Birds and the City: Urban Biodiversity, Land Use, and Socioeconomics

• Main Authors: Michael W. Strohbach, Dagmar Haase, Nadja Kabisch
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Resilience Alliance 2009-12-01
• Series: Ecology and Society
• Subjects: biodiversity; human-environment interaction; neighborhood diversity; urban ecology
• Online Access: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol14/iss2/art31/

We examined bird diversity in relation to land use and socioeconomic indicators in Leipzig, Germany. We used neighborhood diversity (ND) and bivariate correlation to show that the potential to experience biodiversity in a city is associated with population density, household income, unemployment, and urban green space. People living in urban districts with high socioeconomic status experience the highest species richness around their homes, whereas lower social status increases the chance of living in species-poor neighborhoods. High-status districts are located along forests, parks, and rivers that have a high quantity and quality of green space. However, green space in general does not guarantee high bird diversity. We conclude that bird diversity mirrors land use and socioeconomic patterns within the compact European city of Leipzig. Therefore, urban planning should focus on decreasing these patterns and protecting the remaining species-rich green spaces.