The Effects of Urban Patterns on Ecosystem Function
Tóm tắt
Urban ecological systems are characterized by complex interactions among social, economic, institutional, and environmental variables. These interactions generate complex human-dominated landscapes, which significantly influence the functioning of local and global earth ecosystems and the services they provide to humans and other life on earth. Urban development fragments, isolates, and degrades natural habitats; simplifies and homogenizes species composition; disrupts hydrological systems; and modifies energy flow and nutrient cycling. Urban areas also appropriate a large share of earth’s carrying capacity from other regions in terms of resource input and waste sinks. Change in ecological conditions that result from human actions in urban areas ultimately affect human health and well-being. In this article, the author reviews the empirical evidence on the effects that patterns of urban development have on ecosystem function. Urban development affects the spatial heterogeneity of the landscape (i.e., pattern of variation in land cover) and spread of disturbance (i.e., invasive species). The author proposes that alternative urban patterns generate differential ecological effects. The review reveals that the interactions between urban development patterns and ecosystem dynamics are still poorly understood. The author draws on an empirical study of the Puget Sound metropolitan region currently developed at the University of Washington to propose directions for future empirical research that can inform strategies to minimize urban impacts on ecosystems.
Từ khóa
Tài liệu tham khảo
Alberti, M., 1999, Achieving sustainable urban form
Alberti, M., The impacts of urban patterns on watershed quality in Puget Sound Lowland
Alberti, M., 1996, EIA Review, 16, 213
Berkowitz, A. R., 2002, Understanding urban ecosystems: A new frontier for science and education
Berry, B. J. L., 1990, The earth as transformed by human action, 103
Blair, W., 1996, Ecology, 77, 2228
Bock, C. E., Ecology and conservation grassland birds in the Western Hemisphere
Boyden, S., 1981, The ecology of a city and its people: The case of Hong Kong
Breheny, M., 1992, Sustainable development and urban form
Cervero, R., 1995, Polycentrism, community and residential location in the San Francisco Bay Area
Douglas, I., 1983, The urban environment
Folke C., 1997, Ambio, 26, 167
Forman, R., 1986, Landscape ecology
Godron, M., 1982, Disturbance and ecosystems: Components of response
Hill, K., 2002, A rapid land cover classification method for use in urban watershed analysis
Horner, R. R, 1997, Effects of watershed development and management on aquatic ecosystems, 251
Howard, E., 1898, Garden cities of tomorrow, 2
Imhoff, M., 2002, How has urbanization altered the carbon cycle in the United States?
Kowarik I., 1990, Urban ecology: Plants and plant communities in urban environments, 45
Leopold, L., 1968, Hydrology for urban planning
Lynch, K., 1961, Daedalus, 90, 79
Lynch, K., 1981, Good city form
Marzluff, J., 1998, Avian conservation: Research and management
McPherson, G. E., 1994, Chicago’s urban forest ecosystem: Results of the Chicago Urban Forest Climate Project
Naiman, R. J., 1990, The ecology and management of aquatic ecotones: Man and the biosphere series
Newton, I., 1998, Population limitation in birds
Odum, E. P., 1963, Ecology
Odum, E. P., 1997, Ecology: A bridge between science and society
Oke, T. R., 1987, Boundary layer climates
Omernik, J. M., 1976, The influence of land use on stream nutrient levels
O’Neill, R., 1986, A hierarchical concept of ecosystems
Onisto, L. K., 1998, How bigis Toronto’s ecological footprint?
Owens, S., 1986, Energy, planning and urban form
Owens, S., 1992, Built Environment, 18, 247
Pickett, S. T. A., 2000, Ecological consequences of habitat heterogeneity, 33
Pickett, S.T.A., 1985, The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics, 371
Rees, W., 1994, Investing in natural capital: The ecological economics approach to sustainability, 362
Schueler, T. R., 1992, Watershed Restoration Source Book
Sukopp, H., 1995, Urban ecology as the basis for urban planning
Sukopp, H., 1999, Ecosystems of disturbed ground: Ecosystems of the world 16, 397
Trepl, L., 1995, Urban ecology as the basis for urban planning, 3
Turner, M. G., 1998, Status and trends of the nation’s biological resources, 37
United Nations, 1999, The State of World Population 1999—6 Billion: A Time for Choices
Wetterer, J. K., 1997, Urban ecology: Encyclopedia of environmental sciences
White, P. S., 1985, The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics
White, R., 1992, Sustainable cities: Urbanization and the environment in international perspective
Wu, J., 2000, Geographic Information Sciences, 6, 1
Yoder, C. O., Retrofit Opportunities for Water Resource Protection in Urban Environment: A National Conference