Effects of built landscape on taxonomic homogenization: Two case studies of private gardens in the French Mediterranean
2014
Bossu, Angèle | Marco, Audrey | Manel, Stéphanie | Bertaudière-Montes, Valérie | Laboratoire Population-Environnement-Développement (LPED) ; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU) | Laboratoire de Recherche de l'Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Paysage (LAREP) ; Ecole Nationale Supérieure Polytechnique de Yaoundé (ENSPY) ; Université de Yaoundé I (UY1)-Université de Yaoundé I (UY1) | Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA) ; Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP) ; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [Occitanie]) | PACA regional research grant no. 2011-019
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Show more [+] Less [-]English. Urbanization can promote the replacement of native species by exotic species resulting in an increase in community's similarity over time. This process is called biotic homogenization, which is usually studied at large scale from species lists. Our paper addresses the effects of urbanization on plant community at local scale in areas where urban policies are implemented. We focus on private gardens as they are the most common components of green spaces in European urbanized areas. They are also a place where exotic species are introduced. Observations were made on spontaneous flora sampled from gardens in two study sites of the French Mediterranean: a large city and a village located in an urbanizing rural area. We evaluated how urban landscape influences floristic similarity and how exotic species affect homogenization. We divided each study site in three built-up density zones. As the urbanization process of both sites did not take place at the same time, we were able to assess the effect of time on floristic similarity. Results indicate that floristic similarity is less important in high dense built-up areas than in low dense ones. Exotic species tend to reduce floristic similarity in city centers and increase floristic similarity in low dense built-up areas in both sites. Landscape metrics calculated in built-up areas surrounding the gardens influence floristic similarity. Lastly, we found that urban planning in terms of built-up density affects biodiversity distribution and that private gardens can provide landscape connectivity within urban areas.
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