Research in the Journal of Applied Ecology has identified threats to endangered plants in an urban area, generating information that can be used to guide effective conservation strategies across major cities.
For the study, investigators in Germany analyzed data on 1,231 populations of 201 endangered plant species within Berlin's Flora Protection Program. Threats were categorized and their relative importance was quantified at both population and species levels, and across habitat types.
Biological threats—especially from plant species that aggressively spread or from those that establish themselves as ecosystems change—were most prevalent, followed by threats related to agriculture, nutrient inputs, urban development, and recreation. Among biological threats, non-native species have been widely perceived as key threats to urban biodiversity, but the study's data suggest that they impact only 15.2% of endangered plant populations—a similar share compared with threats by native species (16.0%).
"Non-native species are often blamed for biodiversity loss in cities, but our results tell a different story. In Berlin, other pressures— including highly competitive native species—pose a much greater threat," said corresponding author Ingo Kowarik, PhD, of the Technical University of Berlin. "To protect urban biodiversity effectively, we need to shift the debate and focus our limited resources on the most impactful drivers of decline."
URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.70275
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