Are Collembola flying onto green roofs?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Joimel ◽  
Laure Vieublé-Gonod ◽  
Baptiste Grard ◽  
Claire Chenu
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Green Roofs ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Soil Biodiversity ◽  
Great Opportunity ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
Urban People

<p><strong>Are Collembola flying onto green roofs?  </strong></p><p>With a worldwide urban population projected to reach 5 billion by 2030 (Véron, 2007), the roles and benefits of urban green spaces cannot be denied, like climate regulation by trees or water flow regulation (Gómez-Baggethun and Barton, 2013). If green spaces are among the new societal expectations of urban people, they also play a crucial role in preserving biodiversity in urban areas. Among them, green roofs are a great opportunity to create green space in cities as they represent 32% of cities’ horizontal surfaces (Frazer, 2005). Their installation is also perceived as a possible way to preserve biodiversity in cities. However, the effectiveness of green roofs in supporting biodiversity, especially soil biodiversity, has rarely been studied.</p><p>Thanks to different research programmes (TROL, SEMOIRS and T4P), we investigated the taxonomic and functional collembolan biodiversity in both extensive and productive green roofs as well as in ground-level urban microfarms in order to (i) evaluate the effectiveness of green roofs in supporting soil biodiversity, (ii) identify the mechanisms of colonisation by soil organisms and (iii) separate the effect of landscape and soil conditions on collembolan communities assemblages.</p><p>Surprisingly, green roofs are supporting high levels of soil biodiversity. Despite various soil characteristics (organic matter and water avaibility), no difference was found between extensive roofs and rooftop gardens concerning the taxonomical structures of collembolan communities (e.g. species richness, abundances). In contrast, there are differences concerning both taxonomic and functional compositions. Two ways of colonisation are suggested: a passive wind dispersal − the “flying” collembolans − and a settlement through compost inputs. We conclude that stakeholders should take into account the spatial connections of green roofs with other green spaces in order to support urban soil biodiversity.</p>

scholarly journals Perceptions of spatial patterns of visitors in urban green spaces for the sustainability of smart city

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 155014772110340
Author(s):  
Qi Liu ◽  
Li Hou ◽  
Sana Shaukat ◽  
Usman Tariq ◽  
Rabia Riaz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Statistical Testing ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Green Areas ◽  
Urban People

Urban green spaces are really vital for the well-being of human in urban areas. In urban planning for green space site selection, the study of the bond among the usage of green spaces and their categories that really influence their use can provide useful references. A spatial and temporal research on the allocation of visitors in 157 green areas was carried out in Shanghai to know which green spaces are denser or crowdsourced by utilizing social media big data. We evaluated the association with statistical testing and Kernel Density Estimation among the spatial pattern of the visitor spread in urban green areas. We used check-in data from social media to test this study comparing the number of humans who visit various green parks. We have classified green areas into various categories and our main findings are focused on their characteristics: (1) famous category of green parks according to visitors’ preferences, (2) Differences in the number of visitors by daytime, and (3) crowdsourced area based upon number of check-ins. The main aim of this article is to remind policy makers of the value of providing local people access to green areas and to empower cities with a framework for contacting green parks with the purpose of increasing the comfort of urban people with the architecture of smart city.

scholarly journals Establishment of a Geographic Information System-Based Algorithm to Analyze Suitable Locations for Green Roofs and Roadside Trees

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 7368
Author(s):  
Heeju Kim ◽  
Kyushik Oh ◽  
Dongwoo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Geographic Information System ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Green Roofs ◽  
Urban Ecosystem ◽  
Geographic Information ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Urban Green Spaces

Urban green spaces offer various ecosystem services such as those for controlling the urban microclimate, improving water circulation, and providing leisure and recreation opportunities. However, it is almost impossible to create new, large green spaces in cities where urbanization has been long underway. Consequently, small-scale green spaces such as green roofs and roadside trees are gaining attention as features that can increase the effects of ecosystem services. Although the area of individual buildings in urban areas is relatively small, the sum of building rooftop areas account for a large portion of urban areas. Moreover, there are areas widely available throughout cities where street trees could be planted. However, this requires large amounts of accurate databases (DBs) and long-term spatial analyses to identify specific locations suitable for small-scale green facilities on a citywide scale using a geographic information system (GIS). Consequently, in-depth research on this topic has been insufficient. Thus, this study presents an algorithm to analyze locations where green roofs and roadside trees could be introduced based on GIS spatial analysis and verifies the effectiveness of the algorithm built for the city of Seoul. In addition, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling is performed to analyze the temperature reduction effect, the representative function of ecosystem control services that can be brought about by the potential green spaces. The results show that rooftop greening in study areas is possible in 311,793 of 742,770 buildings. The rooftop floor area of buildings that can apply rooftop greening is 33,288,745 m2, which is about 50% of the total area of the rooftop in Seoul. It was found that roadside trees could be planted on a sidewalk with an extension length of 872,725 m and an area of 838,864 m2. A total of 145,366 trees can be planted in the study area. In addition, it was shown that the introduction of green roofs reduced temperatures by 0.13 °C to 0.14 °C and roadside trees reduced temperatures by 0.14 °C to 0.6 °C. With the growing need to improve urban ecosystem services as a result of rapid climate change, the algorithm developed in this study can be utilized to create spatial policies that expand and manage urban green spaces and thereby contribute to the improvement of urban ecosystem services.

