Effects of urban structure on plant species richness in a large European city

Urban areas have developed under anthropogenic impact and hence feature strongly altered environmental conditions that influence today’s plant species distribution. Generally, urban areas are rich in plant species, but on smaller scales richness can vary considerably. Our study aim is to identify areas of high species richness and to assess richness distribution patterns in the city of Hamburg by analyzing a floristic mapping dataset on the scale of 1 km². Differences in plant species richness were analyzed between three urbanization zones. With multiple regression analyses, we tested effects of urban structure, habitat, and environmental conditions on the distribution of species richness measures. Total species richness per 1 km² was 274?±?60 on average and differed only slightly between the urbanization zones. It increased with habitat diversity and decreased with Ellenberg indicator values (EIV) for nutrients (multiple R²?=?0.31). Proportion of non-native species increased with mean annual temperature and decreased with EIVs for moisture (multiple R²?=?0.72), while proportion of endangered species increased with EIVs for moisture and decreased with EIVs for nutrients (multiple R²?=?0.66). Proportion of thermophilic species (multiple R²?=?0.58) could be explained by mean annual temperature. The emerging patterns probably differ from those in other cities due to the central port harboring a particular flora. Besides the expected high proportions of non-native species, high proportions of endangered species were also found in this area. Our results contribute to identifying drivers of biodiversity in cities and can thus be used to develop measures for the conservation of urban biodiversity.     

Plant species distribution and spatial habitat heterogeneity in the landscape of urbanizing desert ecosystems in Egypt

Information on the urban flora and vegetation in the industrial new cities in Egypt are insufficient and far from complete. For this reason, this study was undertaken as the first attempt to fill this gap of knowledge. For two successive years (2004 and 2005), a reconnaissance survey was conducted in four new industrial cities: 6th October, El-Sadat, Burg El-Arab and 10th Ramadan; aiming at: (1) recognizing the floristic composition and vegetation structure of each of the studied cities; (2) identifying the main urban habitats dominating the studied cities; (3) comparing the vegetation of the urban habitats at the boundaries of each city, where desert soil merges gradually with the agricultural land, with that at its centre (purely agricultural land); and (4) analyzing, quantitatively, the vegetation groups (plant communities) that characterize the urban habitats. A total of 189 permanent stands in the four cities were selected to represent the apparent variation in the different habitats. These stands were distributed as follows: 49 in 6th October, 37 in El-Sadat, 45 in Burg El-Arab, and 58 in 10th Ramadan. Altogether, 305 species of the vascular plants constituted the main synanthropic flora and the total number of species varied from 171 in Burg El-Arab, 157 in 10th Ramadan, 144 in Sadat and 132 to 6th October. The largest families that formed the main bulk of the recorded flora were Gramineae, Compositae, Leguminosae, followed by Euphorbiaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Cruciferae, Cyperaceae, Umbelliferae and Solanaceae. Five main urban habitats (from inner city toward outskirts) were distinguished: lawns, home gardens, public gardens, waste lands and desert outskirts. The most species-rich habitat was the waste lands (172 species), while the total number of species varied from 104 in the lawns and 113 home gardens, to 123 in the desert and 133 in the public gardens. Generally, the recorded synanthropic flora within the five main urban habitats can be classified into: (1) cultivated plant species that included ornamentals, hedges, shade plants, fodder plants, vegetables and fruits; (2) canal banks, salinized areas and wetland plants; (3) xerophytic plants of the outskirting desert; and (4) weeds of arable lands. Application of multivariate analyses techniques to 4 floristic data matrices yielded 22 TWINSPAN vegetation groups in the cities, and 26 in the five habitats, clearly separated along the first two axes of DCA.     

Predicting tree species richness in urban forests

There has been an increasing interest in urban forests and the levels of biodiversity they contain. Currently there are no spatially explicit maps of tree species richness in urban areas. This research tests and identifies GIS and remote sensing metrics (climate, area, productivity, three-dimensional structure) hypothesized to be associated with species richness in native forests and identifies methods that can be applied to predict and map tree species richness in cities. We quantified tree species richness, floristic composition, and structure in 28 1-ha plots in the city of Los Angeles. Climate and remote sensing metrics from high-resolution aerial imagery (10 cm), QuickBird (60 cm), Landsat (30 m), MODIS (250 m), and airborne lidar (2 m) were collected for each plot. There were 1208 individual stems and 108 trees identified to species. Species richness ranged from 2 to 31 species per ha and averaged 17 species per ha. Tree canopy cover from QuickBird explained the highest portion of variance (54%) in tree species richness followed by NDVI from Landsat (42%). Tree species richness can be higher in residential urban forests than native forests in the United States. Spatially explicit species richness maps at 1 ha can be created and tested for cities in order to identify both hotspots and coldspots of tree species richness and changes in species richness over time.     

