Urban Ecology

Creating Wildflower Habitats in Golf Course Out-Of-Play Areas

Rebecca Nestle, Grace Cope, Nicole Benda, and Adam G. Dale

Forest Remnants: Conserving and Observing Bird Diversity in Urban Settings

Dan Dawson and Mark Hostetler

A Bird's-Eye View: How Birds Select Habitat

Mark E. Hostetler

A Scientific Framework for Managing Urban Natural Areas

Frank J. Mazzotti and Carol Morgenstern

The purposes of this paper are: to present a scientific framework for managing urban natural areas; to discuss general ecological issues and management concerns identified from our early efforts at applying this approach to Broward County ESL sites; and to discuss the Pine Island Ridge ESL site as a case study.

Wildlife in Urban Landscapes: Use of Golf Course Ponds by Wetlands Birds

C. LeAnn White and Martin B. Main

Encouraging Residents to Request Wildlife-Friendly Landscape Maintenance from Their Chosen Professionals: A Stages of Change Approach for Extension and Other Practitioners

Laura A. Warner, Dharmendra Kalauni, John M. Diaz, Emily Marois, Adam Dale, and Jaret Daniels

This publication explains Florida residents’ current involvement in requesting wildlife-friendly landscape maintenance (WFLM) and the perceived barriers and motivators associated with this behavior using the concept of stages of change. Written by Laura A. Warner, Dharmendra Kalauni, John M. Diaz, Emily Marois, Adam Dale, and Jaret Daniels, and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, April 2024.

Protecting Natural Areas During Development: Four Spatial Considerations to Maximize their Benefits

Basil V. Iannone III, Tina McIntyre, Alexander J. Reisinger, Eban Z. Bean, Abbey Tyrna, and Brooke L. Moffis

Designers, builders, and managers of sustainable urban areas must consider location and proximity of conserved land, built infrastructure, and designed urban ecosystems such as stormwater ponds and ornamental gardens. This publication introduces four key spatial considerations and discusses their implications for conservation of native plants and animals and the biodiversity and ecological benefits provided by urban landscapes. Planners, builders, and managers must recognize and conserve spatial differences in habitat types and understand how the size, shape, and location of conserved lands and urban ecosystems affect plant and animal welfare and movement. The publication  lists multiple free tools for visualizing and measuring spatial aspects and stresses that conserved areas and designed ecosystems must be properly managed to reap benefits from good spatial planning. People can use the information to improve the design, construction and management of sustainable urban areas.

Conserving Urban Wildlife in the Face of Climate Change

Daniel Feinberg and Mark Hostetler

Virtually all climatologists agree that humans are increasing the rate of the Earth’s warming by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. But you might be surprised to learn that houses and residential neighborhoods are sources of greenhouse gases or carbon because everything in a house that runs on electricity or gas is often derived from burning fossil fuels. This publication describes the connections between climate change, wildlife, and human neighborhoods and presents several ways for residents to live more sustainably.

What are urban mangroves?

Gabriela Reyes, Ashley Smyth, and Laura Reynolds

Urban mangroves are mangroves located in cities and residential areas. While urban mangroves may be highly impacted by humans, they continue to provide important ecosystem services, or benefits to society. In fact, due to their location, more people may benefit from these urban mangroves than from pristine mangroves, which are often located in protected areas. The following document describes the role of mangroves in urban areas. This document is intended for coastal residents, coastal resource managers, and urban planners who are interested in learning about mangroves and their importance in cities. Written by Gabriela Reyes, Ashley Smyth, and Laura Reynolds, and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Soil and Water Sciences; 4 pp.

Land Use in the Wildland-Urban Interface: Urban Sprawl and Smart Growth

Lauren McDonell, Martha C. Monroe, Gene Boles, Terri Mashour, and Basil V. Iannone

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet for General Public audience(s).

Sources and Transformations of Nitrogen in Urban Landscapes

Alexander J. Reisinger, Mary G. Lusk, and Ashley R. Smyth

This document describes the urban N cycle for state and county regulatory personnel tasked with developing and implementing nutrient management strategies for water quality protection. Readers of this document would benefit from already having a general understanding of nutrient pollution. Although the material covered here can be fairly complex, this document is intended to provide a more in-depth understanding of the N cycle for a reader with a basic understanding but who is looking for more specific details.

Frequently Asked Questions about Stormwater Wet Ponds

Ange Asanzi, Miranda Carver Martin, Michelle Atkinson, Chamoda P. D. Dissanayake Mudiyanselage, Basil V. Iannone III, Eban Bean, Alexander J. Reisinger, Mary Lusk, Dail Laughinghouse, and Paul Monaghan

This publication addresses some of the most frequent questions that residents ask regarding the function and maintenance of their stormwater ponds. Written by Ange Asanzi, Miranda Carver Martin, Michelle Atkinson, Chamoda P. D. Dissanayake Mudiyanselage, Basil V. Iannone III, Eban Bean, Alexander J. Reisinger, Mary Lusk, Dail Laughinghouse, and Paul Monaghan, and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, August 2024.

What Types of Urban Greenspace Are Better for Carbon Dioxide Sequestration?

Mark Hostetler and Francisco Escobedo

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. Published by Sustainability of production systems and alternatives

Potential Breeding Habitat for 3 Forest-Specialist Birds in the Suburbs

Natalie Pegg and Mark Hostetler

Studies report that urban areas may not provide breeding habitat for interior-forest birds, but some residential neighborhoods do have sufficient vegetation to serve as breeding habitat for forest birds and even interior-forest specialists. The authors investigated the occurrence of three interior-forest specialists, pileated woodpeckers, summer tanagers, and northern parulas, during the breeding season in two suburban neighborhoods of Gainesville, Florida, and found that all three species occurred in residential neighborhoods consistently throughout the breeding season and were most often detected in local areas with dense vegetation from the ground to the canopy. Our results suggest that decision-makers can improve the amount of breeding habitat in southeastern cities for these three species by retaining forest fragments, tree canopy, large trees, tree snags, and understory vegetation.

Cues to Care: Are city landowners willing to make ecological landscapes?

Mark Hostetler

The purpose of this fact sheet is to inform homeowners, developers, and city officials about potential considerations to make urban landscapes more eco-friendly, to improve urban biodiversity, and to explore avenues to install more environmentally friendly landscapes that provide wildlife habitat and reduce natural resource consumption.

Building for Birds Evaluation Tool: Built Areas as Habitat for Forest Birds

Mark Hostetler and Jan-Michael Archer

A variety of forest birds use trees and shrubs in built areas (urban residential and commercial areas) as summer breeding sites and foraging/shelter sites during winter and spring/fall migration seasons. This publication explains how the "building for birds" online evaluation tool can help assess the impacts of different development plans on bird habitat so that decision makers can explore different designs and determine which may be best and conserve the most—and the best—bird habitat.