Conserving Biodiversity in Urban Areas
Introduction
Biodiversity is a crucial part of a healthy planet. A wide variety of species in an ecosystem makes that ecosystem more resilient and better able to adapt to any environmental stress. However in the face of climate change and the unstoppable force of urbanization, biodiversity has been on the decline. As the climate warms and forests are cut down, many species will continue to lose their habitat. This loss of habitat combined with poaching and the spread of invasive species can lead to extinctions. Today’s common approach to conserving biodiversity is to preserve hotspots like rainforests, coral reefs, or anywhere void of humans. The problem with this approach is that it excludes urban areas. Oftentimes once humans have established a built environment, whether it be a city or suburbs, that area is seen as a lost cause for biodiversity. However that does not have to be the case. This research proposal will examine the effects and assumed benefits of biodiversity within urban areas as well as ways that biodiversity can be conserved in these areas.
Urban Conservation Strategies
Green Spaces
Green spaces are the simplest and most direct way to promote biodiversity in a city. The presence of parks, trees, and patches of greenery throughout a city provide habitat and a clean, pleasant aesthetic among other benefits.
Corridors
Corridors are a type of green space that connect smaller urban habitats to nearby larger habitats. Corridors create a safe path of travel for animals, allowing them to pass into or through built environments with relative ease. This is very important for making up lost habitat space by reducing edge and connecting habitats together (Bretzel et al., 2016).
Engage Developers and Residents
Promoting low impact practices in developers and urban residents is a great way to foster long lasting changes. Policies and incentives could be put into place to influence low impact development techniques and the use of native plant species. Also, public environmental education can be provided to make residents aware of environmental issues in their city (Hostetler et al., 2011).
Methods and Justification
Methods
I plan on taking a mixed methods approach for this proposal that includes a survey and content analysis. The survey will be given to a random sample of city residents and is intended to gauge public reception of biodiversity in their community. It will include questions such as:
How often do you visit your city's parks?
Often/Sometimes/Almost never/Never
Would you like to see more green space throughout the city?
Yes/No
The content analysis will be used to examine research about the challenges and strategies to incorporating biodiversity in an urban setting.
Justification
The reason for performing the survey is to prove that greener cities are desirable among residents. Biodiversity provides many important ecosystem services. However, if city officials know it's also in demand it is more likely for change to occur. The significance of this proposal is to create better urban living environments as well as combating wide scope environmental issues like biodiversity loss and climate change.
Benefits of Biodiversity
A wide variety of organisms in a built environment can provide many benefits to that area. First off, trees and other plant species in a city provide ecosystem services that can counter the harmful byproducts of inner city transportation and industry. Plants improve air quality by absorbing carbon dioxide out of the air. They also combat the urban heat island effect by cooling the air through evaporation and by providing shade (Dearborn and Kark, 2010). Biodiversity has also been proven to increase human wellbeing. Interacting with nature improves physiological and psychological health by alleviating stress, lightening mood, and improving cognitive functions (Pinho et al., 2017). A wide presence of green space in a city also makes for a safer and aesthetically pleasing city while providing habitat for native species like birds, small mammals, and pollinators.
References
Dearborn, D., & Kark, S. (n.d.). Motivations for conserving urban biodiversity. Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19775276/
Francesca Bretzel a, a, b, c, Highlights•Understanding plant community dynamics helps to define responses to disturbance.•The highest diversity is achieved at very low soil fertility values.•Grasslands and meadows affect positively the urban ecosystem.•Use of herbaceous vegetation inc, communities, A. herbaceous, Albrecht, H., Angold, P. G., Bakker, J. P., Bissels, S., Bobbink, R., Bolund, P., Bonanomi, G., Bretzel, F., Fabos, J. G., Fischer, L. K., Giurfa, M., Goddard, M. A., Gough, M. W., … Clark, C. M. (2016, October 25). Wildflowers: From conserving biodiversity to Urban Greening-A Review. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866716303107
Mark Hostetler a, a, b, c, AbstractUrban planning efforts to conserve urban biodiversity have often concentrated on establishing protected natural areas and corridors. While green infrastructure is important, Hostetler, M. E., Miller, J. R., & Lenth, B. A. (2011, February 23). Conserving urban biodiversity? creating green infrastructure is only the first step. Landscape and Urban Planning. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016920461100048X
Pinho, P., Moretti, M., Luz, A. C., Grilo, F., Vieira, J., Luís, L., Rosalino, L. M., Martins-Loução, M. A., Santos-Reis, M., Correia, O., Garcia-Pereira, P., Gonçalves, P., Matos, P., Carvalho, R. C. de, Rebelo, R., Dias, T., Mexia, T., & Branquinho, C. (1970, January 1). Biodiversity as support for Ecosystem Services and human wellbeing. SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-50280-9_8