The origin and development of the urban flora of Central Europe

The florae of Central European cities and towns differ largely from the flora of the hinterland. Characteristics of the urban flora (in comparison to that of the hinterland) are: a remarkable decrease in the percentage of indigenous and archeophytic species, in particular of those that have a narrow ecological amplitude and/or are strictly bound to oligotrophic habitats; an increase in the population of a small group of indigenous species resulting from a change from natural to synanthropic habitats (apophytisation, synanthropisation); an immigration of alien species (neophytes), in particular to disturbed habitats; and the development of new ecotypes. The origin and development of the typical features of the Central European urban flora can be divided into four distinctive periods: the time up until the end of the 15th century, the time from the 16th century to the beginning of the industrial age, the industrial age, the post-industrial age.     

Which traits influence the frequency of plant species occurrence in urban habitat types?

Plants in cities must cope with various anthropogenic environments that differ from surrounding landscapes. Moreover, the differences in biotic and abiotic conditions among these habitats filter species with suitable traits and niche requirements. Here we aim to identify those attributes that promote species occurrence across and within urban habitat types of large cities. Species composition of spontaneously occurring vascular plant species was recorded in 1-ha plots in seven different urban habitat types in each of 32 European cities. Each species was characterized in terms of dispersal type, growth form, height, seed bank longevity, seed mass, selected leaf traits and ecological indicators including Ellenberg indicator values, Grime’s life strategies, and immigration pathways using information from available species-trait databases. For each species, total frequency of occurrence across all plots and habitat frequency of occurrence across plots of given habitat types were calculated and regression trees were used to relate them to traits and ecological indicators. The most frequently occurring species in the cities tended to be human-dispersed, nutrient-demanding plants that prefer drier to mesic soil conditions. These species do not possess the S-strategy and usually produce seeds of low mass forming short-term persistent seed banks. Habitat-specific responses were also revealed, indicating the effects of between- and within-habitat heterogeneity on trends in species performance in cities. Such patterns can be overlooked when differences in species occurrences in particular urban habitat types are not considered; thus, habitat-specific responses can resolve inconsistencies found when whole urban floras are analysed as a whole.     

The importance of traffic corridors as urban habitats for plants in Finland

Traffic corridors have been recognized as floristically rich with endangered and rare species included. The aim of this study is to treat traffic corridors as habitats and estimate their importance for diversity of vascular plants on municipal level. The material is derived from the comprehensive studies of urban floras in the cities of Vantaa, Kerava and Järvenpää during the 1990s in southern Finland. The material consists of over 190,000 species records (704–771 species). The material was divided in two groups: the ones with occurrences in traffic corridors (TC) and the others with no occurrences (NTC). The percentage of the traffic corridor plants of the total flora is almost the same in all the three cities: two thirds in traffic corridors and one third not in traffic corridors. The explanation may be the general floristic similarity of the cities. The two groups differ ecologically from each other. The association of plants with traffic corridors varies according to the ecology of the species. About 100 plants have more than 50% of their occurrences in traffic corridors. In Järvenpää, a group of four Carex-species was intensively mapped. 46 occurrences out of 50 were found in traffic corridors. A case study showed the difficulties in management of endangered species on a roadside site. The usual extensive management techniques were not sustainable for the survival of the species. Instead, a much more intensive management was needed.     

Alien plant species do have a clear preference for different land uses within urban environments

Since neophytes can become invasive in the future, untangling their ecological preferences is of paramount importance, especially in urban areas where they represent a substantial proportion of the local flora. Studies exploring alien species assemblages in urban environments are however scarce. This study aims to unravel alien plant species preferences for five urban land uses (densely built-up areas, open built-up areas, industrial areas, broadleaved urban forests, and agricultural areas and small landscape elements). We took the city of Brussels as a model, in which we recorded all vascular species growing spontaneously in grid cells of 1 km². We tested two different ways of classifying the 1-km² cells: (1) We simply associated each cell with its dominant land cover; (2) We used a fuzzy approach for which the degree of association of a given cell to a given land cover depended on the proportion of that land cover within the cell. For both classification methods, we calculated the indicator species of the resulting land cover types based on alien species only. The crisp and fuzzy classifications identified 33 and 49 species, respectively, with a clear preference for some urban land use types (from a total of 129 alien plant species analyzed). Results showed that urban land use types having apparently similar environmental conditions can actually harbor different neophyte assemblages. Fine-tuning the categorization of urban environments in future ecological studies is therefore important for understanding spatial patterns of alien species occurrence.     

