Plant Biodiversity in Urbanized Areas : Plant Functional Traits in Space and Time, Plant Rarity and Phylogenetic Diversity

Urbanization is one of the main drivers of global change. It often takes place in areas with high biodiversity, threatening species worldwide. To protect biodiversity not only outside but also right within urban areas, knowledge about the effects of urban land use on species assemblages is essential. Sonja Knapp compares several aspects of plant biodiversity between urban and rural areas in Germany. Using extensive databases and modern statistical methods, she goes beyond species richness: Urban areas are rich in species but plant species in urban areas are closer related to each other than plant species in rural areas, respectively. The urban environment, characterized by high temperatures and frequent disturbances, changes the functional composition of the flora. It promotes e.g. short-lived species with leaves adapted to drought but threatens insect-pollinated or wind-dispersed species. The author claims that the protection of biodiversity should not only focus on species richness but also on functional and phylogenetic diversity, also right within urban areas, to preserve a flora with a high potential for adaptation to changing global conditions. 3834809233......Page 1 Foreword......Page 6 Foreword......Page 8 Preface......Page 9 Summary......Page 11 Zusammenfassung......Page 16 Contents......Page 22 List of Figures......Page 25 List of Tables......Page 27 2. Urban Ecology......Page 29 3.1. Species Richness......Page 30 3.2. Species Rarity......Page 32 3.3. Functional Diversity......Page 33 3.4. Phylogenetic Diversity......Page 34 4. Macroecology as an Analytical Framework......Page 35 5. Study Outline......Page 37 1. Introduction......Page 40 2.1. Data Sources......Page 42 2.2.2. Linear Models......Page 44 3. Results......Page 46 4. Discussion......Page 52 1. Introduction......Page 57 2.1. Study Area......Page 58 2.2. Data Sources......Page 59 2.3. Data Analyses......Page 61 3. Results......Page 62 4. Discussion......Page 63 1. Introduction......Page 69 2.1.1. Species Rarity......Page 71 2.1.3. Species Traits and Phylogeny......Page 74 2.2. Data Analyses......Page 75 3.2. Multi-Trait Models......Page 78 4.1. Traits and Relative Frequencies......Page 81 4.3. Effects of Trait-Urbanity Interactions on Relative Frequencies......Page 84 4.4. Applicability and Conclusions......Page 85 1. Introduction......Page 92 2.1.2. Environmental Conditions......Page 94 2.2.1. Species Data......Page 95 2.3.1 Association of Trait States with Time......Page 99 2.3.2 Association of Trait States with Extinction and Introduction......Page 100 3.1. Association of Trait States with Time......Page 101 3.2. Association of Trait States with Extinction and Introduction......Page 102 3.3. Trends in Trait State Ratio Development......Page 103 4. Discussion......Page 104 1. Introduction......Page 114 2.1. Data Sources......Page 116 2.2. Data Analyses......Page 117 3.2. Phylogenetic Diversity across Plant Functional Groups......Page 120 4. Discussion......Page 121 1.1. Urban Plant Biodiversity Research up to now......Page 131 1.2. Contributions of this Study to Urban Plant Biodiversity Research......Page 132 2. Conclusions......Page 135 References......Page 138 Appendix......Page 157 Urban areas are increasing more and more and human's first contact to nature will take place in cities. More than 50% of the world's human population is concentrated in urban areas; this number is even higher in Central Europe. These are the main reasons for the increasing number of studies on urban ecology - cluding urban flora and vegetation. One surprising outcome of these studies was the higher species richness in urban areas in comparison to the open cultural landscape in Central Europe. This stable pattern has been found within several studies on several cities since the 70s of the last century. The main tasks of the dissertation of Sonja Knapp can be summarised in the following questions: What are the main causes for higher species richness and what processes govern this pattern? Is species richness linked with ecological traits and is species richness in urban areas linked with phylogenetic diversity? Sonja Knapp's dissertation “Plant Biodiversity in Urbanized Areas – Ana- ses of Plant Functional Traits in Space and Time, Plant Rarity and Phylogenetic Diversity” presents new insights into biodiversity processes in urban areas.