Urban biogeography

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapters

Abstract

Biogeography in the built environment evaluates the spatiotemporal intricacies of the nature‐in‐city realm. A historical review offers a backdrop to urban green space (UGS) preservation and provision. UGS typology includes natural enclaves, ruderal pockets, emulated nature, and artificial green sites. They furnish heterogeneous habitats with core and edge ecotones to accommodate diverse species assemblages and varied biomass structure. The urban flora is classified based on biogeographical provenance. Constraints due to harsh built‐up environment and visitor disturbances leave imprints on urban ecosystems. Geometrical assessment provides hints to optimize UGS design for ecosystem services and human use. Ecological‐naturalistic design and climax woodland ecosystem are advocated. Three‐dimensional urban greening can extend UGS to green roofs and green walls to supplement ground‐level natural areas. Surveys of social and economic functions and response to climate change add new dimensions to the inquiry to further justify UGS provision. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe international encyclopedia of geography: People, the earth, environment, and technology
EditorsDouglas RICHARDSON, Noel CASTREE, Michael F. GOODCHILD, Audrey KOBAYASHI, Weidong LIU, Richard A. MARSTON
Place of PublicationChichester, UK
PublisherJohn Wiley & Sons
Pages7302-7305
ISBN (Electronic)9781118786352
ISBN (Print)9780470659632
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

Citation

Jim, C. Y. (2017). Urban biogeography. In D. Richardson, N. Castree, M. F. Goodchild, A. Kobayashi, W. Liu, & R. A. Marston (Eds.), The international encyclopedia of geography: People, the earth, environment, and technology (pp. 7302-7305). Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons.

Keywords

  • Ecosystem service
  • Nature conservation
  • Urban ecosystem
  • Urban green infrastructure
  • Urban green space

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