Are vascular epiphytes in urban green areas subject to the homogenization of biodiversity? A case study in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Urbanization is a disturbance process that can select species and result in biodiversity homogenization. Despite this, urban green areas shelter nature and are also important to human welfare. Epiphytes are an important functional group present in such areas, that are rarely studied. We evaluated the vascular epiphytic component in 26 urban green areas in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and tested hypotheses related to the anthropogenic disturbances: 1) the community of epiphytes in urban green areas presents low richness and diversity of species; 2) there is low beta diversity due to flora homogenization represented by a reduced set of more tolerant species to disturbance. A total of 2288 trees (1563 representing phorophytes) and 110 epiphytic species were sampled. Six species were dominant, resulting in low diversity values, but some green areas had relatively high richness. The similarity found between the majority of the sampled areas suggests that epiphytic flora is subject to homogenization due to environmental filters. We found a high richness of species without adaptations to the epiphytic lifeform (accidental epiphytes) (42% of total sampled). Some results suggest that more comprehensive ecological and/or floristic studies about the epiphytes in the urban environment are necessary, such as Orchidaceae as the second richest family (since it is often poor in urban areas). More information about the species distribution patterns are necessary, both regarding the anthropized environments and the relationships with exotic or native phorophytes, as well as to enhance the knowledge of the ecological functions played by the epiphytes in these places.

     

Species richness in urban parks and its drivers: A review of empirical evidence

There is growing recognition of urban areas as hosts for innovative ways to conserve and promote biodiversity. Parks, as one specific type of urban green space, constitute particularly important biodiversity hotspots in the cityscape. We reviewed empirical findings on the species richness in urban parks across all species groups that have been studied. The aim was to assess and discuss the overall species richness of urban parks, its community attributes and drivers. Search and subsequent selection process resulted in 62 papers from 25 different countries. For all examined species groups, the findings consistently show that parks are among the most species rich types of urban green spaces, but also that exotics constitute large shares, especially of plant species. Key ecological theories like the gradient approach and the island habitat ecological theory, and fundamental ecological relationships such as the species-area relationship are valid despite the manipulated ‘nature’ of parks and the surrounding urban matrix. Most studies surveyed large number of parks and applied ‘multi-scale’ approaches in tests of confounding variables, providing methodological strength. While matrix effects are consistently found to affect species richness negatively, the diversity of habitats and microhabitat heterogeneity contained in urban parks appears as the most decisive factor for the overall species richness. However, a constraint of research to date is the limitation of individual studies to one or a few species groups, rarely bridging between flora and fauna. Adopting ‘multi-species group’ approaches in future research is needed to further advance the understanding of the overall biodiversity of urban parks, and its drivers.     

The synanthropic flora in the Mendoza (Argentina) urban area

The synanthropic flora in the Mendoza urban area was studied in terms of its three most relevant sub-environments: house and school gardens, parks and borders of narrow ditches used to irrigate the whole city. The current synanthropic flora comprises 487 species, 8 native and 479 alien species. Neophytes include 282 genera and 104 families, with the dominant families being Fabaceae, comprising 41 species, Myrthaceae (38 spp), Rosaceae and Oleaceae (24 spp), all of which together represent 26% of the total richness recorded. Ephemerophytes, non-naturalized plants, represent 25.4% of the urban flora. Xenoergasiophytes and ergasiophytes are dominant in gardens and parks, whereas xenophytes grow in irrigation ditches across the city. Considering life forms, nanophaerophytes are prevalent in all three sub-environments, but succulents and therophytes are absent from ditches. The number of non-native plant species is increasing in the urban area of Mendoza, especially in the suburbs, and many of them at times become invasive.     

