Abstract
The expansion of cities has increased the necessity of multidisciplinary strategies to reduce the impacts of urbanization on ecosystems. Here we present the Urban Biodiversity Suitability (UBS) Index, a spatially explicit tool that describes levels of environmental suitability for biodiversity based on several urbanistic and socioeconomic data through a wilderness mapping approach. Using a tropical metropolis as a case study (Belo Horizonte, Brazil), we applied a Multi-Criteria Analysis to produce and join four geospatial layers that we believe describe the main aspects of cities that modulate urban biodiversity distribution: human accessibility, soundscape, built artifacts and volume, and land cover. To assess the accuracy of the UBS Index, we used bird species richness, functional richness (FRic), and Rao’s Quadratic Entropy (RaoQ) based on data collected across several urban habitats (from streets to natural vegetation patches). We observed that as the suitability levels described by the UBS Index increases, higher bird species richness, FRic, and RaoQ values are also observed. Thus, quieter, less accessible urban regions, with few built artifacts, and with higher amounts of urban vegetation presented diverse bird communities. Those regions are distributed across the analyzed urban landscape, highlighting its spatial and environmental heterogeneity. The UBS Index is a simple tool that can be replicated in other cities across the globe to inform public policies for biodiversity conservation and environmental restoration in urban landscapes.
Graphical abstract
Highlights
We developed a spatially explicit Urban Biodiversity Suitability (UBS) Index.
The UBS Index is a multidisciplinary approach that joins several geospatial data.
The UBS Index efficiently described levels of urban bird community diversity.
The UBS Index can indicate urban areas with different levels of ecological integrity.
The UBS Index can guide public policies for a more sustainable urban development.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
All the data are in Supplementary Material.
References
Alberti M (2005) The effects of urban patterns on ecosystem function. Int Reg Sci Rev 28:168–192. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160017605275160
Amaya-Espinel JD, Hostetler M, Henríquez C, Bonacic C (2019) The influence of building density on neotropical bird communities found in small urban parks. Landsc Urban Plan 190:103578. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.05.009
Anderson PM, Cumming GS, Charles-Dominique T et al (2016) More than just a corridor: a suburban river catchment enhances bird functional diversity. Landsc Urban Plan 157:331–342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.07.013
Aronson MFJ, Lepczyk CA, Evans KL et al (2017) Biodiversity in the city: key challenges for urban green space management. Front Ecol Environ 15:189–196. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1480
Belaire JA, Whelan CJ, Minor ES (2014) Having our yards and sharing them too: the collective effects of yards on native bird species in an urban landscape. Ecol Appl 24:2132–2143. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-2259.1
Belo Horizonte (2019) Plano Diretor do Município de Belo Horizonte - Lei no 11.181. Lei no 11.181
Bernat-Ponce E, Gil-Delgado JA, López-Iborra GM (2020) Replacement of semi-natural cover with artificial substrates in urban parks causes a decline of house sparrows Passer domesticus in Mediterranean towns. Urban Ecosyst 23:471–481. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-020-00940-4
Bernat-Ponce E, Gil-Delgado JA, López-Iborra GM (2021) Recreational noise pollution of traditional festivals reduces the juvenile productivity of an avian urban bioindicator. Environ Pollut 286:117247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117247
Bhakti T, Rodrigues M (2020) Nidificação da ariramba-da-cauda-ruiva Galbula ruficauda em área altamente urbanizada. Atualidades Ornitológicas 218:22–23
Bhakti T, Pena JC, Niebuhr BB et al (2021a) Combining land cover, animal behavior, and master plan regulations to assess landscape permeability for birds. Landsc Urban Plan 214:104171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104171
Bhakti T, Rossi F, de Oliveira Mafia P et al (2021b) Preservation of historical heritage increases bird biodiversity in urban centers. Environ Dev Sustain 23:8758–8773. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00993-7
Botta-Dukát Z (2005) Rao’s quadratic entropy as a measure of functional diversity based on multiple traits. J Veg Sci 16:533–540. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1654-1103.2005.TB02393.X
Campos-Silva LA, Piratelli AJ (2021) Vegetation structure drives taxonomic diversity and functional traits of birds in urban private native forest fragments. Urban Ecosyst 14:375–390. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-020-01045-8
Canedoli C, Manenti R, Padoa-Schioppa E (2018) Birds biodiversity in urban and periurban forests: environmental determinants at local and landscape scales. Urban Ecosyst 21:779–793. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-018-0757-7
Carver SJ, Fritz S (eds) (2016) Mapping wilderness: concepts, techniques and applications, 1st edn. Springer
