecosystem services. The aim of this study is to investigate how different vegetation types typically found in urban residential yards of apartment blocks can enhance carbon sequestration and biodiversity, and how these benefits can be supported through landscape design. The study encompasses an integrative literature review and qualitative analysis. Drawing from a review of previous research, this study identifies the drivers that indicate either carbon sink potential or biodiversity enhancement potential of urban vegetation types. The drivers are then cross-examined to identify the qualities of urban green that potentially strengthen carbon–biodiversity co-benefits. As the key findings we present versatile measures to enhance the potential co-benefits of carbon sinks and biodiversity within urban yards and summarize them in three main categories: plant diversity, provision of good growing conditions and maintenance. The study stresses that the several potential co-benefits of urban green can only be achieved through the selection and prioritization of solutions during the planning and design process. To exemplify this, we demonstrate how the findings from the literature review can be incorporated into the design and management of urban yards. We conclude that the main actions to be addressed in the future planning and design of urban residential yards are (i) establishing diverse planting areas with a mixture of woody and herbaceous plants to encourage species richness and complexity, (ii) optimizing the use of space and growth conditions, and, (iii) implementing maintenance practices that consider both carbon and biodiversity aspects. The study highlights that through enhancing carbon-biodiversity co-benefits urban yards can significantly contribute to major environmental challenges and provide vital ecosystem services within the built urban environments.

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Small parks in residential neighborhoods as habitats for ground-dwelling beetles, spiders, and ants

Koji,

Furukawa,

Ichijo

et al. 2024

Urban Ecosyst

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In residential landscapes, small neighborhood parks account for a considerable share of urban greenspaces. However, information on their significance for biodiversity conservation is limited. To determine the role of small neighborhood parks as habitat for ground-dwelling arthropods, we evaluated the effects of local and landscape factors on the diversity and traits of carabid beetles, spiders, and ants in small neighborhood parks in Niigata, Japan. Urbanization decreased carabid species richness and abundance, and it altered the species composition of carabids and spiders. The arthropods in urbanized sites were characterized by small-bodied, web-building, highly dispersive spiders, and possibly non-predatory carabids. In contrast, urbanization did not influence any diversity metrics of ants. At the local scale, ground cover, soil moisture, and park border permeability were the major drivers of arthropod diversity. Ground coverage with leaf litter was positively associated with ant occurrence. Soil moisture negatively affected carabid species richness and abundance, whereas it positively affected spider richness. Parks with humid soil conditions favored hunting, low-dispersive spiders. The low permeability of park borders decreased spider richness and altered community structure, which was characterized by highly dispersive, ballooning species. We conclude that small neighborhood parks support numerous species of habitat-generalist arthropods that are adapted to dry and open environments. These parks thus represent an important component of habitat networks in residential landscapes. Managing open environments, protecting litter layers, reducing artificial borders, and retaining other open greenspaces in the surrounding matrix can promote diverse arthropod communities. Such strategies are worth considering during urban planning.

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Insect biodiversity in urban tree pit habitats

Cited by 7 publications

References 19 publications

Historical redlining is associated with disparities in wildlife biodiversity in four California cities

Historical redlining is associated with disparities in wildlife biodiversity in four California cities

Optimizing the co-benefits of biodiversity and carbon sinks in urban residential yards

Small parks in residential neighborhoods as habitats for ground-dwelling beetles, spiders, and ants

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