<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The assessment and monitoring of biodiversity in urban areas has been shown to have enormous potential to inform integrative urban planning in cities. In this context, digital biodiversity repositories such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) has been promoted for its central role in gathering and harmonizing biodiversity data worldwide, thereby facilitating these assessments and monitoring efforts. While GBIF data has been investigated for its potential at a large scale and in natural ecosystems, the question remains as to what extent, and in which context, is GBIF data applicable to urban biodiversity assessment and monitoring? In this study, we assessed the spatial patterns of biodiversity, by exploring species richness patterns in relation to land use types for three taxonomic groups (birds, mammals and arthropods) in three cities in The Netherlands (Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Groningen) at multiple spatial scales. We found significant variation in the effect of land uses on the species richness patterns, in terms of taxonomic group, spatial configuration and land cover type, and across spatial scales. Our study demonstrates the potential of GBIF data while highlighting the importance of the careful selection of one or multiple spatial scales, especially in relation to the taxonomic group characteristics and ecology and the spatial configuration of the cities studied.</p>
</abstract>

The assessment and monitoring of biodiversity in urban areas has been shown to have enormous potential to inform integrative urban planning in cities. In this context, digital biodiversity repositories such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) has been promoted for its central role in gathering and harmonizing biodiversity data worldwide, thereby facilitating these assessments and monitoring efforts. While GBIF data has been investigated for its potential at a large scale and in natural ecosystems, the question remains as to what extent, and in which context, is GBIF data applicable to urban biodiversity assessment and monitoring? In this study, we assessed the spatial patterns of biodiversity, by exploring species richness patterns in relation to land use types for three taxonomic groups (birds, mammals and arthropods) in three cities in The Netherlands (Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Groningen) at multiple spatial scales. We found significant variation in the effect of land uses on the species richness patterns, in terms of taxonomic group, spatial configuration and land cover type, and across spatial scales. Our study demonstrates the potential of GBIF data while highlighting the importance of the careful selection of one or multiple spatial scales, especially in relation to the taxonomic group characteristics and ecology and the spatial configuration of the cities studied.

Biodiversity in cities: the impact of biodiversity data across spatial scales on diversity estimates

Folia Oecologica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The assessment and monitoring of biodiversity in urban areas has been shown to have enormous potential to inform integrative urban planning in cities. In this...

Biodiversity in cities: the impact of biodiversity data across spatial scales on diversity estimates

Published Online: Jul 26, 2023

Page range: 134 - 146

Received: Mar 06, 2023

Accepted: May 31, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/foecol-2023-0012

Keywords
arthropods, birds, GBIF, mammals, Netherlands, spatial scale, urban biodiversity

© 2023 C.X. Garzon Lopez et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Biodiversity in cities: the impact of biodiversity data across spatial scales on diversity estimates

Published Online: Jul 26, 2023

Page range: 134 - 146

Received: Mar 06, 2023

Accepted: May 31, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/foecol-2023-0012

Keywordsarthropods, birds, GBIF, mammals, Netherlands, spatial scale, urban biodiversity

© 2023 C.X. Garzon Lopez et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
arthropods, birds, GBIF, mammals, Netherlands, spatial scale, urban biodiversity