Segregation in the late 19th century in the United States is memorialized by the separation of white and black burials, oftentimes resulting in the establishment of separate cemeteries altogether for African Americans. African American cemeteries were often established on the outskirts of city and town limits, a delineation which W.E.B. DuBois referred to as the “physical color line" (1901). Social values, including perceptions on race and slavery, clearly informed the decisions made about burial placement and sacred space segregation. This left future generations with built environments that are reflective of the cultural and social attitudes of the communities that the interred once belonged to (Smith, 2020). The endangerment and potential for erasure of historical cemeteries throughout the United States is especially high for communities that consist of historically oppressed groups (Lemke, 2020). Incidences of destruction and neglect often result in “lost” burial grounds that appear overgrown and uncared for but may also present opportunities for the remedying of racial injustices.   

Interest in researching the relationship between burial sites and biodiversity grew continuously between the years 1970 and 2000 (Löki, 2019). While most publications have come out of European and Asian countries, research on this topic in North America composes 10% of publications listed on Google Scholar (Löki, 2019). Even with this limited body of research, there is a clear trend that cemeteries serve dual functions:  as sacred grounds for people, and as refuges for countless types of lifeforms, including taxa such as: lichens (Hawksworth, 1989), fungi (Brown, 2006), plants (Sigiel-Dopierala, 2011) and wildlife (Kocian, 2003). The considerably high biodiversity of burial grounds is, in part, a consequence of neglect and the wooded, restful spaces that have grown in as a result. This is a notable quality of cemeteries, especially given the projected loss of biodiversity in a time of global climate change. Ecologists and environmental scientists are increasingly urging managers of cemeteries to preserve local ecologies as well as the social heritage that are provided by sacred burial grounds. As many cemeteries already have long-term management plans in place to accommodate for the interred, incorporating environmental health and habitat creation into these plans can have lasting value to the many species that share the cemetery with our resting loved ones.     

Minimizing the development of cemeteries so that the wild aesthetic of these spaces is maintained, managing for the spread of invasive understory species, and advocating for active stewardship of cemeteries are effective practices for promoting and maintaining cemeteries as biodiversity hot spots. The proposed design of Brooklyn Cemetery, the 2012 Master Plan and the 2021 Implementation Plan includes some of these methods.