Local habitat characteristics have a stronger effect than the surrounding urban landscape on beetle communities on green roofs

Kyrö, Kukka; Brenneisen, Stephan; Kotze, D. Johan; Szallies, Alexander; Gerner, Magdalena; Lehvävirta, Susanna

doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2017.11.009

Cited by 51 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…For example, 176 species of plants were inventoried on 115 roofs in a European climate [49]. Studies have also confirmed the presence of arthropods, such as beetles, spiders, true bugs, hymenopterans (ants, bees, wasps), flies [50][51][52], springtails (up to 44 species) [53,54], and mites [55], in addition to fungi [54,55] and bacteria [56]. A recent review conducted in six Swiss cities over the past 20 years showed that 91 out of the 532 species (17%) known in Switzerland are represented on green roofs [57].…”

Section: Are Green Walls and Green Roofs Large Enough For Supporting mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Arthropod species richness is poorly driven by wall size regardless of the system (climbing systems, modular living wall, continuous living wall) [46], but it is impacted by the available area in the case of roofs [50,51]. A weak positive association between green roof size and species abundance or diversity [50,65] has been found, and Kyro et al (2018) [51] recently added that roof species that are not sensitive to reduced patch size will typically benefit from small roofs, unlike species that require a large area of continuous habitat (e.g., running spiders).…”

Section: Are Green Walls and Green Roofs Large Enough For Supporting mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A weak positive association between green roof size and species abundance or diversity [50,65] has been found, and Kyro et al (2018) [51] recently added that roof species that are not sensitive to reduced patch size will typically benefit from small roofs, unlike species that require a large area of continuous habitat (e.g., running spiders).…”

Section: Are Green Walls and Green Roofs Large Enough For Supporting mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All strata of vegetation can be observed and represented by numerous families, even though often a few groups dominate. Old urban parks show mature successional stages, while no mature successional stages are observed on roofs [52], and roof communities can vary as a function of their age [49,51]. No direct solar radiation on the ground, less trampling and the additions of litter or compost lead to greater amounts of organic matter and higher moisture contents in park soil than in lawns [88].…”

Section: How Redundant Are Green Roofs and Green Walls In Cities?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to many local factors and frequent short distance exchanges with ground sites, height strongly influences the diversity of species with low mobility (carabids and spiders) on roofs [50,51], while highly mobile species (bees, weevils) are mainly affected by the exchange of individuals with other green roofs or habitats outside the city [65]. Recent results showed that the abundance of highly mobile species is also impacted by height in the case of tall buildings (>5 building levels) [99].…”

Section: In the Connectivity Of Green Walls And Roofs To The Ground-lmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Green Roofs and Green Walls for Biodiversity Conservation: A Contribution to Urban Connectivity?

2018

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Green roofs and walls have recently emerged as conservation tools, and they offer promising additional opportunities to enhance biodiversity in cities. However, their ecological conditions remain poorly considered when planning wildlife corridors. To discuss the role of vegetated buildings in landscape connectivity, we reviewed the ecological and technical specificities of green walls and green roofs in light of the key factors concerning urban wildlife (patch size, quality, abundance, and isolation). Green roofs and walls show limited patch sizes, distinct habitat quality at the building scale, and limited redundancy of patch quality within the landscape. We also highlight that the abundance of roof and wall patches is often low. Future research is needed to establish if walls can be vertical corridors for wildlife, thereby reducing the isolation of green roofs. We argue that creating 3D ecological connectivity within the city requires substantial modifications of the design and maintenance of existing green building systems. We suggest that research is needed to integrate the biotic and abiotic characteristics of green buildings to make them more closely resemble those of open green spaces.

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Section: Are Green Walls and Green Roofs Large Enough For Supporting mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Are Green Walls and Green Roofs Large Enough For Supporting mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Are Green Walls and Green Roofs Large Enough For Supporting mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: How Redundant Are Green Roofs and Green Walls In Cities?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: In the Connectivity Of Green Walls And Roofs To The Ground-lmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Green Roofs and Green Walls for Biodiversity Conservation: A Contribution to Urban Connectivity?

