Urban Morphology Drives the Homogenization of Tree Cover in Baltimore, MD, and Raleigh, NC

Bigsby, Kevin M.; McHale, Melissa R.; Hess, George R.

doi:10.1007/s10021-013-9718-4

Cited by 68 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…) and the homogenization of tree cover (Bigsby et al. ). Global comparative analyses of urban morphology are essential not only to identify the urban forms that best support multiple elements of native biodiversity but also to inform decisions related to urban planning and the conservation of biological diversity.…”

Section: Filters Of Community Assembly In Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hierarchical filters determine community assembly of urban species pools

Aronson

Nilon

Lepczyk

et al. 2016

Ecology

315

263

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Abstract. The majority of humanity now lives in cities or towns, with this proportion expected to continue increasing for the foreseeable future. As novel ecosystems, urban areas offer an ideal opportunity to examine multi-scalar processes involved in community assembly as well as the role of human activities in modulating environmental drivers of biodiversity. Although ecologists have made great strides in recent decades at documenting ecological relationships in urban areas, much remains unknown, and we still need to identify the major ecological factors, aside from habitat loss, behind the persistence or extinction of species and guilds of species in cities. Given this paucity of knowledge, there is an immediate need to facilitate collaborative, interdisciplinary research on the patterns and drivers of biodiversity in cities at multiple spatial scales. In this review, we introduce a new conceptual framework for understanding the filtering processes that mold diversity of urban floras and faunas. We hypothesize that the following hierarchical series of filters influence species distributions in cities: (1) regional climatic and biogeographical factors; (2) human facilitation; (3) urban form and development history; (4) socioeconomic and cultural factors; and (5) species interactions. In addition to these filters, life history and functional traits of species are important in determining community assembly and act at multiple spatial scales. Using these filters as a conceptual framework can help frame future research needed to elucidate processes of community assembly in urban areas. Understanding how humans influence community structure and processes will aid in the management, design, and planning of our cities to best support biodiversity.

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Section: Filters Of Community Assembly In Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hierarchical filters determine community assembly of urban species pools

Aronson

Nilon

Lepczyk

et al. 2016

Ecology

315

263

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Legacies therefore may have as much influence on vegetation characteristics as present socioeconomic status or ongoing land management in a given area of interest [35]. This is well illustrated by the distribution of tree canopy cover in Baltimore (MD, US), which is largely associated with higher socioeconomic status, except for some lower income neighborhoods where higher canopy cover is attributable to legacies of decades-old plantings [53]. By extension, urban morphology can affect related ecosystem (dis)services, including amenities like carbon sequestration, harborage of more diverse ecological communities, and mitigation of air pollutants and the heat island effect.…”

Section: Ecosystem Structure Function and (Dis)servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abandonment, Ecological Assembly and Public Health Risks in Counter-Urbanizing Cities

et al. 2016

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Urban landscapes can be transformed by widespread abandonment from population and economic decline. Ecological assembly, sometimes referred to as "greening", following abandonment can yield valuable ecosystem services, but also can pose a risk to public health. Abandonment can elevate zoonotic vector-borne disease risk by favoring the hyperabundance of commensal pests and pathogen vectors. Though greater biodiversity in abandoned areas can potentially dilute vector-borne pathogen transmission, "greening" can elevate transmission risk by increasing movement of pathogen vectors between fragmented areas and by giving rise to novel human-wildlife interfaces. Idled and derelict infrastructure can further elevate disease risk from vector-borne and water-borne pathogens, which can build up in stagnant and unprotected water that maintenance and routine use of delivery or sanitation systems would otherwise eliminate. Thus, framing "greening" as inherently positive could result in policies and actions that unintentionally exacerbate inequalities by elevating risks rather than delivering benefits. As counter-urbanism is neither a minor pattern of urban development, nor a short-term departure from urban growth, homeowner and municipal management of abandoned areas should account for potential hazards to reduce health risks. Further socioecological assessments of public health risks following abandonment could better ensure the resilience and well-being of communities in shrinking cities.

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“…Bigsby et al (2013) delineated six groundcover types at a 1-m resolution, which included tree, water, road, building, grass, and bare-ground classifications. We used impervious surface and coarse vegetation cover because these classifications comprised greater than 97% of the groundcover within 100 m of each of our study trees.…”

Section: Ground Covermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To examine the habitat around each study site on a larger scale, we analyzed the ground cover around each tree in ArcMap (ArcGIS10) using impervious surface and coarse vegetation groundcover data in Raleigh, North Carolina (Bigsby et al 2013). Bigsby et al (2013) delineated six groundcover types at a 1-m resolution, which included tree, water, road, building, grass, and bare-ground classifications.…”

Section: Ground Covermentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban warming trumps natural enemy regulation of herbivorous pests

Dale

Frank

2014

Ecological Applications

123

105

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Abstract. Trees provide ecosystem services that counter negative effects of urban habitats on human and environmental health. Unfortunately, herbivorous arthropod pests are often more abundant on urban than rural trees, reducing tree growth, survival, and ecosystem services. Previous research where vegetation complexity was reduced has attributed elevated urban pest abundance to decreased regulation by natural enemies. However, reducing vegetation complexity, particularly the density of overstory trees, also makes cities hotter than natural habitats. We ask how urban habitat characteristics influence an abiotic factor, temperature, and a biotic factor, natural enemy abundance, in regulating the abundance of an urban forest pest, the gloomy scale, (Melanaspis tenebricosa). We used a map of surface temperature to select red maple trees (Acer rubrum) at warmer and cooler sites in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. We quantified habitat complexity by measuring impervious surface cover, local vegetation structural complexity, and landscape scale vegetation cover around each tree. Using path analysis, we determined that impervious surface (the most important habitat variable) increased scale insect abundance by increasing tree canopy temperature, rather than by reducing natural enemy abundance or percent parasitism. As a mechanism for this response, we found that increasing temperature significantly increases scale insect fecundity and contributes to greater population increase. Specifically, adult female M. tenebricosa egg sets increased by approximately 14 eggs for every 18C increase in temperature. Climate change models predict that the global climate will increase by 2-38C in the next 50-100 years, which we found would increase scale insect abundance by three orders of magnitude. This result supports predictions that urban and natural forests will face greater herbivory in the future, and suggests that a primary cause could be direct, positive effects of warming on herbivore fitness rather than altered trophic interactions.

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Urban Morphology Drives the Homogenization of Tree Cover in Baltimore, MD, and Raleigh, NC

Cited by 68 publications

References 45 publications

Hierarchical filters determine community assembly of urban species pools

Hierarchical filters determine community assembly of urban species pools

Abandonment, Ecological Assembly and Public Health Risks in Counter-Urbanizing Cities

Urban warming trumps natural enemy regulation of herbivorous pests

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