Urban Ecology

Banks on the Seine, G. Seurat

Urban Ecology When people think of ecology, they usually imagine studies out in the country. The next thing they think of is studies involving the relationship of plants and animals to one another…

But ecologists now realize that it is important to understand cities and suburbs, because about three quarters of the people in the United States live in metropolitan areas. More people are also moving to cities throughout the world. So…

http://www.ecostudies.org/bes/

Human Ecosystem Model

• Combines the ecosystem concept derived from the biologically based ecology with insights about social institutions and interactions.

• Recognizes the openness of ecosystems, and does not assume equilibrium or self-regulation of urban-ecosystems.

• Recognizes spatial heterogeneity in both the natural and social components of urban ecosystems, and that this heterogeneity can be dynamic.

S. Pickett et. al., 1997. A conceptual framework for the study of human ecosystems in urban areas, Urban Ecosystems

Human Ecosystem Model

© 2003 John Wiley and Sons Publishers

Fig 27.4 The city as a system with flows of energy and materials.

© 2003 John Wiley and Sons Publishers

Fig 27.16 An urban food chain based on plants of disturbed places and insect herbivores.

© 2003 John Wiley and Sons Publishers

Fig 27.10 A typical urban heat island profile.

© 2003 John Wiley and Sons Publishers

Fig 27.11 A plan for the Alexandria, Virginia, central library parking lot includes wetland vegetation and soils, which temporarily absorb runoff from the parking lot.

© 2003 John Wiley and Sons Publishers

Fig 27.17 How water drainage systems in a city can be modified to provide wildlife habitat.

© 2003 John Wiley and Sons Publishers

Fig 27.15 Trees can improve the microclimate near a house.

Baltimore LTERThe Baltimore Ecosystem Study is a long-term ecological research project….to learn how an urban area works as an ecological system. We want to know the ecological interactions in the whole range of habitats…

…For that information to make sense, we are also studying how families, associations, organizations and political bodies make decisions that affect ecological processes. In other words, we are treating the whole collection of urban, suburban and rural areas as an ecological system that includes people and their activities….

http://www.ecostudies.org/bes/