Soil Biodiversity in Urban Forests as a Consequence of Litterfall Management: Implications for São Paulo’s Ecosystem Services

Abstract

Abstract:The growth of urban centers, along with the fragmentation of natural habitats, can interfere with the distribution pattern of species and their abundance, thus compromising the conservation of urban biodiversity. Principal players in this biodiversity are arthropods that help to decompose litterfall, favoring the recycling of nutrients and, hence, are an important part in sustaining the forest fragments that remain in urban areas. Therefore, it is important to study arthropod biodiversity in green urban areas, especially those areas where litterfall management is an important part of maintaining biodiversity. Accordingly, this study evaluated arthropod diversity associated with litterfall in three urban forests with different size and litterfall management practices, including Água Branca Park (ABP) and Tietê Ecological Park (TEP)-Núcleo Engenheiro Goulart in São Paulo City and Chico Mendes Park (CMP) in Osasco City, all belonging to the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (MRSP), Brazil. Four litterfall harvests were carried out in each park between April and August of 2015 with twelve samples collected with a wood mold (30-cmx30-cm) at randomly points on the forest floor. The collected material was then screened in the laboratory and the arthropods were visually separated and preserved in alcohol 70%. Arthropods were classified by the order to which they belonged. Litterfall was dried in a forced air oven at 65 • C for seven days. Dried litterfall was then separated into leaves, branches, reproductive parts and miscellaneous fragments and weighed. Arthropod diversity was measured by Shannon, Margalef and Pielou indexes and non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis (NMDS) using the Manhattan distance index. Litterfall weight was compared by one-way ANOVA. The orders Hymenoptera, Collembola and Isopoda were dominant in CMP, ABP and TEP, respectively but multiple rare orders had a presence in all parks, albeit at different abundance. NMDS showed abundance similarity among the parks; however, TEP showed greater richness, Shannon diversity and evenness. The fractions of leaf litterfall and reproductive parts were different between the CMP and TEP. Overall, our results confirm that neither litterfall management, nor park size, is a final determinant of arthropod distribution, even though the abundance of dominant species was shown to differ in each park.

Legacy effects of long‐term autumn leaf litter removal slow decomposition rates and reduce soil carbon in suburban yards

“…There is also evidence that reducing leaf litter reduces decomposition rates (Fung et al, 2022; Lu et al, 2021) and soil respiration (Xu et al, 2013), perhaps by slowing carbon‐limited microbial processes. Litter removal could also impact decomposition processes by reducing habitat complexity for detritivore communities (Lamano Ferreira et al, 2018; Ossola et al, 2016). Abiotic factors could be altered by litter removal as well.…”

Analysis of Potential Supply of Ecosystem Services in Forest Remnants through Neural Networks

“…However, in practice, choosing appropriate tools to address ecosystem services in planning is still difficult because they differ in their complexity, transferability, and time and data requirements [1]. For example, urban forests benefit cities with different ecosystem services, such as groundwater recharge, retention of particulate emitted by motors, surface runoff of rainwater, thermal comfort and local climate regulation, and carbon uptake [27].…”

Cidades sustentáveis e a agenda ambiental na administração pública brasileira

“…Essa pesquisa se justifica em razão dos estudos sobre gestão e sustentabilidade se configurarem como uma pauta indispensável nas discussões acerca do futuro das cidades, uma vez que aspectos sobre como promover a melhoria da qualidade de vida em espaços urbanos e, por conseguinte, o equilíbrio socioambiental, bem como a formulação de políticas de governo que promovam a sustentabilidade (FEIOCK et al, 2014;FERREIRA et al, 2018;MOURA, 2016;SEIXAS et al, 2020. ) são questões cada vez mais requeridas em diversos setores da sociedade.…”