Habitat type,food resources,noise and light pollution explain the species composition,abundance and stability of a winter bird assemblage in an urban environment

At present, urban areas cover almost 3% of the Earth’s terrestrial area, and this proportion is constantly increasing. Although urbanization leads to a decline in biodiversity, at the same time it creates extensive habitats that are exploited by an assemblage of organisms, including birds. The species composition and density of birds nesting in towns and cities are determined by the types of buildings, the structure and maturity of urban greenery, and habitat diversity. In contrast, the habitat traits shaping the community of birds wintering in urban areas are not known. The aim of this work was to assess the influence of habitat structure, food resources and the urban effects (pollution, noise, artificial light) on an assemblage of birds overwintering in an urban area. It was carried out in 2014 and 2015 in the city of Kraków (southern Poland), on 56 randomly chosen sample plots, in which the composition, density and interseasonal similarity of bird assemblage were assessed with line transect method. A total of 64 bird species (mean = 17.7 ± 4.9 SD species/plot) was recorded. The mean density was 89.6 ind./km ±63.3 SD. The most numerous species were Great Tit Parus major, Magpie Pica pica, Blackbird Turdus merula, Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus, Rook Corvus frugilegus, Fieldfare Turdus pilaris and House Sparrow Passer domesticus. Noise adversely affected species numbers and density, but artificial light acted positively on the density of birds and their interseasonal stability. The species richness and density of birds were also determined by the number of food sources available (e.g. bird-feeders). In addition, the greater the proportion of open areas, the fewer species were recorded. In contrast, the more urban greenery there was, the greater the density of the entire bird assemblage. Urban infrastructure (buildings, roads, refuse tips) had a positive effect on the interseasonal stabilization of the species composition of wintering birds. The results of this work indicate that the urban effect, i.e. noise and light pollution, apart from purely habitat factors, provide a good explanation for the species richness, density and stability of bird assemblage wintering in urban areas.     

Small mammal assemblages in fragmented shrublands of urban areas of Central Chile

Mediterranean-type ecosystems are one of the most affected environments by habitat loss and fragmentation due to urban development, however only few studies have evaluated the effects of urbanization on the biodiversity of remnant fragments in these ecosystems. This study aims to evaluate the effects of urban development over small mammal assemblages inhabiting isolated forest fragments of an urban area of Chilean Mediterranean zone. We compared abundance and richness of small mammal assemblages of six remnant fragments within an urban matrix, and six fragments similar in area and habitat characteristics with those of urban area, but surrounded by a rural matrix. We found that small mammal assemblages differ considerably among fragments types (urban vs rural), with lack of endemic species from urban fragments and with high proportion of introduced rodents in urban fragments. Furthermore abundance of small mammals was higher in rural than in urban fragments. In urban areas small mammal abundance and richness were not correlated with any of the explanatory variables assessed (woody cover, flora heterogeneity, fragment area, perimeter/area ratio). However in rural fragments small mammal richness was negatively correlated with flora heterogeneity and the abundance of small mammals was positively correlated with perimeter/area ratio. These results reveal important differences within the effects of fragmentation over small mammal assemblages among the two types of fragments assessed. Our findings suggest that in forest fragments isolated by urbanization, larger areas with good quality habitats are not sufficient to maintain native small mammal population.     

Floral biodiversity of allotment gardens and its contribution to urban green infrastructure

Allotment gardens are a key feature of the urban landscape, providing numerous benefits beyond those of food production. These include ecosystem services such as local climate modification, pollination, and providing a pleasant location for socialising. The biodiversity of flora underpins many of these ecosystem services. The aims of this study are to assess the spontaneous vascular flora of urban allotment gardens and derive estimates of the species richness and diversity. In doing so, the specific position of allotment gardens within urban green infrastructure will be revealed and the role of allotment users in shaping local biodiversity determined. 358 species of spontaneous flora were recorded in 11 representative allotment garden estates (total area 150 ha) in Poznań, Poland. Fourteen biodiversity features were taken into account. The investigated areas exhibited high plant species richness, high diversity, low synanthropisation level, and contained valuable geobotanical elements, including plants of key importance for the European Community. For these reasons, allotment gardens should be considered as biodiversity hotspots for native species within urban green infrastructure. Based on an analysis of the spatial and functional organization of 110 individual plots, four types of usage, and corresponding plant diversity have been distinguished. The composition of the flora depends mostly on spatial and functional organization of allotment gardens and, to a much lesser extent, on the habitat conditions, which on individual plots varied very little. The high species richness and diversity in allotment gardens has important consequences for urban planning.     

