Homogenization of plant diversity, composition, and structure in North American urban yards:
Urban ecosystems are widely hypothesized to be more ecologically homogeneous than natural ecosystems. We argue that urban plant communities assemble from a complex mix of horticultural and regional species pools, and evaluate the homogenization hypothesis by comparing cultivated and spontaneously occurring urban vegetation to natural area vegetation across seven major U.S. cities. There was limited support for homogenization of urban diversity, as the cultivated and spontaneous yard flora had greater numbers of species than natural areas, and cultivated phylogenetic diversity was also greater. However, urban yards showed evidence of homogenization of composition and structure. Yards were compositionally more similar across regions than were natural areas, and tree density was less variable in yards than in comparable natural areas. This homogenization of biodiversity likely reflects similar horticultural source pools, homeowner preferences, and management practices across U.S. cities.
Duke Scholars
Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats
Published In
DOI
EISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Related Subject Headings
- 4102 Ecological applications
- 3103 Ecology
- 0608 Zoology
- 0602 Ecology
- 0501 Ecological Applications
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Related Subject Headings
- 4102 Ecological applications
- 3103 Ecology
- 0608 Zoology
- 0602 Ecology
- 0501 Ecological Applications