Plant Biodiversity in Urbanized Areas

Plant Functional Traits in Space and Time, Plant Rarity and Phylogenetic Diversity
2010
ISBN: 978-3-8348-0923-0
Verlag: Vieweg+Teubner Verlag

Buch, Englisch, 180 Seiten, Format (B × H): 148 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 269 g

Urbanization is one of the main drivers of global change. It often takes place in areas with high biodiversity, threatening species worldwide. To protect biodiversity not only outside but also right within urban areas, knowledge about the effects of urban land use on species assemblages is essential.

Sonja Knapp compares several aspects of plant biodiversity between urban and rural areas in Germany. Using extensive databases and modern statistical methods, she goes beyond species richness: Urban areas are rich in species but plant species in urban areas are closer related to each other than plant species in rural areas, respectively. The urban environment, characterized by high temperatures and frequent disturbances, changes the functional composition of the flora. It promotes e.g. short-lived species with leaves adapted to drought but threatens insect-pollinated or wind-dispersed species. The author claims that the protection of biodiversity should not only focus on species richness but also on functional and phylogenetic diversity, also right within urban areas, to preserve a flora with a high potential for adaptation to changing global conditions.

Zielgruppe

Researchers and students from the fields of biology and plant ecology as well as town and country planners.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Knapp, Sonja

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Angewandte Ökologie
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Biodiversität
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Naturschutzbiologie, Biodiversität
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Botanik Pflanzenökologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

General Introduction.- Urbanization Causes Shifts of Species’ Trait State Frequencies – a Large Scale Analysis.- Does Urbanization Cause Shifts of Species’ Trait State Frequencies? – A Small Scale Analysis.- How Species Traits and Affinity to Urban Land Use Control Plant Species Frequency.- Changes in the Functional Composition of a Central European Urban Flora over Three Centuries.- Challenging Urban Species Diversity: Contrasting Phylogenetic Patterns across Plant Functional Groups in Germany.

Über Autor(innen)

Dr. Sonja Knapp completed her doctoral thesis at the Department of Community Ecology at the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ in Halle and at the Department of Ecology, Evolution & Diversity at Frankfurt University, Germany.