Conole LE, Kirkpatrick JB (2011) Functional and spatial differentiation of urban bird assemblages at the landscape scale. Landsc Urban Plan 100:11–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2010.11.007
Curzel FE, Bellocq MI, Leveau LM (2021) Local and landscape features of wooded streets influenced bird taxonomic and functional diversity. Urban for Urban Green 66:127369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127369
del Hoyo J, Elliott A, Christie DA (eds) (2010) Handbook of the birds of the World, vol 1–16. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain
Duarte MHL, Goulart VDLR, Young RJ (2012) Designing laboratory marmoset housing: what can we learn from urban marmosets? Appl Anim Behav Sci 137:127–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APPLANIM.2011.11.013
Erickson DL (2004) The relationship of historic city form and contemporary greenway implementation: a comparison of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA) and Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). Landsc Urban Plan 68:199–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-2046(03)00160-9
Filloy J, Zurita GA, Bellocq MI (2019) Bird diversity in urban ecosystems: the role of the biome and land use along urbanization gradients. Ecosystems 22:213–227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-018-0264-y
Gomes IN, Bosenbecker C, Silva VHD et al (2023) Spatiotemporal availability of pollinator attractive trees in a tropical streetscape: unequal distribution for pollinators and people. Urban for Urban Green 83:127900. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2023.127900
Graviola GR, Ribeiro MC, Pena JC (2021) Reconciling humans and birds when designing ecological corridors and parks within urban landscapes. Ambio doi. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-021-01551-9
Guerry AD, Smith JR, Lonsdorf E et al (2021) Urban nature and biodiversity for Cities. Washington DC
Hand KL, Freeman C, Seddon PJ et al (2016) A novel method for fine-scale biodiversity assessment and prediction across diverse urban landscapes reveals social deprivation-related inequalities in private, not public spaces. Landsc Urban Plan 151:33–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.03.002
Hartig F (2022) DHARMa: residual diagnostics for hierarchical (multi-level/mixed) regression models
Hayes WM, Fisher JC, Pierre MA et al (2020) Bird communities across varying landcover types in a neotropical city. Biotropica 52:151–164. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12729
Heggie-Gracie SD, Krull CR, Stanley MC (2020) Urban divide: predictors of bird communities in forest fragments and the surrounding urban matrix. Emu 120:333–342. https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2020.1857650
Hodgson P, French K, Major RE (2007) Avian movement across abrupt ecological edges: Differential responses to housing density in an urban matrix. Landsc Urban Plan 79:266–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2006.02.012
Hwang YH, Yue ZEJ, Ling SK, Tan HHV (2019) It’s ok to be wilder: preference for natural growth in urban green spaces in a tropical city. Urban for Urban Green 38:165–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2018.12.005
IBGE (2012) Censo Brasileiro de 2010. Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, 2012
IBGE (2021) Estimativas da população residente com data de referência 1o de julho de 2020. In: Dir. Pesqui. Coord. Popul. e Indicadores Sociais. http://cod.ibge.gov.br/10Q
Ignatieva M, Stewart GH, Meurk C (2011) Planning and design of ecological networks in urban areas. Landsc Ecol Eng 7:17–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11355-010-0143-y
Keith SJ, Larson LR, Shafer CS et al (2018) Greenway use and preferences in diverse urban communities: implications for trail design and management. Landsc Urban Plan 172:47–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2017.12.007
Kliskey AD, Kearsley GW (1993) Mapping multiple perceptions of wilderness in southern New Zealand. Appl Geogr 13:203–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/0143-6228(93)90001-H
Kowarik I (2018) Urban wilderness: supply, demand, and access. Urban for Urban Green 29:336–347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.05.017
La Sorte FA, Aronson MFJ, Lepczyk CA, Horton KG (2020) Area is the primary correlate of annual and seasonal patterns of avian species richness in urban green spaces. Landsc Urban Plan 203:103892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103892
Laliberté E, Legendre P, Shipley B (2014) Measuring functional diversity (FD) from multiple traits, and other tools for functional ecology
Leveau LM, Isla FI, Bellocq MI (2018) Predicting the seasonal dynamics of bird communities along an urban-rural gradient using NDVI. Landsc Urban Plan 177:103–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.04.007
Leveau LM, Isla FI, Bellocq MI (2020) From town to town: Predicting the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of birds using NDVI. Ecol Indic 119:106703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106703
Liu J, Slik F (2022) Are street trees friendly to biodiversity? Landsc Urban Plan 218:104304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104304
Liu X, Huang Y, Xu X et al (2020) High-spatiotemporal-resolution mapping of global urban change from 1985 to 2015. Nat Sustain 3:564–570. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0521-x
Locke H, Ellis EC, Venter O et al (2019) Three global conditions for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use: an implementation framework. Natl Sci Rev 6:1080–1082. https://doi.org/10.1093/NSR/NWZ136
Luck GW (2007) A review of the relationships between human population density and biodiversity. Biol Rev 82:607–645. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2007.00028.x
Ma S, Long Y (2020) Mapping potential wilderness in China with location-based services data. Appl Spat Anal Policy 13:69–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-019-09295-6
MacGregor-Fors I, Falfán I, García-Arroyo M et al (2022) A novel approach for the assessment of cities through ecosystem integrity. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11010003. Land
Martin VG, Hill M (2021) Urban wildness — a more correct term than urban wilderness. Landsc Archit Front 9:80–91. https://doi.org/10.15302/J-LAF-1-030022
Matsuba M, Nishijima S, Katoh K (2016) Effectiveness of corridor vegetation depends on urbanization tolerance of forest birds in central Tokyo, Japan. Urban for Urban Green 18:173–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2016.05.011
Mcdonald RI, Forman RTT, Kareiva P et al (2009) Urban effects, distance, and protected areas in an urbanizing world. Landsc Urban Plan 93:63–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2009.06.002
McDonald RI, Marcotullio PJ, Güneralp B (2013) Urbanization and global trends in biodiversity and ecosystem services. In: Elmqvist T, Fragkias M, Goodness J et al (eds) Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities. Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, pp 31–52
McDonald RI, Mansur AV, Ascensão F et al (2020) Research gaps in knowledge of the impact of urban growth on biodiversity. Nat Sustain 3:16–24. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0436-6
McPhearson T, Pickett STA, Grimm NB et al (2016) Advancing urban ecology toward a science of cities. Bioscience 66:198–212. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biw002
Morelli F, Mikula P, Benedetti Y et al (2018a) Cemeteries support avian diversity likewise urban parks in european cities: assessing taxonomic, evolutionary and functional diversity. Urban for Urban Green 36:90–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2018.10.011
Morelli F, Mikula P, Benedetti Y et al (2018b) Escape behaviour of birds in urban parks and cemeteries across Europe: evidence of behavioural adaptation to human activity. Sci Total Environ 631–632:803–810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.118
Morelli F, Reif J, Díaz M et al (2021) Top ten birds indicators of high environmental quality in european cities. Ecol Indic 133:108397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108397
Moura ACM (2003) Geoprocessamento na Gestão e Planejamento Urbano, 1st edn. Ed. da autora, Belo Horizonte
Müller A, Bøcher PK, Svenning JC (2015) Where are the wilder parts of anthropogenic landscapes? A mapping case study for Denmark. Landsc Urban Plan 144:90–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.08.016
Müller A, Bøcher PK, Fischer C, Svenning JC (2018) Wild’ in the city context: do relative wild areas offer opportunities for urban biodiversity? Landsc Urban Plan 170:256–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2017.09.027
Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG et al (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853–858. https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8087.011119
Nakamura Y, Oke TR (1988) Wind, temperature and stability conditions in an east-west oriented urban canyon. Atmos Environ 22:2691–2700. https://doi.org/10.1016/0004-6981(88)90437-4
Ortega CP (2012) Effects of noise pollution on birds: a brief review of our knowledge. Ornithol Monogr 74:6–22. https://doi.org/10.1525/om.2012.74.1.6
Parris KM, Amati M, Bekessy SA et al (2018) The seven lamps of planning for biodiversity in the city. Cities 83:44–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.06.007
Pena JC, Assis JCde, Silva RAda et al (2017a) Beyond the mining pit: the academic role in social deliberation for participatory environmental planning. Perspect Ecol Conserv 15:194–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecon.2017.06.006
Pena JC, Martello F, Ribeiro MC et al (2017b) Street trees reduce the negative effects of urbanization on birds. PLoS ONE 12:e0174484. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0174484
Pena JC, Ovaskainen O, MacGregor-Fors I et al (2023) The relationships between urbanization and bird functional traits across the streetscape. Landsc Urban Plan 232:104685. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2023.104685
Perillo A, Mazzoni LG, Passos LF et al (2017) Anthropogenic noise reduces bird species richness and diversity in urban parks. Ibis (Lond 1859) 159:638–646. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12481
Pinto JLC (2015) Modelagem e análise geográfica integrada das variáveis ambientais e sócioeconômicas para o mapeamento da probabilidade de ocorrência de morcegos. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
R Core Team (2021) R: A language and environment for statistical computing.
