Landscape design for attracting wildlife in southwestern urban environments (original) (raw)
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Integrating Ecosytem Landscapes in Cityscape: Birds and Butterflies
InTech eBooks, 2013
Advances in Landscape Architecture 264 appropriate vegetation, water features, feeding areas, and also areas where they can take cover from predators and thrive in safety and security. 1.1. Benefits of bird and butterfly gardening The primary benefits of designing bird and butterfly gardens as part of urban ecosystems are, for the wildlife, flower pollination, food sharing, and environmental conservation, as well as public education. Additional benefits for people include pest and weed control, the stress relief provided by the natural environment, and financial gain as a result of the increasing value of eco-friendly property. 2. Issues in urban ecosytem landscape design 2.1. Bird gardens Site Selection Bird gardens are easy to create, since birds' requirements are flexible; however, they should be open to sunlight as well as have ample areas of shade; and vegetation that affords shelter should be available. 2.1.1. Criterias for structural design in bird gardens Paths Rigid, linear paths are less attractive to wildlife than natural, organic paths, and animals are attracted to unexpected twists and turns, where they can explore new areas. Organically curved and narrow pathways in a garden make it easy for birds to visit a wide range of shrubs and flowers. Slopes Certain kinds of birds forage for food on the ground, and they are attracted to uneven slopes, such as one finds in low, rocky hills where there are fallen trees and underbrush. This environment can be provided for them in the form of rock walls or rock gardens with vegetation covering them. Water Liquid water is an essential requirement for birds in the winter months, when natural sources are frozen, and also during the summer, when they use it to cool down [6]. Sources may include bird baths, misters, ponds, waterfalls or streams; but flowing water is safer than the static pool of a traditional bird bath, from where diseases may be spread [7]. Interestingly, birds such as robins, flickers, and hummingbirds are highly attuned to the sound of flowing water, and may hear it even if the source is very small. Robins are particularly attracted to the steady spray from lawn sprinklers [8]. Some plants, such as Hosta spp. and Cornus spp., have concave leaf surfaces where water accumulates, and these are used as baths by small birds, including warblers and hummingbirds.
Avian Use of Exotic Street Treescapes in Metropolitan Areas of Phoenix, Arizona
Urban Naturalist, 2021
Urban areas are highly modified environments that are strongly influenced by a variety of anthropogenic factors. Consequently, these areas contain unique wildlife communities typically dominated by species that are generalist in nature or highly adaptable. We examined the use of five species of exotic treescapes by exotic and native birds in metropolitan areas of Phoenix, Arizona. House Sparrows [Passer domesticus (37%)], European Starlings [Sturnus vulagris (27%)], Mourning Doves [Zenaida macroura (11%)], and Great-tailed Grackles [Quiscalus mexicanus (7%)] were the most frequently observed species during the study. Approximately two-thirds (67%) of the birds observed during the study were exotic species. Avian community composition and diversity associated with these streetscapes varied among the tree species. Growth habits and other characteristics of the trees themselves, in addition to the landscaping components beneath and adjacent to the street trees, influenced bird use of these habitats in this highly urbanized desert environment. Our findings demonstrate that exotic street treescapes might provide some ecological value to urban birds.
Reconciling humans and birds when designing ecological corridors and parks within urban landscapes
Ambio
Considering the necessity of interdisciplinary approaches for planning and managing the expansion of urban landscapes worldwide, this study aimed to (1) assess landscape permeability for birds and people inhabiting a Neotropical city and (2) propose priority streets and areas for the implementation of a green infrastructure project that could benefit both. To reach these goals, we generated resistance surfaces using expert knowledge to simulate multiple least-cost corridors (MLCC) between parks and green spaces within an urban landscape for people and seven bird species. We compared the solutions using a corridors' spatial agreement analysis, which allow us to identify the overlap between modeled corridors for all organisms or functional groups of interest. We also identified the streets most selected by the simulated MLCC and then identified a green space which is a convergence point of corridors modeled for both people and bird species. Finally, we suggested priority streets for planting trees and proposed interventions to turn the green space into a multifunctional park, conciliating social and ecological perspectives.
Landscape design approaches to enhance human–wildlife interactions in a compact tropical city
Journal of Urban Ecology, 2021
Urban landscapes have the potential to conserve wildlife. Despite increasing recognition of this potential, there are few collaborative efforts to integrate ecology and conservation principles into context-dependent, spatial and actionable design strategies. To address this issue and to encourage multi-disciplinary research on urban human–wildlife interactions, we ask the following questions. To what extent should design and planning actions be aligned with urban ecology in the context of a compact city? How can wildlife conservation meet the seemingly conflictual demands of urban development and public preference? To answer these questions, we refer to the relevant literature and a number of design projects. Using the compact tropical city of Singapore as a case study, we propose 12 design strategies. We encourage designers and planners to strengthen the links between wildlife and urban dwellers and promote wildlife conservation within cities.
