@article{5afa5c8ac20c43c2801ca7f7a583d61c,
title = "Beyond urban legends: An emerging framework of urban ecology, as illustrated by the Baltimore ecosystem study",
abstract = "The emerging discipline of urban ecology is shifting focus from ecological processes embedded within cities to integrative studies of large urban areas as biophysical-social complexes. Yet this discipline lacks a theory. Results from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, part of the Long Term Ecological Research Network, expose new assumptions and test existing assumptions about urban ecosystems. The findings suggest a broader range of structural and functional relationships than is often assumed for urban ecological systems. We address the relationships between social status and awareness of environmental problems, and between race and environmental hazard. We present patterns of species diversity, riparian function, and stream nitrate loading. In addition, we probe the suitability of land-use models, the diversity of soils, and the potential for urban carbon sequestration. Finally, we illustrate lags between social patterns and vegetation, the biogeochemistry of lawns, ecosystem nutrient retention, and social-biophysical feedbacks. These results suggest a framework for a theory of urban ecosystems.",
keywords = "City, Coupled natural-human system, Patch dynamics, Social-ecological system, Urban ecosystem",
author = "Pickett, {Steward T A} and Cadenasso, {Mary L.} and Grove, {J. Morgan} and Groffman, {Peter M.} and Band, {Lawrence E.} and Christopher Boone and Burch, {William R.} and Grimmond, {C. Susan B} and John Hom and Jenkins, {Jennifer C.} and Law, {Neely L.} and Nilon, {Charles H.} and Pouyat, {Richard V.} and Katalin Szlavecz and Warren, {Paige S.} and Wilson, {Matthew A.}",
note = "Funding Information: This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under LTER Grant no. 0423476 and BCS-0508054. We gratefully acknowledge additional support from the USDA Forest Service and from the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Partnerships with the US Geo logical Survey, the City of Baltimore Department of Public Works and Department of Recreation and Parks, the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protec- tion and Resource Management and Department of Recreation and Parks, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Forest Service, and the McDonough School have been instrumental in the results reported here. We are grateful to our colleagues at these institutions for their intellectual contributions and insights into the environment and environmental management in the Baltimore region. We thank Jordan C. Wolf for his help with a breeding bird survey in Baltimore City, and Mark Schwartz and Nancy McIntyre for helpful reviews of the manuscript. Funding Information: This disciplinary maturity and utility has been facilitated by the investment of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) Forest Service, and partner institutions in major urban ecological research projects. The Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES), part of the NSF{\textquoteright}s Long Term Ecological Research Network, is one such project. We briefly summarize a diverse range of research findings from the BES that exemplify the state of the art of contemporary urban ecology. We use these findings to clarify assumptions about urban ecological systems and to address this question: Is existing ecological theory sufficient to support the new discipline of integrated urban ecology, or is new theory required (Collins et al. 2000)? Articulating and evaluating key assumptions about complex urban regions as integrated social-ecological systems can help contribute to a preliminary theoretical framework.",
year = "2008",
month = feb,
doi = "10.1641/B580208",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "58",
pages = "139--150",
journal = "BioScience",
issn = "0006-3568",
publisher = "Oxford University Press",
number = "2",
}