scholarly journals Herbert Sukopp – an inspiring pioneer in the field of urban ecology

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 445-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Kowarik
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Ecology ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
90Th Anniversary ◽  
The City ◽  
Further Development

Abstract Urban ecology is a well-established integrative discipline with many historical roots. One of the eminent pioneers of urban ecology is the German ecologist Herbert Sukopp, who works in Berlin since the late 1950s and is often referred to as the founder of the "Berlin School of Urban Ecology". On the occasion of his 90th anniversary in 2020, this paper aims to recognize and commemorate the major contributions of Sukopp to the field of urban ecology, based on his scientific work and on results of an online survey on his perception in the international scientific community. Sukopp’s contributions were groundbreaking for the establishment of urban ecology. Specifically, his work furthered: (1) the performance of comprehensive biodiversity studies across all land-use types within the city, in relation to the specifics of urban environments; (2) the establishment of modern approaches of nature conservation in cities and their integration into all land-use types, and the city as a whole; (3) the formation of a multidisciplinary conceptual basis of urban ecology as a modern science, with combined scientific and applied perspectives, ultimately aiming at the preservation and further development of nature within cities for the benefit of urban residents. Herbert Sukopp is thus an important and inspiring pioneer in the field of urban ecology.

scholarly journals Leaf Functional Traits Vary in Urban Environments: Influences of Leaf Age, Land-Use Type, and Urban–Rural Gradient

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuebo Su ◽  
Bowen Cui ◽  
Yunjian Luo ◽  
Jia Wang ◽  
Xuming Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Stomatal Density ◽  
Leaf Age ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Land Use Type ◽  
Leaf Functional Traits ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
The City

An increasing number of studies have focused on the response and adaptation of plants to urbanization by comparing differences in leaf functional traits between urban and rural sites. However, considerable uncertainties remain because differences in land-use type have not frequently been taken into account when assessing the effect of urbanization on leaf traits. In this study, we sampled the needles of Chinese pine (Pinus tabuliformis Carr.) in areas with three land-use types (roadsides, parks, and neighborhoods) along an urban–rural gradient in Beijing, China to determine the effect of urbanization on leaf functional traits. There were significant differences in the values of leaf functional traits between the needles of the current and previous year and across land-use types. Pines growing on roadsides had leaves with smaller length, width, and area, as well as lower stomatal density, compared with those growing in parks and neighborhoods. This implies that on roadsides, plant capacity to acquire resources (e.g., light and carbon dioxide) was degraded. Stomatal density, leaf width, and leaf P concentration increased with increasing distance from the city center, while leaf K concentration decreased with increasing distance from the city center. Importantly, there were significant differences in the urban–rural gradient of leaf functional traits between leaves of different ages, and across land-use types. Leaf age was the most important factor influencing leaf nutrient traits, while land-use type was the most important factor influencing leaf morphological traits in urban environments. Thus, considering the effects of the plant characteristic and land-use type on traits is important for assessing the urban–rural gradients of plant functional traits.

scholarly journals Tree Species Diversity and Socioeconomic Perspectives of the Urban (Food) Forest of Accra, Ghana

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertrand Nero ◽  
Nana Kwapong ◽  
Raymond Jatta ◽  
Oluwole Fatunbi
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Policy ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Urban Forestry ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
The City

Urban and peri-urban forestry has emerged as a complementary measure to contribute towards eliminating urban hunger and improved nutritional security. However, there is scanty knowledge about the composition, diversity, and socioeconomic contributions of urban food trees in African cities. This paper examines the diversity and composition of the urban forest and food trees of Accra and sheds light on perceptions of urbanites regarding food tree cultivation and availability in the city. Using a mixed methods approach, 105 respondents in six neighborhoods of Accra were interviewed while over 200 plots (100-m2 each) were surveyed across five land use types. Twenty-two out of the 70 woody species in Accra have edible parts (leaves, fruits, flowers, etc.). The food-tree abundance in the city is about half of the total number of trees enumerated. The species richness and abundance of the food trees and all trees in the city were significantly different among land use types (p < 0.0001) and neighborhood types (p < 0.0001). The diversity of food-bearing tree species was much higher in the poorer neighborhoods than in the wealthier neighborhoods. Respondents in wealthier neighborhoods indicated that tree and food-tree cover of the city was generally low and showed greater interest in cultivating food (fruit) trees and expanding urban forest cover than poorer neighborhoods. These findings demonstrate the need for urban food policy reforms that integrate urban-grown tree foods in the urban food system/culture.

scholarly journals Geo-Spatial Heat Index and Comfort Analysis of Port Harcourt City: An Approach to Environmental Health Care Delivery

