Ecological Homogenization of Urban USA

Authors

Peter M. Groffman, Cary Institute of Ecosystem StudiesFollow
Jeannine Cavender-Bares, University of Minnesota - St. PaulFollow
Neil D. Bettez, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
J. Morgan Grove, U.S. Forest ServiceFollow
Sharon J. Hall, Arizona State UniversityFollow
James B. Heffernan, Duke University
Sarah E. Hobbie, University of Minnesota - St. PaulFollow
Kelli L. Larson, Arizona State University
Jennifer L. Morse, Portland State UniversityFollow
Christopher Neill, University of Minnesota - St. PaulFollow
Kristen C. Nelson, University of Minnesota - St. PaulFollow
Jarlath O'Neil-Dunne, University of Vermont
Diane E. Pataki, University of Utah
Colin Polsky, Clark UniversityFollow
Rinku Roy Chowdhury, Indiana University - BloomingtonFollow
Meredith K. Steele, Duke UniversityFollow

Sponsor

The “Ecological Homogenization of Urban America” project was supported by a series of collaborative grants from this program (EF-1065548, 1065737, 1065740, 1065741,1065772,1065785, 1065831, 121238320. The work arose from research funded by grants from the NSF Long Term Ecological Research Program supporting work in Baltimore (DEB-0423476), Phoenix (BCS-1026865, DEB-0423704 and DEB-9714833), Plum Island (Boston)(OCE-1058747 and 1238212), Cedar Creek (Minneapolis–St Paul) (DEB-0620652), and Florida Coastal Everglades (Miami) (DBI-0620409)

Published In

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2014

Subjects

Biodiversity, Ecology, Ecological research, Land use management -- United States, Biogeography

Abstract

A visually apparent but scientifically untested outcome of land-use change is homogenization across urban areas, where neighborhoods in different parts of the country have similar patterns of roads, residential lots, commercial areas, and aquatic features. We hypothesize that this homogenization extends to ecological structure and also to ecosystem functions such as carbon dynamics and microclimate, with continental-scale implications. Further, we suggest that understanding urban homogenization will provide the basis for understanding the impacts of urban land-use change from local to continental scales. Here, we show how multi-scale, multi-disciplinary datasets from six metropolitan areas that cover the major climatic regions of the US (Phoenix, AZ; Miami, FL; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Minneapolis–St Paul, MN; and Los Angeles, CA) can be used to determine how household and neighborhood characteristics correlate with land-management practices, land-cover composition, and landscape structure and ecosystem functions at local, regional, and continental scales.

Rights

Copyright 2014 by The Ecological Society of America

Description

This is the publisher's PDF reproduced here with permission. www.frontiersinecology.org

DOI

10.1890/120374

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/11219

Citation Details

Groll'man, P.M., J. Gawnder-Bares, N.D. Bettez, J.M. Grow, S.J. Hall, J.B. Heffernan, S.E. Hobbie, K.L. Larson, J.L. Moraa, C. Neill, K. Nelson, J. O'Neil­ Dunne, L. Ogden, D.E. Pataki, C. Polsky, R Roy Chowdury, M.K. Steele. 2014. Ecological homogenization of urban USA. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment