Oliver Gilbert

The Ecology of Urban Habitats (eBook, PDF)

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

This book is about the plants and animals of urban areas, not the urban fringe, not encapsulated countryside but those parts of towns where man's impact is greatest. The powerful anthropogenic influences that operate in cities have, until recently, rendered them unattractive to ecologists who find the high proportion of exotics and mixtures of planted and spontaneous vegetation bewildering. They are also unused to considering fashion, taste, mowing machines and the behaviour of dog owners as habitat factors. I have always maintained, however, and I hope this book demonstrates, that there are as many interrelationships to be uncovered in a flower bed as in a field, in a cemetery as on a sand dune; and due to the well documented history of urban sites, together with the strong effects of management, they are frequently easier to interpret than those operating in more natural areas. The potential of these communities as rewarding areas for study is revealed in the literature on the pests of stored products, urban foxes and birds. The journals oflocal natural history societies have also provided a rich source of material as amateurs have never been averse to following the fortunes of their favourite groups into the heart of our cities. It is predictable that among the few professionals to specialize in this discipline have been those enclosed in West Berlin, who must be regarded as among the leading exponents of urban ecology.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Springer Netherlands
• Seitenzahl: 370
• Erscheinungstermin: 6. Dezember 2012
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9789400908215
• Artikelnr.: 43982703

Inhaltsangabe

Preface.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Characteristics of urban flora and fauna.- 2.1 Proliferation of introduced species.- 2.2 Severe disturbance.- 2.3 Increased opportunities for dispersal.- 2.4 Habitat diversity.- 2.5 Taxonomic and evolutionary aspects.- 2.6 Vertebrates.- 2.7 Invertebrates.- 2.8 Planted vegetation.- 2.9 Historical factors.- 3 The urban climate and air pollution.- 3.1 Climate.- 3.2 Air pollution.- 4 Soils in urban areas.- 4.1 The classification of urban soils.- 4.2 Conspectus.- 4.3 Characteristics of urban soils.- 4.4 Brick rubble.- 4.5 Topsoiled sites.- 5 Vegetation dynamics.- 5.1 Ecological change as greenfield sites become developed.- 5.2 Ecological change as urban land is recycled.- 5.3 Postdevelopment.- 5.4 Discussion.- 6 Urban commons.- 6.1 Plants.- 6.2 Animals.- 6.3 Research opportunities.- 7 Industrial areas.- 7.1 Raw materials.- 7.2 Buildings, structures, hard landscapes.- 7.3 Energy aspects.- 7.4 Stores and warehouses.- 7.5 Solid waste material.- 7.6 Modern trends.- 8 Railways.- 8.1 The permanent way.- 8.2 Sidings.- 8.3 Brickwork and masonry.- 8.4 Verges.- 8.5 Boundary features.- 9 Roads.- 9.1 Road design.- 9.2 Exhaust emissions.- 9.3 De-icing salt.- 9.4 Traffic stress.- 9.5 Street trees.- 9.6 Grass verges.- 9.7 Animals.- 10 City centres.- 10.1 Animals.- 10.2 Vegetation.- 10.3 Interactions.- 11 City parks.- 11.1 Habitats within a park.- 11.2 Grassland.- 11.3 Growth retardants and herbicides.- 11.4 The changing wild flora of parks.- 11.5 Lakes.- 11.6 Mammals.- 11.7 Birds.- 11.8 Invertebrates.- 12 Allotments and leisure gardens.- 12.1 Background.- 12.2 Cultivated plots.- 12.3 Secondary successions.- 12.4 Birds.- 12.5 Supplementary habitats.- 12.6 Fostering wildlife on allotments.- 13 Cemeteries.- 13.1 Background.- 13.2 Structure planting.- 13.3 Shrubs.-13.4 The ground layer.- 13.5 Grave plots.- 13.6 Relic communities.- 13.7 Succession.- 13.8 Management options.- 14 Gardens.- 14.1 Vegetation.- 14.2 Animals.- 14.3 Discussion.- 15 Rivers, canals, ponds, lakes, reservoirs and water mains.- 15.1 Urban hydrology.- 15.2 Rivers.- 15.3 Canals.- 15.4 Ponds, lakes, reservoirs and water mains.- 16 Woodland.- 16.1 The archaeology of a small urban wood.- 16.2 Ancient seminatural woodland.- 16.3 Plantations on the site of ancient woodland.- 16.4 Spontaneous recent woodland.- 16.5 Plantations.- 16.6 Birds.- 17 Living with wildlife.- 17.1 The aesthetic conflict.- 17.2 Social considerations.- 17.3 Design and management.- 17.4 Benefits for all.- References.