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https://github.com/zule-lab/katie-490
Code and data for Katie Philp's BIOL490 project
https://github.com/zule-lab/katie-490
Last synced: 23 days ago
JSON representation
Code and data for Katie Philp's BIOL490 project
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/zule-lab/katie-490
- Owner: zule-lab
- License: gpl-3.0
- Created: 2024-01-22T21:07:08.000Z (12 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2024-01-22T21:18:05.000Z (12 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2024-01-23T00:14:32.875Z (12 months ago)
- Language: R
- Size: 256 KB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# Variation in the proportions of native trees and species across different land-use types within the urban forest
Katie Philps, to complete the requirements for BIOL490 at Concordia University
[![DOI](https://zenodo.org/badge/746877335.svg)](https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10553245)
## Abstract
While biodiversity conservation within urban forestry research and management has become a topic of great interest, the role of native species in urban forests is not fully understood. A diverse set of drivers dictate the composition of the urban forest resulting in a mosaic of native and non-native species that can withstand urban stressors. The effect this species assemblage has on ecosystem function and services remains unclear. To better understand the part native and non-native species play in the urban forest, improved urban forestry inventories are needed. Urban forest inventories often exist for public trees; however, a clear inventory of the urban forest would require sampling across all land-use types. For example, tree assemblages of native and non-native species can be expected to differ according to each land-use type, where planting decisions are driven by many interacting economic, social and cultural factors. The objective of my study was to establish how the proportions of native trees and species differ across land-use types, including: (1) the public-right-of-way (e.g. segment of sidewalk containing street trees), (2) parks, (3) institutional spaces (schools or places of worship) and (4) private residential yards. I evaluated a tree inventory collected in a neighbourhood known as Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, in the city of Montreal, Canada. I defined species as native or non-native according to two scales; the local St. Lawrence Lowlands (SLL) and the broader Eastern Temperate Forest (ETF) regions. I found that private properties, private yards in particular, had significantly higher proportions of native trees per site than public land-use types. There were no significant differences in the proportion of native species across land-use types. These results were likely due to the high abundance of a few species such as, the native Thuja occidentalis (Eastern White Cedar) in private properties and the invasive non-native Acer platanoides (Norway Maple) in public properties. The proportions of native trees and species belonging to the larger ETF region were significantly higher than those belonging to the SLL region. However, a large proportion of non-native trees (46 %) came from regions much further away such as Europe and Asia. My results demonstrate that private properties are an integral part of the urban forest and public datasets may be lacking essential information on the private properties that contribute to the urban forest. Additionally, our understanding of the composition of urban forests may change depending on the scale we use to define a native species. My evaluation of this tree inventory provides insight on how differently managed land-use types within the urban forest can work towards a more diverse and resilient urban forest.