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 Socioeconomic Differences in Walking Time of Children and Adolescents to Public Green Spaces in Urban Areas—Results of the German Environmental Survey (2014–2017)

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2326
Author(s):  
Julia Rehling ◽  
Christiane Bunge ◽  
Julia Waldhauer ◽  
André Conrad
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Environmental Survey ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Public Green Space ◽  
Walking Time

Public green spaces have a high potential for a positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing, especially in urban areas. Studies on environmental justice indicate socially unequal access possibilities to urban green spaces. This article presents results on associations between individual socioeconomic position (SEP) and walking time from home to public green spaces in young people living in urban areas with more than 20,000 inhabitants in Germany. Data were derived from the German Environmental Survey for Children and Adolescents 2014–2017 (GerES V), the environmental module of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS Wave 2). The sample comprises 1149 participants aged 3 to 17 years. A total of 51.5% of the participants reach a public green space on foot within five and 72.8% within ten minutes from home. The lower the participant’s SEP, the longer the walking time. Logistic regression models controlling for age group, sex, migration background, and region of residence show that participants with a low SEP have a significantly higher risk (odds ratio = 1.98; 95% confidence interval: 1.31–2.99) of needing more than ten minutes to walk from home to a public green space than participants with a high SEP. GerES V data indicate that young people living in urban areas in Germany do not equally benefit from the health-promoting potential of green spaces, which is an important aspect of environmental health inequalities.

scholarly journals Potential of urban green spaces for supporting horticultural production: a national scale analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lael E Walsh ◽  
Bethan R Mead ◽  
Charlotte A Hardman ◽  
Daniel Evans ◽  
Lingxuan Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Fruit And Vegetables ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Scale Analysis ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Domestic Production ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces

Abstract As urban areas and land-use constraints grow, there is increasing interest in utilizing urban spaces for food production. Several studies have uncovered significant potential for urban growing to supplement production of fruit and vegetables, focusing on one or two cities as case studies, whilst others have assessed the global scale potential. Here, we provide a national-scale analysis of the horticultural production potential of urban green spaces, which is a relevant scale for agri-food and urban development policy making using Great Britain (GB) as a case study. Urban green spaces available for horticultural production across GB are identified and potential yields quantified based on three production options. The distribution of urban green spaces within 26 urban towns and cities across GB are then examined to understand the productive potential compared to their total extent and populations. Urban green spaces in GB, at their upper limit, have the capacity to support production that is 8x greater than current domestic production of fruit and vegetables. This amounts to 38% of current domestic production and imports combined, or >400% if exotic fruits and vegetables less suited to GB growing conditions are excluded. Most urban green spaces nationally are found to fall within a small number of categories, with private residential gardens and amenity spaces making up the majority of space. By examining towns and cities across GB in further detail, we find that the area of green space does not vary greatly between urban conurbations of different sizes, and all are found to have substantial potential to meet the dietary needs of the local urban population. This study highlights that national policies can be suitably developed to support urban agriculture and that making use of urban green spaces for food production could help to enhance the resilience of the national-scale food system to shocks in import pathways, or disruptions to domestic production and distribution.

scholarly journals Home range expansion in response to temperature by evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) in an urban environment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Hall ◽  
Victoria Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Activity Period ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces

Abstract Background: Despite the negative connotation of urban sprawl for bat populations, fragmented green spaces such as parks, cemeteries, and golf courses have the potential to provide necessary resources for bats. For example, water resources in these areas can include natural or semi-natural lakes, ponds, streams, and drainage ditches. Such water resources, however, are frequently ephemeral when subject to prolonged periods of high temperatures. We, therefore, hypothesize that bats will expand or shift their home ranges from these urban green spaces into the surrounding neighborhoods to access alternative resources, such as residential swimming pools. Methods: To explore whether bats expand their ranges from urban green spaces, we conducted a telemetry study in which we radio-tracked resident evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) in a local park system during their summer activity period from 2017-2019 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. From radio-tracking surveys, we measured home range size using a k-LoCoH method and the percentage of these home ranges that fell within the park system. We compared these variables using linear and non-linear regressions with temperature. Results: We successfully tracked a total of 30 bats over the 3-year period and found a positive correlation between home range size and temperature. Furthermore, we observed that home ranges increased 6 times in size when temperatures exceeded 30ºC. Conclusions: Our study indicates the importance of urban neighborhoods surrounding green spaces in providing alternative resources, such as water, for bats. If managed appropriately, these urban areas have the potential to act as urban oases for bat populations, which in turn can contribute to their conservation.

