Drivers and early warning signs of biodiversity change in urban ecosystems

With increasingly urban populations worldwide and a growing need to ensure ecosystem service provision, managers must plan not only for the urban woodlands we have today, but also for what they might become. This project will develop indicators to detect changes urban woodland succession and its repercussions on future biodiversity. Using existing environmental monitoring data from the Greater Toronto Area, we will first identify candidate woodland characteristics that are sensitive to urbanization, then test their ability to predict woodland succession and biodiversity for a long-term monitoring dataset in the same area. The partner organization will benefit from this work by being able to include expected ecosystem trajectory into their site characterization and conservation prioritization process, helping achieve future ecosystem services and biodiversity targets and improve urban sustainability.

Faculty Supervisor:

Marc W. Cadotte

Student:

Françoise Cardou

Partner:

Toronto and Region Conservation Authority

Discipline:

Biology

Sector:

University:

Program:

Accelerate