Us

Between the years 1970-2000, urban areas have expanded worldwide into natural or agricultural lands with an area about the size of Belgium (Goldblatt et al, 2018).

The Lessons of a Hideous Forest

Arborist William Bryant Logan wrote in the New York Times (July 20, 2019) about the rewilding of New York's Fresh Kills landfill from a recent visit. He reports on the surprising plant and animal biodiversity and of Nature's ever-present healing abilities. Read about it at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/20/opinion/sunday/forest-garbage-trees.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimesscience

Bird compositions are changing from bird feeding

A recently published paper by Plummer et al in Nature (Nature communities 10) reveals that in a forty year study, urban bird populations are changing to feeder-oriented birds. So the birds on seed bags is actually an urban bird checklist!

Overcultivation reduces biodiversity

A study of 85 urban gardens in Zurich analyzed management intensity and resulting soil macro and microfauna. The researchers found that high garden management intensity declined plant diversity and soil fauna.  

From: Direct and indirect effects of urban gardening on aboveground and belowground diversity influencing soil multifunctionality

Simon Tresch, 

David Frey, 

Renée-Claire Le Bayon, 

Paul Mäder, 

Bernhard Stehle, 

Andreas Fliessbach & 

Marco Moretti 

Scientific Reports volume 9, Article number: 9769 (2019)