Relation between green spaces and bird community structure in an urban area in Southeast Brazil

Increased urbanization typically leads to an increase in abundance of a few species and a reduction in bird species richness. Understanding the structure of biotic communities in urban areas will allow us to propose management techniques and to decrease conflicts between wild species and human beings. The objective of this study was to describe the structure of the bird community in an urban ecosystem. The study was carried out in the city of Taubaté in southeastern Brazil. Point-counts were established in areas with different levels of tree density ranging from urban green spaces to predominantly built-up areas. We looked for a correlation between the richness/abundance of birds and the size of the area surveyed, the number of houses, the number of tree species and the number of individual trees. The results of multiple regression showed that bird richness had a direct relationship with vegetation complexity. The abundance and diversity of tree species were better predictors of bird species than the number of houses and size of the area surveyed. We discuss implications of this study for conservation and management of bird diversity in urban areas, such as the need to increase green areas containing a large diversity of native plant species.     

How to improve urban greenspace for woodland birds: site and local-scale determinants of bird species richness

Wooded habitats represent hotspots of urban biodiversity, however, urban development imposes pressure on biota in these refuges. Identification of the most influential habitat attributes and the role of local urban characteristics is crucial for proper decisions on management practices supporting biodiversity. We aimed to identify well manageable fine-scale habitat attributes to suggest specific, feasible and affordable management recommendations for green space in cities. We analysed species richness of woodland-associated bird communities and incidence of individual species at 290 sites in a wide variety of green areas scattered across the city of Prague, Czech Republic. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) and regression tree analyses were used to identify site-scale (100 m radius sampling sites) and local-scale (200 m and 500 m radius plots) habitat attributes shaping the bird communities at individual sites. Logistic regression was used to assess the responses of individual species to habitat characteristics. Our results imply that at the site scale, management practices should focus on maintenance and promoting species-diverse and older tree stands, with a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees. Water-bodies and accompanying riparian habitats should be maintained and carefully managed to preserve high-quality remnants of natural vegetation. Presence of a few old trees (about 12 % of tree cover with DBH?>?50 cm) or small urban standing water and watercourses enrich the bird community by at least two species. Species richness of woodland avifauna at particular sites is further supported by the total amount of tree cover in the surroundings, including scattered greenery of public spaces and private gardens. We conclude that proper management at site scale has the potential to increase biodiversity of the urban environment.     

A cultivated environment: Exploring the global distribution of plants in gardens, parks and streetscapes

Plants cultivated in gardens, parks and streetscapes are becoming increasingly important to peoples?? experience of biological life, and have been the recent focus of research in ecology, invasion biology, human geography and sociology. However patterns of distribution have not previously been explored at a global scale. In this study, global patterns in the distribution of cultivated floras were explored to determine the significance of biophysical and social factors driving species distributions. The taxonomic similarity of 72 published species lists was examined, covering a wide geographic and climatic range and a variety of land uses. Cultivated floras across urban and rural settlements were found to be very different and unsurprisingly to be strongly filtered by temperature. However we found that human behaviour may overcome other physical drivers of plant distribution such as rainfall in some instances. Social factors were also found to be important. Having a different dominant language (a proxy for cultural background) and difference in GDP per person (a proxy for household income) were also related to the dissimilarity of cultivated floras. Differences in both the social and physical environment are related to floristic differences between cities. However, we recognise that other factors identified in the literature but unsuited to meta-analysis, may also influence the composition of cultivated landscapes. These include changes in policy relating to the provision of street and park vegetation, the availability of plants from nurseries and the preferences of influential gardeners and landscape designers. The significance of the relationship between temperature and species composition suggests that cultivated floras are likely to change in response to climate change. The high level of dissimilarity observed between settlements suggests that patterns of potential naturalisation of cultivated plants are likely to be more complex than currently accepted.     