Redondo I, Muriel J, de Castro Díaz C et al (2021) Influence of growing up in the city or near an airport on the physiological stress of tree sparrow nestlings (Passer montanus). Eur J Wildl Res 67:68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-021-01509-y
Reis E, López-Iborra GM, Pinheiro RT (2012) Changes in bird species richness through different levels of urbanization: implications for biodiversity conservation and garden design in Central Brazil. Landsc Urban Plan 107:31–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2012.04.009
Root-Bernstein M, Gooden J, Boyes A (2018) Rewilding in practice: Projects and policy. Geoforum 97:292–304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.09.017
Sánchez-Sotomayor D, Martín-Higuera A, Gil-Delgado JA et al (2023) Artificial grass in parks as a potential new threat for urban bird communities. Bird Conserv Int 33:e16. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270922000119
Schleuter D, Daufresne M, Massol F, Argillier C (2010) A user’s guide to functional diversity indices. Ecol Monogr 80:469–484. https://doi.org/10.1890/08-2225.1
Signorell A (2023) DescTools: Tools for Descriptive Statistics.
Silva BF, Pena JC, Viana-Junior AB et al (2021) Noise and tree species richness modulate the bird community inhabiting small public urban green spaces of a neotropical city. Urban Ecosyst 24:71–81. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11252-020-01021-2
SNH (2014) SNH’s mapping of Scotland’s wildness and wild land. Non–technical description of the methodology
Soanes K, Sievers M, Chee YE et al (2019) Correcting common misconceptions to inspire conservation action in urban environments. Conserv Biol 33:300–306. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13193
Sol D, Trisos C, Múrria C et al (2020) The worldwide impact of urbanisation on avian functional diversity. Ecol Lett 23:962–972. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13495
Thierry H, Rogers H (2020) Where to rewild? A conceptual framework to spatially optimize ecological function. Proc R Soc B Biol Sci doi. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.3017
van Doren BM, Willard DE, Hennen M et al (2021) Drivers of fatal bird collisions in an urban center. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2101666118
Wilman H, Belmaker J, Simpson J et al (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world’s birds and mammals. Ecology 95:2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1
Wood EM, Esaian S (2020) The importance of street trees to urban avifauna. Ecol Appl 30:e02149. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2149
Xavier-da-Silva J (2001) Geoprocessamento para análise ambiental. D5 Produção Gráfica, Rio de Janeiro
Zefferman EP, McKinney ML, Cianciolo T, Fritz BI (2018) Knoxville’s urban wilderness: moving toward sustainable multifunctional management. Urban for Urban Green 29:357–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.09.002
Zhou D, Chu LM (2012) How would size, age, human disturbance, and vegetation structure affect bird communities of urban parks in different seasons? J Ornithol 153:1101–1112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-012-0839-x
Acknowledgements
We thank all the Institutions and Companies that allowed us to conduct the fieldwork across Belo Horizonte: Belo Horizonte City Hall / Fundação de Parques, Fundação João Pinheiro, Fundação Benjamin Guimarães / Hospital da Baleia, Minas Tênis Clube, COMUPRA, CBTU-BH, Casa de Francisco, MHNJB/UFMG, COPASA, ASPRA, IRS, and IEF (license: 025/2020). TB received scholarships from the Coordination of Superior Level Staff Improvement (CAPES process: 88887.364396/2019-00) and thanks to Fundo Brasileiro para a Biodiversidade (FUNBIO / Humanize) and Idea Wild for their support. JCP thanks to São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP Grant 2018/00107-3). ACMM thanks to National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq process: 401066/2016-9) and Minas Gerais Research Foundation (FAPEMIG PPM-00368-18) for their financial support, and to the Company of Informatics and Information of the Municipality of Belo Horizonte (PRODABEL) for its support. MR is granted by CNPq (research scholarship).
Funding
All the grant and funding are in acknowledgement section.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
T.B. wrote the main manuscript; prepared Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and the graphical abstract; conducted fieldwork and developed the methodology. J.C.P. developed the methodology and supervision. A.C.M.M. developed the methodology; prepared Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 in the Supplementary Material and performed the statistical analysis using GIS software. D.P. performed the statistical analysis and prepared the graphs in Fig. 5. L.S. performed the statistical analysis using GIS software. M.R. developed the methodology and supervision. All authors made substantial contributions to the intellectual content, interpretation of the literature review, and editing/review of the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Ethics approval
Not applicable.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Bhakti, T., Pena, J.C., Moura, A.C.M. et al. Urban biodiversity suitability index: decoding the relationships between cities and birds. Urban Ecosyst 27, 305–319 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-023-01446-5
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-023-01446-5