TY - JOUR
T1 - Ecological homogenization of urban USA
AU - Groffman, Peter M.
AU - Cavender-Bares, Jeannine
AU - Bettez, Neil D.
AU - Grove, J. Morgan
AU - Hall, Sharon J.
AU - Heffernan, James B.
AU - Hobbie, Sarah E.
AU - Larson, Kelli L.
AU - Morse, Jennifer L.
AU - Neill, Christopher
AU - Nelson, Kristen
AU - O'Neil-Dunne, Jarlath
AU - Ogden, Laura
AU - Pataki, Diane E.
AU - Polsky, Colin
AU - Chowdhury, Rinku Roy
AU - Steele, Meredith K.
PY - 2014/2
Y1 - 2014/2
N2 - 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, multidisciplinary 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.
AB - 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, multidisciplinary 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.
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U2 - 10.1890/120374
DO - 10.1890/120374
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84894245936
SN - 1540-9295
VL - 12
SP - 74
EP - 81
JO - Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
JF - Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
IS - 1
ER -