A Score-based Method for Assessing the Importance of Urban Forest and its Ecosystem Services

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (01) ◽  
pp. 35-46
Author(s):  
Shalini Dhyani ◽  
Pooja S. Fulwadhani ◽  
Nihal Gujre ◽  
Satish R. Wate
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Importance Value ◽  
Engineering Research ◽  
Urban Green Spaces

Urban scape constitutes the manifestation of various natural and anthropic elements entangled in a specific form. However, arbitrary land-use changes during the last few decades have witnessed a significant biodiversity loss in urban areas. Over 50% of the earth’s human population lives in the urban settlement, which accounts for less than 3% of the earth’s urbanized area. Urban green spaces act as biodiversity refuge in urban areas. In such crucial circumstances, an urban forest can play a critical role in biodiversity conservation and management through academic green spaces. To understand and evaluate the role of the urban forest, the present study carried out on the campus of [CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI)], Nagpur. Furthermore, an innovative and multifaceted index named total importance value (TIV) index was developed, which used to analyze the importance of the trees present on the campus. Results revealed the presence of more than 200 plant species belonging to both native and exotic groups and their contributions to improve the urban environment in terms of the TIV index. The study also advocates the usages of TIV as a framework for the development and planning of climate-smart green cities, which is resilience to climate change.

scholarly journals Quantifying Rapid Urbanization and its impact on Urban Green Spaces: Directional and Zonal Analysis integrated with Landscape Expansion Index

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eyasu markos woldesemayat
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Addis Ababa ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Urban Zone

Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is urbanizing rapidly in recent years mainly through the destruction of environmental resources. This study aimed at the dynamics of urban green spaces (UGS). Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) was used to extract land use and land cover data. The Landscape Expansion Index (LEI) was employed to measure urban growth patterns. The result showed that a more noticeable growth was observed in the peri-urban zone (40.1km2 to 176.1km2), followed by the inner urban zone (from 67.1km2 to 105km2). The expansion in the urban core zone was marginal and followed a non-unidirectional trend i.e. increased in the first period (1989-1999) and second period (1999-2009) by (0.11% and 4.2%), while decreased in the third period (2009-2019) by 3.6%. The result for LEI dynamics showed that the city experienced a pronounced outlying growth (98%) pattern, while edge expansion and infilling growth were insignificant. Conversely, the UGS declined in the inner urban zone by (18.03%), (28.61%) and (18.97%) in the first, second, and third periods. Similarly, in the peri-urban zone, the UGS persistently declined by (11.5%), (17.1%) and, (28.03%). The directional analysis showed that urban areas significantly expanded in SEE, SSE, SSW, and NEE with a net increase of 5.35, 4.4 km, 2.83, and 2.3 km2/year, respectively. Conventional large-scale /citywide/ dynamics investigations are not robust enough to represent the actual magnitude and directions of change, while the zonal and directional study is more effective in characterizing the Spatio-temporal dynamics for better urban planning towards.

scholarly journals Accessibility to and Availability of Urban Green Spaces (UGS) to Support Health and Wellbeing during the COVID-19 Pandemic—The Case of Bologna

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 11054
Author(s):  
Claudia De Luca ◽  
Andrea Libetta ◽  
Elisa Conticelli ◽  
Simona Tondelli
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
The City

In accordance with SDG N11.7, each city should work on providing “by 2030, universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities”. This target became even more crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. This paper presents and discuss a method for (i) assessing the current distribution and accessibility of urban green spaces (UGSs) in a city using hierarchical network distances; and (ii) quantifying the per capita values of accessible UGSs, also in light of the restrictions in place, namely social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The methods have been tested in the city of Bologna, and the results highlight urban areas that suffer from a scarcity of accessible UGSs and identify potentially overcrowded UGSs, assessing residents’ pressure over diverse UGSs of the city in question. Based on our results, this work allows for the identification of priorities of intervention to overcome these issues, while also considering temporary solutions for facing the eventual scarce provision of UGSs and related health and wellbeing benefits in periods of movement restrictions.

scholarly journals The Traditional Enjoyment of Noted Natural Places in Urban South Korea

Urban Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Park ◽  
Shimomura ◽  
Yamamoto ◽  
Nakamura
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Mountain Streams ◽  
Literature Analysis ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Urban Green Spaces ◽  
Urban South ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Geomorphological Features

Records indicate the existence of noted natural places, where several people from various classes used to enjoy the natural environment in a part of present-day city of Seoul during the Korean Dynasties period. This study aimed to clarify the traditional methods of enjoying noted natural places in South Korea’s urban areas by classifying the relationship between the method of enjoyment and the locations of the noted natural places, including their geomorphological features. Literature analysis was employed, and 29 noted natural places were extracted from the descriptions and pictures of old documents. The results revealed that six types of scenery—plants and mountain streams—were enjoyed and the ways of enjoying were classified into 15 subtypes. Additionally, the methods of enjoyment were related to five types of geomorphological features, including mountain streams and rivers, high grounds, etc. In conclusion, it was determined that a combination of scenery and geomorphological features determined the methods of enjoying noted natural places. Knowledge on the relationship between traditional methods of enjoyment and location types is considered to provide important findings to provide urban citizens with various methods of enjoyment and more effectively develop and utilize urban green spaces.

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