Understanding spontaneous biodiversity in informal urban green spaces: A local-landscape filtering framework with a test on wall plants

Miao, Xinyu; Pan, Yanqun; Chen, Hanxu; Zhang, Mingjuan; Hu, Wensi; Li, Yuxiang; Wu, Ruoyu; Wang, Peiyao; Fang, Shubo; Niu, Kechang; Xu, Chi; Teng, Shuqing N.

doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2023.127996

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Urbanization is often a complex process; under the mutual interaction between spontaneous plants and urban environments [34], green patches in cities are interconnected to form a dynamic ecological network [35]. Beyond large areas of remaining mountains and bodies of water [36,37], even small green spaces can provide temporary habitats for certain species [38][39][40].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Spontaneous Plant Communities in Urban Parks: A Case from Nanjing, China

Xu,

Dai,

Ding

et al. 2024

Sustainability

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Urban plant diversity is one of the key elements for sustainable urban development. Urban plant landscapes not only create a variety of experiences for residents but also have a positive effect on their physiology and psychology. In order to better introduce nature into urban green spaces, this study conducted a field survey in Nanjing, China, to analyze the current situation of spontaneous plants in Nanjing’s urban green spaces and propose a plant planning strategy that takes into account both ecology and residents’ well-being. This study surveyed the herbaceous plant resources in 96 sample plots in nine typical urban parks in Nanjing, and recorded 284 plant species in 192 genera and 78 families. The research results show that the differences in plant diversity, richness, and evenness among urban parks in Nanjing are significant; combined with cluster analysis and ranking results, the total area of urban parks, green space construction time, lighting conditions, and management frequency have an impact on plant communities. Further analysis of the species composition of plant communities showed that moderate management frequency in urban parks can increase plant diversity. With the advantages of both high ecological benefits and low management costs, a model of “artificial plants + native spontaneous plants” was finally proposed for the planting of herbaceous plants in sustainable urban green spaces.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Spontaneous Plant Communities in Urban Parks: A Case from Nanjing, China

Xu,

Dai,

Ding

et al. 2024

Sustainability

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“…The unique complexity and emergence of novel ecosystems within IGS pose distinct manage-ment challenges, differing significantly from those in natural settings [36]. It is necessary to understand how factors such as pollution, invasive species, and environmental variability [10,11,21,26,37,38] shape the composition and diversity of IGS vegetation at both the local and landscape levels [39,40].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation Management Practices for Biodiversity Preservation in Urban Informal Green Spaces: Lessons from Central European City

Archiciński,

Przybysz,

Sikorska

et al. 2024

Land

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Urban informal green spaces (IGS) represent valuable reservoirs of biodiversity within urban areas and are increasingly recognized as integral components of green infrastructure. They are perceived as temporary ecosystems, and the management of their vegetation is relatively understudied. The development time of spontaneous vegetation on transformed lands is considered to be in the range of decades, which makes it even more necessary to provide managers with better guidelines for such a long period. Two suggested management approaches for these areas involve: (1) retaining vegetation at various stages of succession (non-forest IGS) and (2) protecting advanced developmental stages (forest IGS), with options for balanced intervention or complete non-intervention. However, the differences in biodiversity between these two types in cities across Central Europe remain unknown, as well as whether the predictors of biodiversity at both local and landscape scales are consistent for non-forest and forest IGS. We examined factors such as habitat continuity, landscape structure, soil quality, and human impact to shed light on pathways for enhancing urban floristic diversity. Conducting extensive botanical surveys in existing informal green spaces (IGS) in Warsaw, we derived various parameters, including the total number of species, Shannon-Wiener biodiversity index, hemeroby, urbanity, share of species from distinct ecological groups, and the number of rare and ancient forest plant species. Tracing habitat continuity from the early 20th century using digitized aerial imagery provided a unique long-term perspective on IGS development. We revealed that no management is pivotal for the conservation of select rare and ancient forest species. On the other hand, partial abandonment with occasional maintenance may enrich species diversity across different successional phases. We uncovered the significant influence of landscape structure and human activity on vegetation species composition within IGS. Notably, IGS proximate to extensive forest landscapes displayed a marked abundance of forest species, alongside a greater prevalence of rare species. However, the presence of other vegetation types in the vicinity did not yield similar effects. Our findings indicate that IGS, when left untouched for decades near forested areas, are valuable for urban biodiversity. As cities across the globe seek sustainable paths, this research underscores the importance of properly understanding and integrating IGS into urban ecological planning.

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Improving indoor environmental quality in an affordable house by using a vegetated wall: A case study in subtropical Brazil

Gabriel,

Piccilli,

Tassi

et al. 2024

Building and Environment

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Understanding spontaneous biodiversity in informal urban green spaces: A local-landscape filtering framework with a test on wall plants

Cited by 6 publications

References 66 publications

Drivers of Spontaneous Plant Communities in Urban Parks: A Case from Nanjing, China

Drivers of Spontaneous Plant Communities in Urban Parks: A Case from Nanjing, China

Conservation Management Practices for Biodiversity Preservation in Urban Informal Green Spaces: Lessons from Central European City

Improving indoor environmental quality in an affordable house by using a vegetated wall: A case study in subtropical Brazil

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