The Grass Is Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence: The Flora in Urban Backyards of Different Social Classes

Sanz, Juan Pedro Ruiz; Albertin, Ricardo Massulo; Silva, Frederico Fonseca da

doi:10.1590/1809-4422asoc141293v2012017

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Whilst few Brazilian cities have been studied from the viewpoint of urban ecology, several studies report high levels of environmental inequality, with vegetation cover lower in areas of poverty. This pattern has been observed in São Paulo (Lombardo 1985); Presidente Prudente (Gomes and Amorim 2002); Maringá and Sarandi (Angeoletto et al 2017) and Rondonópolis (Duarte et al 2017). Consequently, inhabitants of these areas experience less contact with nature and lower provision of ecosystem services, such as the amelioration of the urban heat island (Lombardo 1985).…”

Section: Urbanisation and Urban Greenspace In Brazilmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Growing urban ecological research indicates that Brazilian cities support rich biodiversity. Hundreds of plant species (Angeoletto et al 2017) and diverse bird communities (Reis et al 2012) inhabit backyards in Brazilian cities. A recent study found that almost half Brazil's bat species have been recorded in cities (Nunes et al 2017).…”

Section: Urban Ecology As An Academic Discipline In Brazilmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding and Applying Ecological Principles in Cities

et al. 2019

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Renaturing cities requires a thorough understanding of how plants and animals interact with the urban environment and humans. But cities are a challenging environment for ecologists to work in, with high levels of heterogeneity and rapid rates of change. In addition, the hostile conditions often found in cities mean that each city, and region of a city, can have their own unique geographical context. In this chapter, we contrast urban ecological research in the UK and Brazil, to demonstrate the challenges and approaches needed to renature cities. In so doing, we provide a platform for global transferability of these locally contextualised approaches. The UK has a long history of urbanisation and, as a result of increasing extinction debts over 200 years, well-established urban ecological research. Research is generally focused on encouraging species back into the city. In contrast, Brazil is a biodiversity hotspot with relatively rich urban flora and fauna. This rich ecosystem is imperilled by current rapid urbanisation and lack of support for urban nature by citydwellers. By working together and transferring expertise, UK and Brazilian researchers stand a better chance of understanding urban ecological processes and unlocking renaturing processes in each location. We present one such method for applying ecological knowledge to cities, so-called Ecological Engineering, in particular by discussing ecomimicry-the adaptive approach needed to apply global ecological principles to local urban challenges. By reading the ecological landscape in which urban developments sit and applying tailored green infrastructure solutions to new developments and greenspaces, cities may be able to reduce the rate at which extinction debt is accumulated. 15.1.Why Is Urban Ecology Important for Renaturing? Constanza et al. (2014) determined that natural ecosystems provide $125 trillion of ecosystem service provision to human beings per year, more than twice as much as global gross domestic product (GDP). Nature provides us with the essential functions needed to support human life, from oxygen to climate regulation. The biophilia hypothesis (Wilson 1984) outlines that through our reliance on nature, as hunter-gatherers and agronomists, we have developed an innate affinity with the natural world. Evidence shows that regular contact with nature lowers stress-levels (Hartig et al. 2014). Yet, whilst cities can support surprisingly diverse natural communities (Aronson et al. 2014) and threatened species (Ives et al. 2016), urbanisation processes generally cause native species and

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Section: Urbanisation and Urban Greenspace In Brazilmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Urban Ecology As An Academic Discipline In Brazilmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding and Applying Ecological Principles in Cities

et al. 2019

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“…The importance of urban ecological services has been highlighted due to population growth, expansion of urban areas (SANESI et al, 2016;SARTORI et al, 2019;SHODA et al, 2020) and recent research on the trees valuation (JONES et al 2018). Afforestation is even an indication of population's financial quality; neighborhoods whose residents show more financial income tend to be more wooded (ANGEOLETTO et al, 2017;ANGEOLETTON et al, 2018). It should be noted that urban expansions occur mainly due to housing construction in inadequate land use conditions (SARTORI et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crown projection area of Licania tomentosa (Benth.) Fritsch (Chrysobalanaceae), estimated by linear regression / Área de projeção da copa de Licania tomentosa (Benth.) Fritsch (Chrysobalanaceae), estimada por regressão linear

Alves¹,

Monteiro²,

Ribeiro³

et al. 2021

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Knowledge of the Crown Projection Area (CPA) allows to make inferences about the shading and to know space occupied by a tree. However, crown measurements are more time-consuming and laborious when compared to those of Circumference Breast Height (CBH). Thus, this work aimed to evaluate regression models and present the most suitable to CPA estimate of Licania tomentosa, in an urban area of São João Evangelista municipality, Brazil. Fifty trees distributed over 7 public roads were sampled. CBH and Crown Diameter (CD, m) were measured for later calculation of its projection area (CPA, m2). Four regression models were tested in order to estimate CPA as a function of CBH alone. The equation derived from of the model “” showed a homoscedastic distribution of the percentage residues, with closer deviations around the abscissa axis. It is concluded that the equation obtained with the adjustment of the simple linear model was the most efficient to estimate of the crown projection area of L. tomentosa. This projection area increased as the stem of the trees thickened.

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“…Therefore, the different rates do not respond in the same way to urbanization and human influence on urban ecosystems. Cultural factors such as the habit of keeping birdseed dispensers for birds in backyards [ 20 , 21 ], or the maintenance of green areas for the practice of candomblé , an Afro-Brazilian religion, increase support for urban biodiversity [ 22 ]. On the other hand, relatively few species of mammals have successfully established themselves in urban ecosystems [ 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Map-A-Mole: Greenspace Area Influences the Presence and Abundance of the European Mole Talpa europaea in Urban Habitats

Fellowes

Acquaah-Harrison

Santos

et al. 2020

Animals

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The European mole Talpa europaea is common across much of Britain. It has a unique fossorial lifestyle, and evidence of its presence is readily identified through the presence of characteristic molehills. Although molehills are often a common sight in urban greenspaces, moles are remarkably understudied, with very few studies to date exploring the urban ecology of moles. Here, we investigate if factors such as greenspace (largely urban parks and playing fields) area, intensity of management, distance to nearest patch, amount of time the patch had been isolated from other green patches, and the amount of urbanization (constructed surfaces) surrounding the patch, influence the distribution and abundance of urban moles. Mole signs (hills and surface runs) were counted in all discrete urban greenspaces (excluding domestic gardens and one private golf course) within an 89.5 km2 area in the UK town of Reading. We found that 17 out of 59 surveyed sites contained moles, with their presence being recorded in greenspaces with a minimum patch area of approximately 0.1 km2 (10 ha). Where present, the abundance of mole territories in the greenspaces was associated with both the area of greenspace and degree of urbanization within 150 m of the patch boundary. While the former was not surprising, the latter outcome may be a consequence of sites with an increased risk of flooding being home to fewer moles, and the surrounding area is also less likely to be built upon. This case study highlights how choices made in designing urban green infrastructure will determine which species survive in urban areas long into the future.

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The Grass Is Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence: The Flora in Urban Backyards of Different Social Classes

Cited by 9 publications

References 46 publications

Understanding and Applying Ecological Principles in Cities

Understanding and Applying Ecological Principles in Cities

Crown projection area of Licania tomentosa (Benth.) Fritsch (Chrysobalanaceae), estimated by linear regression / Área de projeção da copa de Licania tomentosa (Benth.) Fritsch (Chrysobalanaceae), estimada por regressão linear

Map-A-Mole: Greenspace Area Influences the Presence and Abundance of the European Mole Talpa europaea in Urban Habitats

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