Urban ecosystems

Question 1

are we more rural or urban as a population?

Answer 1

urban

- most are interactions with the worlds in cities

Question 2

are urban areas ecosystems?

Answer 2

yes, but flows of material and energy are often dominated by human culture, not natural processes

Question 3

does air pollution from roads affect plants

Answer 3

ozone degrades chlorophyll A quicker than B

Question 4

biodiversity in cities/urban adaptors

Answer 4

urban adaptors:

• pigeons
• squirell-naturalised
• cats and dogs-domesticated
• peregrine falcons now seen on skyscrapers

Question 5

novel ecosystems

Answer 5

ecosystems consisting of species that do not share an evolutionary history

Question 6

impact of artificial light

Answer 6

• light pollution illuminates world when it should be dark
• LED white lights
• can be active for 24 hours
• impacts on diurnal species that are only active in the day can be active for longer
• trees get confused on when leaf to fall
• light as a barrier-repeal animals
• interferes with detection of seasonal changes in daylength
• obscures natural cues for navigation

Question 7

ecosystem effects of artificial light

Answer 7

• lead to mismatches between species
• may disrupt predator prey interactions
• may alter availability of food
• alter other species interactions

Question 8

urban biogeochemistry

Answer 8

seeing a city as an ecosystem. changes throughout the day as to when there’s most pollution. water sources affected.

Question 9

why are trees so important in a city ecosystem?

Answer 9

important for heat budget and regulating chemicals. filter for pollution.

Question 10

urban heat island effect

Answer 10

tarmac absorbs heat
green areas reduce the effect
high status areas have up to 2 degrees change due to lands. runoff also increased with urbanisation.

Question 11

land sharing

Answer 11

mixed land use, with natural components or urban ecosystem interspersed within built areas

Question 12

land sparing

Answer 12

zoned land use, with density of built areas maximised to allow unused land to be allocated for natural ecosystems.