Land Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. p18
Author(s):  
Nwaerema Peace ◽  
Bridget Edewede Diagi ◽  
Ajiere Suzan
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Health Care Delivery ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Heat Stroke ◽  
Heat Index ◽  
Port Harcourt ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
The City

This research examined the geo-spatial heat index and comfort analysis of Port Harcourt city as an approach to environmental health care delivery. Temperature data were generated from different land use types across days of the week in both wet (April to September) and dry (October to March) seasons. Heat index was derived when air temperature and dew point temperature of the locations were corresponded in the heat index chart or data logger calculator. Findings indicate that the city had experienced danger levels of discomfort above 41oC in the late dry season of January, February and March showing that heat cramps and heat exhaustion as well as heat stroke were probably to occur with continued activity of a person. On the other hand, early dry season of October, November and December had the best human comfort period of < 26.7oC temperature except Thursday and Friday with caution level of 27 to 32°C in the city of Port Harcourt; though fatigue was possible as prolonged exposure could result to heat cramps. High residential/commercial and administrative/industrial land uses had the highest human discomfort indicating that those living in these land use types would suffer extreme hazard of heat stroke. However, recreation and rural sites were the most comfortable land use types. Young children and old people are generally in more danger to the heat effects as the city has exceeded the 27oC thermal comfort threshold. It is therefore recommended that city planners and development practitioners should implement urban green policy of tree planting with special attention to residential/commercial and administrative/industrial areas without further delay in order to cushion the deadly menace of urban heat in Port Harcourt city and its environs.

scholarly journals Using urban climate modelling and improved land use classifications to support climate change adaptation in urban environments: A case study for the city of Klagenfurt, Austria

Urban Climate ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 100582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandro M. Oswald ◽  
Brigitta Hollosi ◽  
Maja Žuvela-Aloise ◽  
Linda See ◽  
Stefan Guggenberger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Urban Climate ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Climate Modelling ◽  
The City

scholarly journals Recent Land Use Changes on an Urban Watershed in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mélanie LeBlanc ◽  
Guillaume Fortin
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Urban Watershed ◽  
Surface Areas ◽  
Run Off ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
Natural Land ◽  
The City

Changes in land use, which threaten ecosystems and habitats, have an impact on run-off and water quality on urban areas. Using a GIS program we have classified the land use of the Humphreys Brook watershed and quantified the changes that have occurred using landscape metrics. A rapid growth of the city emerges from our results. All land use types of urban nature have seen an increase in surface areas to the detriment of natural land uses. Moreover the landscape indices are showing signs of rectangularity, where humans have introduced straight edges, and other common processes of transformation to the landscape.

scholarly journals Microhabitat characteristics related to seasonal roost switching: implications from a threatened and introduced cockatoo species in an urban landscape

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sifeng Wang ◽  
L. M. Chu
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Behavioural Adaptation ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
Chi Squared ◽  
Different Seasons

Abstract Background Communal roosting is a common avian social behaviour, which potentially provides foraging benefits, predation avoidance or thermoregulation in birds. To identify the crucial environmental factors associated with roost site selection, most studies have focused on the comparison of physical characteristics between roosts and non-roosts. However, the differences among roosts have usually been neglected and the causes of roost switching have seldom been investigated. Methods To explore the variations among roost sites and assess the most influential environmental factors related to seasonal roost switching, we conducted a 105-day observation on an introduced population of critically endangered Yellow-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea) in an urban environment in Hong Kong from 2014 to 2016. We identified seven roost sites that were occupied in different seasons and then measured their microhabitat characteristics in terms of land use types, human disturbance and microclimate temperature. To quantify these differences, we used Pearson’s chi-squared test, partial least squares determinant analysis (PLS-DA) and one-way repeated measures ANOVA, respectively. Results Our results distinguished roost sites occupied in three seasons, i.e. spring, summer and winter roosts, using several microhabitat characteristics. The land use types were significantly associated with roosts, where spring roosts were usually located in tree-dominated areas, which are the major feeding grounds. The discriminant analysis on human disturbance variables indicated that summer roosts were positively associated with night illumination. The microhabitat temperatures of winter roosts were significantly higher than those of most other roosts on cold nights. Conclusions The results highlighted significant variations among roosts, and seasonal roost switching was likely driven by specific microhabitat characteristics of each roost site, such as microclimate. It also helps us understand the behavioural adaptation of birds to urban environments.

scholarly journals Research of the Morphological Types of Blocks in the Old City of Nanjing

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiqian Liu
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Morphological Difference ◽  
Top Down ◽  
History Of Development ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
Old City ◽  
History Of ◽  
The City

