University of Louisville

Examining Predictors of Biodiversity in the Community Gardens of Louisville, KY

Institution

University of Louisville

Abstract

Increasing human population, urbanization, and climate change have led to habitat fragmentation and loss of biodiversity worldwide. Unsustainable farming practices degrade available farmland and threaten biodiversity of crops and the surrounding ecosystems. Interest has increased in urban agriculture in order to combat food security, reduce habitat fragmentation of certain fauna, and augment urban biodiversity. Although the social importance of community gardens is well established, they are understudied biologically. Community gardens function as a patch type in an urban setting with the potential to increase green space and provide ecological benefits, but more quantitative information is warranted to determine the best predictors for biodiversity within these systems and to understand their conservation potential. The goals of this project were to determine the range of crop species in community gardens throughout Louisville, to determine the range of weedy species present in adjacent, uncultivated locations, to quantitatively describe each type of diversity, and to determine the effectiveness of area as a predictor for both crop and weed biodiversity. To this end, eight community gardens throughout Jefferson County were selected for study. Weedy species were documented, and for each individual sampled garden, plot area was measured and crop plants were counted and identified. Species and family area curves revealed that crop patches do not follow typical species area curve patterns observed in nature while the weedy patches do. Area did not predict crop species or family richness, Shannon diversity (H), or evenness (J). However, sites differed significantly in crop species and family level identity and crop patches added 14 plant families not seen in adjacent weedy patches, which could have ecological implications for higher trophic level organisms. Because crop diversity is not predicted by area, further work will be done to understand the socio-ecological dynamics of these human-influenced patch types.

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Examining Predictors of Biodiversity in the Community Gardens of Louisville, KY

Increasing human population, urbanization, and climate change have led to habitat fragmentation and loss of biodiversity worldwide. Unsustainable farming practices degrade available farmland and threaten biodiversity of crops and the surrounding ecosystems. Interest has increased in urban agriculture in order to combat food security, reduce habitat fragmentation of certain fauna, and augment urban biodiversity. Although the social importance of community gardens is well established, they are understudied biologically. Community gardens function as a patch type in an urban setting with the potential to increase green space and provide ecological benefits, but more quantitative information is warranted to determine the best predictors for biodiversity within these systems and to understand their conservation potential. The goals of this project were to determine the range of crop species in community gardens throughout Louisville, to determine the range of weedy species present in adjacent, uncultivated locations, to quantitatively describe each type of diversity, and to determine the effectiveness of area as a predictor for both crop and weed biodiversity. To this end, eight community gardens throughout Jefferson County were selected for study. Weedy species were documented, and for each individual sampled garden, plot area was measured and crop plants were counted and identified. Species and family area curves revealed that crop patches do not follow typical species area curve patterns observed in nature while the weedy patches do. Area did not predict crop species or family richness, Shannon diversity (H), or evenness (J). However, sites differed significantly in crop species and family level identity and crop patches added 14 plant families not seen in adjacent weedy patches, which could have ecological implications for higher trophic level organisms. Because crop diversity is not predicted by area, further work will be done to understand the socio-ecological dynamics of these human-influenced patch types.