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The influence of small urban parks characteristics on bird diversity: A case study of Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

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Abstract

The capacity of small urban park to serve as urban habitats are rarely explored. This study analyses the characteristics of small urban parks and their potential to support urban biodiversity and ecological functions. Nine small urban parks were studied in Malaysia in August and September 2014 using the combined field survey method of structured observation and field measurements. The measured variables were divided into three broad categories of physical characteristics, species richness and human factors. Bird species richness and abundance were used as the indicators for assessing biodiversity. Pearson correlations and multiple regressions were conducted to analyse the relationships between variables and to identify which variables had a significant effect on bird species richness and abundance. The results demonstrated that park area and vegetation variables ( e.g. the percentage of tree canopy cover, open grass/ground, native-exotic plants) are the important predictors of bird species richness and abundance. The percentage of canopy covers (negative relation) and park area (positive relation) are the best predictors of bird species richness in small urban parks. Meanwhile, the best predictors for bird abundance are the percentage of canopy covers (negative relation) and native vegetation species (positive relation). Human activities and park surroundings have a marginal effect on the presence of bird species in small parks. Based on the findings, we provide two general recommendations that could probably increase bird diversity in small urban parks: (1) the park development and management plan should incorporate a social-ecological approach that can benefit both city-dwellers and bird species, and (2) findings from the study should be used to rethink the planting design and composition of especially newly established small urban parks.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia for funding and financial support. We thank Ms. Suziana Hassan for assistance in statistical analysis. We would also like to thank all of the assistants for their help in conducting the field survey in Malaysia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, 1958, Frederiksberg. C, Denmark

    Zanariah Jasmani, Hans Peter Ravn & Cecil C. Konijnendijk van den Bosch

  2. Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM Skudai, 81310, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

    Zanariah Jasmani

  3. Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 58, S-230 53 Alnarp, Uppsala, Sweden

    Cecil C. Konijnendijk van den Bosch

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  1. Zanariah Jasmani
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Correspondence to Zanariah Jasmani.

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Jasmani, Z., Ravn, H.P. & van den Bosch, C.C.K. The influence of small urban parks characteristics on bird diversity: A case study of Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Urban Ecosyst 20, 227–243 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-016-0584-7

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