The block is one of the basic elements of urban space and its morphology is always changing due to the accumulation and substitution of constructions in different times. This dissertation has focused on the evolution and morphological types of blocks in the old city of Nanjing, in order to reveal the characteristics of blocks in Chinese cities, where top-down plans and practical constructions have been remaining conflicted in the long history of development. Extensive studies of relevant literature, quantitative researches and graphic analyses have been adopted to meet the research aims. This research has produced a number of key findings: at the scale of the whole city, the grid of roads tend to deviate from the boundaries of morphological homogeneous districts, or to say, plan-units; blocks in the old city of Nanjing usually contain all or part of several different plan-units, which can be divided according to construction times, geographical conditions and land-use types; the morphological difference of blocks can be presented by the different plan-units contained and the configuration pattern, so in this way a classification system for blocks has been established; some regularity has also been concluded regarding the transformation of block morphology, although there are various types of blocks in the city.

scholarly journals An Assessment of Noise Levels in Sylhet City Corporation, Bangladesh

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Md. Sultan Mahmud ◽  
Rony Basak
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Noise Level ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
World Health ◽  
Noise Levels ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The City

Noise pollution is a silent villain as it’s quite easy for being ignored by us. Urban areas are more exposed to this deadly agenda as the density of population and their belongings are excessive in there. This study differentiated noise levels of Sylhet City Corporation, a growing city of Bangladesh into different types according to the land use purpose of the city like residential, silent etc. One hundred and sixty-eight noise level readings, taken at 14 different positions during the morning, afternoon, evening, and night of selective weekdays which are categorized as busy days, typical days and weekends were utilized for this research. Results put the average noise level readings in the city centers at between 45 dB(A) and 95 dB (A), dissented from the permissible limits of the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as national standardization organization: Department of Environment (DOE) in all the land use types, with the highest noise pollution levels recorded for transportation, commercial and silent typed areas. The result of the one-way ANOVA test completed where the dependent variable was noise and the independent variable was land use types uncovers a factually huge mean noise levels over the study area (F (4,115) = 9.52, p = 1.1079). Tukey’s HSD method also carried away which showed the uneven difference of noise levels between the land types. The study represents noise pollution auditing, and the immediate needs to control urban noise pollution with convenient and effective policies some of which is recommended at the end of the study.

Inspiring Capital? Deconstructing myths and reconstructing urban environments, Edinburgh, 1860–2010

Urban History ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 507-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
REBECCA MADGIN ◽  
RICHARD RODGER
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Renewal ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Capital City ◽  
International Capital ◽  
Industrial City ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Administrative Area ◽  
The City

ABSTRACT:‘Inspiring Capital’ is the sign that confronts visitors and residents alike at the boundaries of the Edinburgh administrative area. It is a consciously ambiguous message of self-promotion: the logo proclaims the dual standing of the city of Edinburgh as a European capital city and a city of international capital. The article uses a long-run approach to explore how, by inventing and nurturing a myth about Edinburgh as a non-industrial city, councillors and planners privileged the ancient and historical character of the city and so conditioned policies associated with urban renewal and land use.

scholarly journals Tree Species Diversity and Socio-economic Perspectives of the Urban (Food) Forest of Accra, Ghana

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertrand Nero ◽  
Nana Afranaa Kwapong ◽  
Raymond Jatta ◽  
Oluwole Fatunbi
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Food System ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Urban Forestry ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
African Cities ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
The City

In Africa, 80% of households in urban areas are food insecure and is coupled with a dramatically changing urban food culture towards increased consumption of sugary and fatty foods. Consequently, incidences of obesity and undernourishment in many African cities are becoming escalating. Urban and peri-urban forestry emerges as a complementary measure to contribute towards elimination of urban hunger and improved nutritional security. However, there is scanty knowledge about the composition, diversity and socioeconomic contributions of urban food trees in African cities and this hinders policy discussions integrating urban forestry into the food security discourse. This paper examines the diversity and composition of the urban forest and food trees of Accra and sheds light on perceptions of urbanites regarding food tree cultivation and availability in the city. Using a mixed methods approach, about 105 respondents in six neighbourhoods of Accra were interviewed while over 200 100-m2 plots were surveyed across five land use types. Twenty-two out of the 70 woody species in Accra are edible. The food tree abundance in the city is about half of the total number of trees enumerated. The species richness and abundance of the edible trees and all trees in the city were significantly different among land use types (p&lt;0.0001) and neighbourhood types (p&lt;0.0001). The diversity of food bearing tree species was much higher in the poorer neighbourhoods than in the wealthier neighbourhoods. Respondents in wealthier neighbourhoods indicated that tree and fruit tree cover of the city was generally low and showed greater interests in cultivating fruit trees and expanding urban forest cover than poorer neighbourhoods. These findings demonstrate the need for urban food policy reforms that integrate urban grown tree foods in the urban food system/culture.

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