2018

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Stress‐gradient framework for green roofs: Applications for urban agriculture and other ecosystem services

Rolhauser

MacIvor

Roberto

et al. 2023

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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Green roofs are promoted to contribute to more resilient cities by enhancing urban ecosystem services and food systems. Extensive, low‐maintenance green roofs experience frequent environmental stresses, which reduce plant survival and growth. Stress‐tolerant plants are therefore used to sustain well‐established services, such as building temperature regulation. However, transitioning extensive green roofs to provide other key urban services, such as food production, involves less tolerant plant species. Although facilitation exerted by stress‐tolerant species (nurses) has been proposed to improve the performance of stress‐intolerant species (protégés) in extensive green roofs, the conditions under which facilitation could occur are not well understood. Therefore, a comprehensive framework is needed that integrates current knowledge on how the performance of protégé species is affected by nurse plants across stress conditions. We present a framework for green roof research that results in a linear model that integrates (i) modern trait–environment theory and (ii) facilitation ecology in a refined stress‐gradient hypothesis (SGH) originally developed following study of other stressful environments. The model makes testable predictions on how phenotypic traits mediate the performance response of protégé species to nurse plants along stress gradients in extensive green roofs. This is not only useful for the analysis of eco‐physiological performance measures directly linked with multifunctionality and ecosystem services, but also demographic or ‘vital’ rates that drive species persistence and plant community maintenance. We discuss a range of applications related to key agricultural and ecological questions arising from contemporary extensive green roof research, such as enhancing conditions for crop production, weed management, plant invasions and biodiversity conservation. We also provide guidelines for the generation of appropriate data and for fitting this model using readily available statistical procedures. Our framework will allow researchers to assess under which environmental conditions nurse–protégé interactions are feasible. We expect the findings from such research to help develop strategies and guidelines for managing environmental conditions that optimize protégé performances that ultimately affect the delivery of ecosystem services in constructed urban green spaces.

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Local‐ and landscape‐scale variables shape insect diversity in an urban biodiversity hot spot

Adams

Bahlai

et al. 2020

Ecological Applications

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Brown. 2020. Localand landscape-scale variables shape insect diversity in an urban biodiversity hot spot. Ecological Applications 30(4):Abstract. Local community structure is shaped by processes acting at local and landscape scales. The relative importance of drivers operating across different spatial scales is difficult to test without observations across regional or latitudinal gradients. Cities exhibit strong but predictable environmental gradients overlaying a mosaic of highly variable but repeated habitat types within a constrained area. Thus, cities present a unique opportunity to explore how both local and landscape factors influence local biotic communities. We used insect communities to examine the interactions among local environmental variables (such as temperature and relative humidity), local habitat characteristics (such as plant community composition), and broad-scale patterns of urbanization (including biophysical, human-built, and socioeconomic variables) on local insect abundance, species richness, and species composition in Los Angeles, a hot, dry, near-desert city. After accounting for seasonal trends, insect species richness and abundance were highest in drier and hotter sites, but the magnitude of local environmental effects varied with the degree of urbanization. In contrast, insect species composition was best predicted by broad-scale urbanization trends, with the more native communities occurring in less urbanized sites and more cosmopolitan insects occurring in highly urbanized sites. However, insect species richness and abundance were >30% higher and insect composition was similar across sites that hosted either native or drought-tolerant plants, regardless of the degree of urbanization. These results demonstrate that urban insect biodiversity is a product of interacting mechanisms working at both local and landscape scales. However, local-scale changes to urban habitats, such as cultivating plants that are adapted to the natural environment nearest the city, can positively impact urban biodiversity regardless of location.

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Local habitat characteristics have a stronger effect than the surrounding urban landscape on beetle communities on green roofs

Cited by 51 publications

References 44 publications

Green Roofs and Green Walls for Biodiversity Conservation: A Contribution to Urban Connectivity?

Green Roofs and Green Walls for Biodiversity Conservation: A Contribution to Urban Connectivity?

Stress‐gradient framework for green roofs: Applications for urban agriculture and other ecosystem services

Local‐ and landscape‐scale variables shape insect diversity in an urban biodiversity hot spot

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