Residential yard management and landscape cover affect urban bird community diversity across the continental USA

Abstract

Urbanization has a homogenizing effect on biodiversity and leads to communities with fewer native species and lower conservation value. However, few studies have explored whether or how land management by urban residents can ameliorate the deleterious effects of this homogenization on species composition. We tested the effects of local (land management) and neighborhood‐scale (impervious surface and tree canopy cover) features on breeding bird diversity in six US metropolitan areas that differ in regional species pools and climate. We used a Bayesian multiregion community model to assess differences in species richness, functional guild richness, community turnover, population vulnerability, and public interest in each bird community in six land management types: two natural area park types (separate and adjacent to residential areas), two yard types with conservation features (wildlife‐certified and water conservation) and two lawn‐dominated yard types (high‐ and low‐fertilizer application), and surrounding neighborhood‐scale features. Species richness was higher in yards compared with parks; however, parks supported communities with high conservation scores while yards supported species of high public interest. Bird communities in all land management types were composed of primarily native species. Within yard types, species richness was strongly and positively associated with neighborhood‐scale tree canopy cover and negatively associated with impervious surface. At a continental scale, community turnover between cities was lowest in yards and highest in parks. Within cities, however, turnover was lowest in high‐fertilizer yards and highest in wildlife‐certified yards and parks. Our results demonstrate that, across regions, preserving natural areas, minimizing impervious surfaces and increasing tree canopy are essential strategies to conserve regionally important species. However, yards, especially those managed for wildlife support diverse, heterogeneous bird communities with high public interest and potential to support species of conservation concern. Management approaches that include the preservation of protected parks, encourage wildlife‐friendly yards and acknowledge how public interest in local birds can advance successful conservation in American residential landscapes.

COVID-19 Changed Human-Nature Interactions across Green Space Types: Evidence of Change in Multiple Types of Activities from the West Bank, Palestine

“…Gardening activities proved an important affordable supplemental food source, alleviating the fresh food supply crisis particularly in rural areas [24,26]. Depending on their configuration, gardens can also provide appropriate and important habitat and food resources for different taxonomic groups including birds [27,28], mammals [29] and insects [30,31].…”

Ecological homogenization of soil properties in the American residential macrosystem

“…These norms and behaviors (Nassauer, 2017; Robbins, 2007) drive a process of urban ecological homogenization where continental‐scale land‐use change yields residential landscapes and ecosystems that are more similar to each other than the diverse native ecosystems that they replaced (Groffman et al, 2014; Pouyat et al, 2015). This homogenization has been documented for hydrography (Steele et al, 2014), microclimate (Hall et al, 2015), plants (Padullés Cubino et al, 2019; Pearse et al, 2018; Wheeler et al, 2017), insects, and birds (Lerman et al, 2021). Homogenization has been documented for a variety of soil variables including C (Herrmann et al, 2020; Pouyat et al, 2015) and N concentrations and δ 15 N (Trammell et al, 2020), particle size (Herrmann et al, 2020), and soil chemistry (Pouyat et al, 2008).…”

The ecological role of native‐plant landscaping in residential yards to birds during the nonbreeding period

“…One feature of urban ecosystems that has gained attention as potential habitat for wildlife is residential yards (or gardens) (Cannon, 1999; Gaston & Gaston, 2010; Goddard et al, 2010, 2013, 2017; Lerman et al, 2021; Lerman & Warren, 2011; Narango et al, 2017; Sperling & Lortie, 2010). Residential yards comprise a substantial percentage of land cover in many urban areas worldwide, and therefore, are a significant component of a city's greenspace (Gaston & Gaston, 2010; Ossola et al, 2019).…”