Urban areas and isolated remnants of natural habitats: an action proposal for botanical gardens

Pinheiro, Marcelo Henrique Ongaro; Neto, Luiz C. de Almeida; Monteiro, Reinaldo

doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-5283-5_23

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…For example, countries of the Arab League, of which Lebanon is a member, have the lowest number of botanic gardens, the lowest number of gardens per total area and the lowest number of gardens per number of individuals. This discrepancy in the number of botanic gardens has also been noted for other tropical regions of the world, which are under-represented considering the high biodiversity they harbour in contrast to countries in temperate-zone climates which have the largest concentration of botanic gardens (Pinheiro et al, 2006). Furthermore, the species richness in many tropical gardens is low and does not reflect the natural biodiversity richness of the tropics, hence the necessity to better sustain botanic gardens in the tropics (Parmentier & Pautasso, 2010).…”

Section: T H E C H a N G I N G Ro L E O F T R A Di T Io Na L Bo Ta N mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Locally derived strategies to set up botanical gardens have been proposed for regions of the world that have critical economic and political situations. Pinheiro et al (2006) suggested a strategy that is more suitable to tropical regions, namely municipal botanic gardens, established on small natural vegetation remnants, especially those at the peripheries of urban settlements. The authors suggest that municipal botanic gardens can offer city dwellers an easy opportunity to understand the importance of preserving their natural resources.…”

Section: O N C Lusio Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ancillary Botanic Gardens in Lebanon

et al. 2014

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Botanic gardens are integral to the process of plant conservation and development, but international conservation targets set down in the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation are unlikely to be met in countries such as Lebanon, where land is limited, real-estate value is high, conservation as a national priority is low and scientific botanical knowledge is not prevalent.This paper proposes the recognition of a complementary category of gardens, ancillary botanic gardens (ABGs), which formalise local garden initiatives and facilitate options to tackle space limitations. ABGs are informal, deregulated gardens for the conservation of plant diversity and cultural plant knowledge; they are established by local communities in open sites which have existing levels of land protection owing to their primary purpose as archaeological sites, educational institutions, religious landholdings, private institutions and touristic sites.

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Section: T H E C H a N G I N G Ro L E O F T R A Di T Io Na L Bo Ta N mentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: O N C Lusio Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancillary Botanic Gardens in Lebanon

et al. 2014

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“…They are also susceptible to fragmentation effects (e.g., obstruction of dispersal patterns, reproductive isolation, inflow of synanthropic species), as they become increasingly isolated as the city expands its boundaries (Collinge 1996, Pinheiro et al 2006). Remnant habitats are interesting because they are preserved habitats that mimic wildlands.…”

Section: Remnant Communities Are Intermediate Between Urban and Wildlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Remnant habitats are interesting because they are preserved habitats that mimic wildlands. They are also susceptible to fragmentation effects (e.g., obstruction of dispersal patterns, reproductive isolation, inflow of synanthropic species), as they become increasingly isolated as the city expands its boundaries (Collinge 1996, Pinheiro et al 2006). In the Phoenix (Arizona, USA) metropolitan area, the distance from the city core to the urban fringe increased by one mile (;1.61 km) per year from 1990 to 1998 (Gober and Burns 2002).…”

Section: Remnant Communities Are Intermediate Between Urban and Wildlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Control of arthropod abundance, richness, and composition in a heterogeneous desert city

