Article
Environmental Sciences
Linyu Hu, Danya Qin, Hongying Lu, Wei Li, Kankan Shang, Dunmei Lin, Liang Zhao, Yongchuan Yang, Shenhua Qian
Summary: Urban ecosystems are impacted by environmental stressors and human activities, which play a role in filtering species with different life-history traits. The study found that seed size and leaf element composition are key factors in functional differentiation among urban plant species. Furthermore, the intensity of urban growth is correlated with certain leaf traits, indicating a nutrient-use strategy and competitive advantage for species in urban centers.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Lucyna Twerd, Weronika Banaszak-Cibicka, Anna Sobieraj-Betlinska, Barbara Waldon-Rudzionek, Renata Hoffmann
Summary: Protection and promotion of biodiversity in urban areas is crucial, and can be achieved through proper vegetation management, such as investigating the relationship between bees and their food plants. Our study found that the vegetation structure in urban areas influences the diversity and abundance of bee species, with summer bees predominating in urban wastelands and spring bees predominating in suburban habitats. Trees and shrubs play a key role in providing food for bees, with native plants particularly important in spring. These results can guide urban landscape managers in shaping vegetation to support pollinating insects.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Review
Food Science & Technology
Christoph Schunko, Xiaoyue Li, Benjamin Klappoth, Francesca Lesi, Vincent Porcher, Anna Porcuna-Ferrer, Victoria Reyes-Garcia
Summary: The perceived decrease in abundance of wild edible plants mainly involves fruits, vegetables, and crop wild relatives, with the main drivers being land use change and direct exploitation.
GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY-AGRICULTURE POLICY ECONOMICS AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anqi Dai, Congzhe Liu, Yaou Ji, Qianqian Sheng, Zunling Zhu
Summary: Plants in urban green spaces can reduce NO2 concentrations in the air, but the effects of different plant communities on NO2 concentrations are not well studied. This study used a multifunctional lifting environmental detector to investigate the impact of environmental factors and small plant communities on NO2 concentrations in street green spaces in Nanjing, China. The results showed that temperature, atmospheric pressure, and noise were correlated with seasonal changes, and temperature and humidity significantly influenced NO2 concentrations in both winter and summer.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yingru Zhou, Kuangnan Sun, Ying Mi, Benxiang Luo, Jing Xiang, Taowu Ma
Summary: Ficus tikoua can enhance revegetation and vegetation succession on Pb-Zn tailing wastelands by improving soil quality, reducing heavy metal content, and increasing vegetation coverage and biomass.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Alexis (Steinman) Wanek, Christina L. M. Hargiss, Jack Norland
Summary: Wetland and pond hydric vegetation in rural, peri-urban, and urban zones are affected by human activities. This study compared vegetation composition and species richness in different zones, showing that rural sites differed from peri-urban and urban sites due to urbanization reducing the cover of wetland species. Peri-urban sites had the highest species richness, while urban sites had the lowest due to the use of rock riprap. The results provide important information for wetland professionals, environmental managers, and urban planners.
URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Tadeusz Barczak, Janina Bennewicz, Maciej Korczynski, Malgorzata Blazejewicz-Zawadzinska, Hanna Piekarska-Boniecka
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between different plant communities and aphid assemblages in urban parks, identifying plant species most affected by aphids and suggesting the consideration of this factor in park design.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anna Norberg, Hanna Susi, Suvi Sallinen, Pezhman Baran, Nicholas J. Clark, Anna-Liisa Laine
Summary: Viruses are an underestimated component of biodiversity existing in diverse communities. Integrating community ecology with disease biology can provide insights into the drivers of pathogen community assembly. This study explores the diversity and co-occurrence structure of within-host virus communities, highlighting how environmental variability can influence disease risks.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Meena S. Sritharan, Ben C. Scheele, Wade Blanchard, Claire N. Foster, Patricia A. Werner, David B. Lindenmayer
Summary: Understanding the responses of rare species to altered fire disturbance regimes is a challenging task for ecologists. This study examined the associations between fire regimes and plant rarity in different vegetation communities. The results showed that rare species classified by Rabinowitz's definition of rarity were most sensitive to fire regimes. However, the limited responses observed suggest that other biotic drivers may play a greater role in influencing species rarity in this fire-prone ecosystem.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Chundi Chen, Yi Lu, Junsong Jia, Ying Chen, Junhuan Xue, Honghai Liang
Summary: The study found that spontaneously growing vegetation in urban environments plays a positive role in triggering people's naturalism and nostalgia, with most people considering the visual aspect of these plants to be very important. People are not very demanding in terms of the tactile and olfactory aspects of plants, which provides a wide range of choices for design and management strategies.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND WORLD ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
F. Cuesta, J. Carilla, L. D. LLambi, P. Muriel, M. V. Lencinas, R. I. Meneses, K. J. Feeley, H. Pauli, N. Aguirre, S. Beck, A. Bernardi, S. Cuello, S. A. Duchicela, P. Eguiguren, L. E. Gamez, S. Halloy, L. Hudson, R. Jaramillo, P. L. Peri, L. A. Ramirez, P. Rosero-Anazco, N. Thompson, K. Yager, C. Tovar
Summary: The study focuses on vegetation changes in the High Andes region in response to climate change. It reveals a decrease in vegetation cover, an increase in species richness, and a shift towards species with wider thermal niches. The findings highlight the importance of considering large-scale patterns of vegetation changes in the Andes when predicting the effects of global warming.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Mirka K. Heikkinen, Yuki Iwachido, Xi Sun, Kaho Maehara, Mayuko Kawata, Sumire Yamamoto, Yui Tsuchihashi, Takehiro Sasaki
Summary: This study investigates urban street vegetation in Oulu, Finland, and Yokohama, Japan, and explores the changes in species richness and composition among different street habitat types. The results show that road-verge grass beds in Oulu and street shrubbery in Yokohama include a large number of unique species, highlighting the importance of diverse street habitats for supporting plant diversity in urban areas.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Huiyi Liang, Cangshuan Li, Denggao Xue, Jiangnan Liu, Kedi Jin, Yuebin Wang, Dongyang Gao, Yingyuan Chen, Yapeng Li, Ling Qiu, Tian Gao
Summary: This study explored the perceptions and preferences of Chinese people for lawns and spontaneous groundcovers, analyzed the effects of social backgrounds, and found that there was a general equivalence in preferences for both types of ground cover.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Weizhen Xu, Jiao Yu, Peilin Huang, Dulai Zheng, Yuxin Lin, Ziluo Huang, Yujie Zhao, Jiaying Dong, Zhipeng Zhu, Weicong Fu
Summary: The complexity of urban green space vegetation plays a vital role in predicting biodiversity, particularly for bird species. This study examined bird diversity in five urban mountain parks in southeast China and found that sparse forests support more bird species and higher diversity. Tree diversity significantly affects bird diversity, and the average subbranch height of trees influences bird evenness. The number of tourists and predators have minimal impact on bird diversity.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
T. F. Bergamo, R. D. Ward, C. B. Joyce, M. Villoslada, K. Sepp
Summary: This study assessed changes in coastal plant community composition under altered water level and salinity scenarios through a three-year mesocosm experiment. The results showed that different plant communities responded differently to changes in water level and salinity, with significant shifts in species richness and abundance. These findings highlight the importance of conserving these important ecosystems in the face of climate change.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)