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Does Nature Need Cities? Pollinators Reveal a Role for Cities in Wildlife Conservation

Authors :
Abigail Derby Lewis
Mark J. Bouman
Alexis M. Winter
Erika A. Hasle
Douglas F. Stotz
Mark K. Johnston
Karen R. Klinger
Amy Rosenthal
Craig A. Czarnecki
Source :
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 7 (2019)
Publication Year :
2019
Publisher :
Frontiers Media S.A., 2019.

Abstract

It is well-established that cities need nature for critical ecosystem services—from storing carbon, to reducing temperatures, to mitigating stormwater—and there is growing momentum to seek out strategies for how these services can intersect with urban design and planning efforts. Social scientists and conservation planners increasingly point to urban residents' need to breathe fresh air, encounter the natural world, and have room to play. It is less obvious, perhaps, whether nature needs cities in order to thrive. The evidence from both urban planning and conservation planning is increasingly “yes.” As changes in land use and land cover sweep the planet, cities are becoming important refugia for certain wildlife populations. In recent years, urban planning has embraced the concept of “green infrastructure” as a way to embed green space across metropolitan landscapes to draw on the inherent benefits nature provides to cities, as well as to create habitat for wildlife. We explore this evolving view of cities and nature in the fields of urban and conservation planning. We argue the time is ripe to bring these worlds together, and, using our empirical work, establish that cities matter for monarch butterflies, other pollinators, and at-risk wildlife species.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2296701X
Volume :
7
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.90ee185e2f4f4752b69509c5acbaa3e4
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00220