Urban Ecology

To respond to the biodiversity crisis the cross‑border MOS.ECO project focuses on studying and protecting biodiversity in urban spaces. With a motivated partnership (Municipality of Dronero, Municipality of Veynes, University of Turin, C.A.U.E 05), the project is structured around three main pillars: research, community awareness, and the strengthening of green infrastructure. Research activities, carried out by the University of Turin through participatory approaches, aim to improve knowledge of the natural heritage of Dronero and Veynes. C.A.U.E 05 coordinates awareness‑raising initiatives targeting different segments of the population to promote understanding of the importance of biodiversity. Bioblitz events, biodiversity kits, and citizen‑science initiatives make residents active contributors to the process of urban “naturalisation.” These actions are complemented by the creation and enhancement of green infrastructure, with the goal of building a coherent ecological mosaic. In Dronero, the approach focuses on biological and ecological aspects along the urban river; in Veynes, on mobilising citizens to rehabilitate highly urbanised areas. The comparison between these complementary approaches will lead to the development of a shared strategy in support of biodiversity. 

We are interested in understanding what are the key variables that affect urban bird diversity. Using point count and habitat data, we want to analyse the effects of land-sharing and land-spring on the urban bird communities in the Italian peninsula, but also to identify which are the 'winners' and the 'losers' along the urban gradient and across seasons.. The next steps will involve surveys on urban parks and natural areas to evaluate differences between urban communities and natural ones and at the same time provide useful suggestions to urban planners on how to make our cities more sustainable and more biodiversity-friendly.

With this project, we are exploring the relationships between people and nature in cities, aiming to link the ecological and social value of urban animal biodiversity. We are investigating urban green spaces to determine which features of the urban environment are valued by people, but at the same time that benefit biodiversity. In this way, we can identify win-win management and development strategies to enhance green areas in cities fostering environmental justice. In addition, we want to understand how human socioeconomic status and demographics affect urban biodiversity in Italy by testing the Luxury Effect hypothesis and identifying its drivers.

The UrBio project, funded within the framework of two NextGeneration EU initiatives (NBFC and MUSA projects), stands out as a crucial initiative, aiming to evaluate and monitor urban biodiversity throughout Italy comprehensively. This citizen science endeavour engages naturalists, birdwatchers, and enthusiasts, encouraging their participation in understanding synanthropic species' distribution and population trends documenting observations on 'Ornitho.it' and user-friendly tools like the Naturalist app. Preliminary results from 51 cities include 4,728 observations of 112 species. Comparative analysis of data across cities aims to identify patterns influencing urban ecosystems, guiding effective biodiversity conservation and sustainable urban planning. This collaborative effort bridges academia-public gaps, fostering environmental awareness, and will contribute to the sustainable management of urban ecosystems.

Our lab is involved in a collaboration with the University of Porto (Luís Reino, CIBIO-InBio) and Lisboa (Pedro Segurado, Forest Research Centre - CEF) within the PhD project  "Resilience of European native avifauna to alien bird species: a multi-scale approach" with the PhD Student Fabio Marcolin. The aims of the project are to understand the ecological impacts of alien bird on native bird species at different spatial scales (Europe and Italian cities) and to identify strategies for problematic alien bird species and ways to manage vulnerable habitats in order to enhance native bird species.  The collaboration focuses particularly at the European scale, in order to test the Luxury Effect hypothesis on alien bird invasion in European metropolitan areas.