Birds, landscape connectivity and environmental planning in urban landscapes
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 2017
The composition of the urban vegetation that comprises the green infrastructure of a highlyurbanized Neotropical city was mapped and described in order to assess how it can be used to preserve and maintain urban biodiversity. Supervised classification was used, followed by Map Algebra methodology, to identify the elements that comprise the green infrastructure of the southern region of Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais, Brazil). Species composition of the street trees community was also assessed. Almost half of the study area is occupied by 12 types of woody and herbaceous vegetation, composed mostly by urban parks and gardens. Forty-one percent of the almost 90,000 street trees is composed by 10 species from which only four are native. These results show that the green infrastructure of this urban landscape is comprised by a large amount of different types of green elements, and has a great potential for biodiversity conservation. However, management strategies are needed such as better planning of the urban afforestation process, increasing street tree species richness. This study is the first step towards a better understanding of how such urban landscape influences local biodiversity.
2013
Life for human populations in high-density urban areas can be considerably enriched by being in closer contact with nature, leading to many benefi ts for psychological well-being. The movement, colours and sounds of birds can be particularly attractive and the steps taken to create suitable and sustainable habitats for them in urban landscapes can make city-life much more attractive for a signifi cant part of the human population. The challenges set by the ecology of a humid tropical environment are examined. Based on fundamental ecological principles guidance is provided for the landscaping design and species planting for cities in SE Asia. The conservation of wild refuges, wise park planting, and well-laid out ecological corridors are all critical components which need to play together. Advice is provided on the types of species, both indigenous and exotic, which can be used and how these interact with particular bird species in the Malay Peninsula. As the ecosystems of tropical S...
A Conceptual Framework for Choosing Target Species for Wildlife-Inclusive Urban Design
Sustainability, 2019
Recent research has highlighted the significance of cities for biodiversity, making them important places for conservation in their own right. Current conservation approaches in cities are mostly defensive. Thus, they focus on remnant pockets of natural areas or try to protect particular species that occur in the built environment. These approaches are vulnerable to further urban development and do not create habitats. An alternative strategy is to make wildlife an integral part of urban development and thereby create a new habitat in the built-up area. Here we address the challenge of choosing target species for such wildlife-inclusive urban design. The starting point of our conceptual framework is the regional species pool, which can be obtained from geo-referenced species data. The existing habitat types on and around the development site and dispersal barriers limit the species numbers to the local species potential. In the next step, the site’s potential for each species is ana...
The role of urban green space design to support bird community in the urban ecosystem
Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity
The increase in human population due to urbanization causes the expansion of urban areas that threatens forest lands to be lost and makes a serious threat to its biodiversity. Along with changes in the landscape due to urbanization, open green space is an alternative solution to maintaining biological diversity in urban areas. However, various types of open green spaces were developed following certain objectives of landscape management that potentially have different effects on biodiversity. This research aimed to identify the role of various open green spaces designs on bird biodiversity. Birds can be a good indicator of environmental quality because birds are a type of animal that can move in different habitat types and habitat areas and are often used as a n indicator of habitat quality in urban areas. Bird observation was conducted using the point count method, while the environmental conditions were recorded using the nested and protocol sampling method. Those data were collected in five different open green spaces of Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta Province. Species diversity shows the diversity of species in a bird community in a certain area using the Shanon-Wiener index. Bird communities were also analyzed using rarefaction analysis. This analysis was used to standardize the species abundance in each type of green open space to estimate the ideal species richness of open green space from the different number of samples. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the value of diversity, richness, and relative abundance of bird species among five different types of open green space. We used Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) to visualize the bird's response toward environmental gradients. Generalized Linear Model (GLM) was employed to determine the effect of the environmental factors on the diversity of bird species. The result showed that different types of urban green spaces have different richness and relative abundance of bird species. We found 5925 individual birds from 40 species in five different types of open green spaces. The garden was the type of open green space with the highest bird species diversity. Of the many variables taken, the slope and the number of vehicles per minute affected the diversity of species. Those two variables were also negatively correlated with the diversity of bird species in the five types of open green spaces. The number of vehicles causes noise and pollution, which causes a decrease in bird populations. Flat slopes can also help birds get food, such as seeds on a flat surface. Creating more gardens for public and private spaces becomes an alternative solution to enhance bird diversity in the urban area.