Bang

Faeth

Sabo

2012

Ecological Monographs

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There is a demand for mechanistic studies to explore underlying drivers behind observed patterns of biodiversity in urban areas. We describe a two-year field experiment in which we manipulated bottom-up (resource availability) and top-down (bird predation) forces on arthropod communities associated with a native plant, Encelia farinosa, across three landuse types-urban, desert remnant, and outlying natural desert-in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Arizona, USA. We monitored the trophic structure, richness, and similarity of the arthropod communities on these manipulated plants over a two-year period. We predicted that (1) increased water resources increase plant productivity, (2) increased productivity increases arthropod abundances, and (3) in the urban habitat, top-down forces are greater than in other habitats and limit arthropod abundances. We also predicted that urban remnant habitats are more similar to urban habitats in terms of arthropod richness and composition. Strong interannual differences due to an unusual cold and dry winter in the first year suppressed plant growth in all but urban habitats, and arthropod abundances in all habitats were severely reduced. In the following year, arthropod abundances in desert and remnant habitats were higher than in urban habitats. Water had positive effects on plant growth and arthropod abundance, but these water effects emerged through complex interactions with habitat type and the presence/absence of cages used to reduce bird predation. Plants grew larger in urban habitats, and phenology also differed between urban and desert habitats. The results from caging suggest that bird predation may not be as important in cities as previously thought, and that arthropods may retard plant growth. As expected, desert communities are strongly bottom-up regulated, but contrary to predictions, we did not find evidence for strong top-down control in the city. Remnant habitats were intermediate between desert and urban habitats in terms of diversity, richness, evenness, arthropod composition and phenology, with urban habitats generally lowest in terms of diversity, richness, and evenness. Our study shows that control of biodiversity is strongly altered in urban areas, influenced by subtle shifts in top-down and bottom-up controls that are often superseded by climatic variations and habitat type.

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“…For example, urban green spaces have been shown to provide key resources for insect conservation (Eversham et al ., 1996; McGeoch & Chown, 1997; Ong, 2003; Loram et al ., 2007). Positive effects of developed green space on insect diversity have been documented for private gardens (Gaston et al ., 2005; Smith et al ., 2006a,b), community gardens (Matteson et al ., 2008); riparian buffers (Talley et al ., 2007), public parks, zoos, and botanical gardens (Miller et al ., 2004; Tommasi et al ., 2004; Pinheiro et al ., 2006; Hannon & Hafernik, 2007), brownfields (Wood et al ., 2001; Strauss & Biedermann, 2006; Kozlov & Zvereva, 2007), roadside vegetation (Helden & Leather, 2004; Koivula et al ., 2005; Saarinen et al ., 2005), and golf courses (Frank & Shrewsbury, 2004; Hodgkison et al ., 2007; Audubon International, 2008). Even abandoned industrial areas, so‐called brownfields, can serve as local reservoirs of terrestrial (Strauss & Biedermann, 2006) and aquatic (Wood et al ., 2001) insect diversity.…”

Section: Insect Conservation In Urban Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing for conservation of insects in the built environment

Hunter

2008

Insect Conserv Diversity

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Abstract. The conservation of insects is not a priority for most urban dwellers, yet can be accomplished in urban settings by the careful design of urban nature. Our goal is to foster cross‐talk between practitioners of insect conservation biology who develop the knowledge base and professional design practitioners who are poised to apply this knowledge in designs and management plans for urban green space. The collaborative product promises a built environment that promotes human well‐being and urban beauty while maximizing the potential for the conservation of insects. There is precedence for collaboration between science and design communities to achieve conservation, and existing professional and civic organizations offer a structure to formalize and expand collaboration. Design professionals, particularly landscape architects, are trained to support insect conservation in the urban landscape through land planning and ecological site design. Ecological site design is based in principles of sustainability and so must address the well being of humans and nature simultaneously. This powerful approach for insect conservation is illustrated in examples from around the world focusing on roadway‐easement corridors, stormwater management areas, and greenroofs. To improve insect conservation and its public support we offer recommendations, organized in response to cultural aspects of sustainability. Considerations include: a) social drivers for support of conservation practices, b) public perception of urban space, c) applying conservation biology principles in urban areas, and d) merging insect conservation goals with human cultural demands.

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Urban areas and isolated remnants of natural habitats: an action proposal for botanical gardens

Cited by 5 publications

References 43 publications

Ancillary Botanic Gardens in Lebanon

Ancillary Botanic Gardens in Lebanon

Control of arthropod abundance, richness, and composition in a heterogeneous desert city

Designing for conservation of insects in the built environment

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