High richness of exotic trees in tropical urban green spaces: Reproductive systems, fruiting and associated risks to native species

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 126659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jéssica Luiza de Souza e Silva ◽  
Marcela Tomaz Pontes de Oliveira ◽  
Willams Oliveira ◽  
Laís Angélica Borges ◽  
Oswaldo Cruz-Neto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Reproductive Systems ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Exotic Trees

scholarly journals The effect of urban green roof design on beetle biodiversity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sydney Gonsalves ◽  
Olyssa Starry ◽  
Alexander Szallies ◽  
Stephan Brenneisen
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Green Roof ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Green Roofs ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Invertebrate Diversity

Abstract The value of urban green spaces to biodiversity conservation depends on the design and management. The importance of habitat quality and complexity to species diversity has led to the suggestion that habitat design elements—varied substrate depth, greater plant diversity, logs or stones—would support invertebrate diversity on green roofs. To evaluate this possibility, we conducted pit-fall trap sampling on three green roofs of simple design (intended primarily for stormwater management), three habitat roofs, and five ground-level green spaces, in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. Beetles (Coleoptera) were sampled as representatives of total invertebrate diversity. Diversity was compared using sample coverage and Hill numbers to account for differences in sample intensity and fundamental differences in species diversity. Both habitat roofs and ground sites consisted of just over 20% native species, while stormwater roofs had about 5% native species, all of which were considered pests. We collected a greater abundance of beetles on the ground compared to roof sites like others have shown. However, when sample completeness is taken into account, habitat roofs had greater Shannon diversity compared to both ground and stormwater roof sites. Habitat roofs had the fewest dominant species representing 5% or more of total abundance, but also the lowest percent of species represented by singletons (27%). These results indicate that green roofs can support different beetle communities compared to those present at ground-level urban green spaces; our results also support previous findings that biodiverse design can reliably increase green roof diversity compared to more simply designed roofs.

scholarly journals Optimising Artificial Moss Growth for Environmental Studies in the Mediterranean Area

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2523
Author(s):  
Zulema Varela ◽  
Carlos Real ◽  
Cristina Branquinho ◽  
Teresa Afonso do Paço ◽  
Ricardo Cruz de Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Optimal Growth ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Change Scenario ◽  
Moss Species ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Slow Growth Rate ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
The Mediterranean

Bryophytes are poikilohydric organisms that play a key role in ecosystems, while some of them are also resistant to drought and environmental disturbances but present a slow growth rate. Moss culture in the laboratory can be a very useful tool for ecological restoration or the development of urban green spaces (roof and wall) in the Mediterranean region. Therefore, we aim to: (i) determine the optimal culture conditions for the growth of four moss species present in the Mediterranean climate, such as Bryum argenteum, Hypnum cupressiforme, Tortella nitida, and Tortella squarrosa; (ii) study the optimal growth conditions of the invasive moss Campylopus introflexus to find out if it can be a threat to native species. Photoperiod does not seem to cause any recognisable pattern in moss growth. However, temperature produces more linear but slower growth at 15 °C than at 20 and 25 °C. In addition, the lower temperature produced faster maximum cover values within 5–8 weeks, with at least 60% of the culture area covered. The study concludes that the culture of moss artificially in the organic gardening substrate without fertilisers is feasible and could be of great help for further use in environmental projects to restore degraded ecosystems or to facilitate urban green spaces in the Mediterranean area. Moreover, this study concludes that C. introflexus could successfully occupy the niche of other native moss species, especially in degraded areas, in a future global change scenario.

scholarly journals The Socioeconomic Welfare of Urban Green Areas and Parks; A Literature Review of Available Evidence

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7863
Author(s):  
Antonios Kolimenakis ◽  
Alexandra D. Solomou ◽  
Nikolaos Proutsos ◽  
Evangelia V. Avramidou ◽  
Evangelia Korakaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Urban Policy ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Exclusion Criteria ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Green Areas ◽  
Green Areas

Urban green areas present a lucid example for the harmonious co-existence of the artificial and natural environments best illustrated by their interdependence and interconnection in urban spaces. Urban green areas are essential for the health and wellbeing of citizens. The present study aimed to investigate those multiple benefits for citizens that arise through the existence of urban green areas, as well as important policy dimensions that should be considered when designing the expansion of urban green spaces in urban development. The study was based on a literature review to examine for available evidence on the benefit levels derived by the existence of urban green areas. An extended literature review was followed by a structured review, based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, which partly followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The search was conducted in two databases, and a total of 1674 articles and abstracts were identified through the database searches. After removing 114 duplicates, 1560 records were initially screened based on title and abstract. Following inclusion and exclusion criteria, 14 articles were incorporated in the structured review and a total of 47 in the extended review. The extended literature review identified 33 additional articles examining aspects of benefits that did not fall under the pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria used in the structured review, such as health benefits and other social parameters associated with urban green spaces. The selected studies were allocated in five principal groups according to study types: three of the them consisted of studies employing “willingness to pay” (WTP) methods, five were based on property values, two studies assigned monetary values, while another two assigned CO2 values, and, finally, two studies were based on qualitative criteria. The results indicated benefits to citizens and increased welfare levels gained by the existence of urban green areas. The conducted review revealed a number of findings and recommendations that could direct future research and urban policy. Those hints could assist local authorities as well as stakeholders in order to measure and assess the benefits of green spaces and urban parks and promote measures and programs to assist their further deployment.

Social inequalities in the associations between urban green spaces, self-perceived health and mortality in Brussels: Results from a census-based cohort study

2021 ◽  
Vol 70 ◽  
pp. 102603
Author(s):  
Lucía Rodriguez-Loureiro ◽  
Lidia Casas ◽  
Mariska Bauwelinck ◽  
Wouter Lefebvre ◽  
Charlotte Vanpoucke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Perceived Health ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Health And Mortality

scholarly journals Mapping Public Urban Green Spaces Based on OpenStreetMap and Sentinel-2 Imagery Using Belief Functions

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 251
Author(s):  
Christina Ludwig ◽  
Robert Hecht ◽  
Sven Lautenbach ◽  
Martin Schorcht ◽  
Alexander Zipf
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Quality Of Life ◽  
Shafer Theory ◽  
Sentinel 2

Public urban green spaces are important for the urban quality of life. Still, comprehensive open data sets on urban green spaces are not available for most cities. As open and globally available data sets, the potential of Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and OpenStreetMap (OSM) data for urban green space mapping is high but limited due to their respective uncertainties. Sentinel-2 imagery cannot distinguish public from private green spaces and its spatial resolution of 10 m fails to capture fine-grained urban structures, while in OSM green spaces are not mapped consistently and with the same level of completeness everywhere. To address these limitations, we propose to fuse these data sets under explicit consideration of their uncertainties. The Sentinel-2 derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index was fused with OSM data using the Dempster–Shafer theory to enhance the detection of small vegetated areas. The distinction between public and private green spaces was achieved using a Bayesian hierarchical model and OSM data. The analysis was performed based on land use parcels derived from OSM data and tested for the city of Dresden, Germany. The overall accuracy of the final map of public urban green spaces was 95% and was mainly influenced by the uncertainty of the public accessibility model.

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