Determinants of species richness within and across taxonomic groups in urban green spaces

Urban green spaces provide habitat for numerous plant and animal species. However, currently we have little knowledge on which determinants drive the species richness within and across taxonomic groups. In this paper we investigate the determinants of total, native, and endangered species richness for vascular plants, birds, and mammals within and across taxonomic groups. We examined a stratified random sample of 32 urban green spaces in Hannover, Germany. Species inventories for plants and birds were generated on the basis of line transect surveys. Mammals were surveyed by means of point counts using camera traps. Using a principal component analysis and multiple regression models, we tested 10 explanatory variables for species-area effects, distance effects, and the effects of habitat structure of green spaces on species richness. When analyzing single explanatory variables, we determined that the species richness of all groups was significantly positively correlated to patch area, number of habitat types, and a short distance to the nearest green space. Testing combined effects of variables showed that patch area in combination with habitat heterogeneity was most important for plants (total, native, and endangered), birds (total and native), and overall species richness. This emphasizes the importance of the species-area effect and the effects of habitat structure on species richness in urban green spaces. We conclude that, in the context of urban planning, it is important to conserve large green spaces that include a high diversity of habitats to maintain high species richness.     

Analysis of the non-native flora of Ensenada, a fast growing city in northwestern Baja California

Urbanized areas show a high proportion of non-native plants and can work as dispersal points to the surrounding areas. Ensenada is a fast growing city located in the northwestern peninsula of Baja California (Mexico). It is the southern extreme of a bi-national, coastal urban corridor that extends from Los Angeles, California south to Ensenada. This corridor is part of the biodiversity hotspot of the California Floristic Province. The aim of this study was to analyze the composition and distribution of the spontaneous flora in the city of Ensenada. We systematically sampled two differentiated urban environments, vacant lots and arroyos, in 2006 and 2007. We found a total of 158 plant species, 61% of them were non-native species. Arroyo areas showed higher non-native species richness than vacant lots (21.9 vs. 13.6 species/transect) and could be potential dispersal vectors for non-native species to natural areas outside of the city, or in the reverse direction also.     

Avian diversity in a suburban park system: current conditions and strategies for dealing with anticipated change

A growing trend towards increased urbanization emphasizes the role of suburban parks in wildlife conservation. Spatial planning aimed at maintaining biological diversity and functionality must consider how changes at landscape and more local scales will influence the biotic structure of urban areas. From May 2006 to July 2010, bird surveys were conducted in three metropolitan parks in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Surveys were conducted with the goal of examining the effect of vegetation structure and adjacent land cover on the distribution and species richness of breeding birds within this park system. A total of 65 species were recorded throughout the study area. Avian species richness was linked to several habitat metrics, measured at both the local and landscape scale. Generally, species richness was highest at locations characterized by moderate forest cover. The proportion of canopy cover at survey sites related negatively to species richness and the density of understory vegetation showed a positive relationship with species diversity. Despite the influence of these three metrics, sensitivity analysis indicates that the density of understory vegetation is the most significant correlate to avian diversity within this suburban park system. Management actions aimed at providing habitat for the greatest diversity of breeding songbirds within the study area should allow for moderate canopy cover while retaining or improving the structural complexity of understory vegetatation.     

Value of an urban habitat for the native Mediterranean avifauna

Mediterranean landscapes resulted from complex land uses that produced a mosaic of extensive crops, grasslands, scrublands and scattered woodlands. During the twentieth century the decrease in traditional agriculture triggered a decrease in open habitats and an increase in forests. In the meantime urban centres grew dramatically. Both spread of forest and urban areas have been suspected to participate in the decline of typical Mediterranean bird species and, in general, to cause faunal loss. However, modern cities offer a variety of landscape types and, in the Mediterranean, their value for native bird species has been little assessed. We compared the bird communities from an urban landscape, including built up and natural or semi natural units within the limits of the city of Montpellier, to the bird communities from non-urban habitats (cropland, grassland and woodland) located nearby but away from direct urban influence. Fifty four percent of the bird species recorded in the non-urban habitats also occurred in the urban landscape. On average, estimated species richness in the urban landscape was similar to values obtained for non-urban habitats. Within the urban landscape species richness was lowest in the dense historical centre and highest in the residential areas. The residential areas and urban woods were suitable habitats for most generalist species but also for several more specialized species recorded in the non-urban habitats. Some species actually reached their highest observation frequency in the urban landscape. Urban landscape was least favourable to the same farmland and open-habitat specialists that have been negatively affected by agricultural abandonment in the region. Finally, five of the species common in the urban landscape had an unfavorable conservation status in 2004 in the EU. This study emphasizes that Mediterranean urban areas have the potential to host a diverse native bird community. Finding ways to improve their carrying capacity for the local avifauna might be a worthwhile objective for animal conservation.