Cited by 134Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesUrban Arborization and Environmental StudiesBotany and Plant Ecology Studies

Homogenization of plant diversity, composition, and structure in North American urban yards

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Pearse, William D., Cavender‐Bares, Jeannine, Hobbie, Sarah E., Avolio, Meghan L., Bettez, Neil, Roy Chowdhury, Rinku, Darling, Lindsay E., Groffman, Peter M. +10 more·2018·Ecosphere

Abstract

Urban ecosystems are widely hypothesized to be more ecologically homogeneous than natural ecosystems. We argue that urban plant communities assemble from a complex mix of horticultural and regional species pools, and evaluate the homogenization hypothesis by comparing cultivated and spontaneously occurring urban vegetation to natural area vegetation across seven major U.S. cities. There was limited support for homogenization of urban diversity, as the cultivated and spontaneous yard flora had greater numbers of species than natural areas, and cultivated phylogenetic diversity was also greater. However, urban yards showed evidence of homogenization of composition and structure. Yards were compositionally more similar across regions than were natural areas, and tree density was less variable in yards than in comparable natural areas. This homogenization of biodiversity likely reflects similar horticultural source pools, homeowner preferences, and management practices across U.S. cities.

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  • The combination of declining endemic species and the spread of already widespread species drives 'biotic homogenization', a convergence of biological communities across regions.

    “This combination of declining endemic species and the spread of already widespread species as humans purposefully or unwittingly transport species around the world drives ' biotic homogenization ' ( 45 , 46 ), a convergence of biological communities across regions that blurs the patterns on life ' s rich tapestry.”

    From Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change (2019) · cites this paper as [46]

    The Structure section defines homogenization as urban areas in different regions becoming more similar, and the Composition section links similarity among cultivated plant pools to human transport and management. The copy does not establish the claimed combination of declining endemic species and the spread of already widespread species as its driver. Page numbers were not available in the indexed passages. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  1. Fox, J., and S. Weisberg. 2011. An R companion to applied regression. Second edition. Sage, Thou- sand Oaks, California, USA.

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Authors
Pearse, W. D., Cavender‐Bares, J., Hobbie, S. E., Avolio, M. L., Bettez, N., Roy Chowdhury, R., Darling, L. E., Groffman, P. M., Grove, J. M., Hall, S. J., Heffernan, J. B., Learned, J., Neill, C., Nelson, K. C., Pataki, D. E., Ruddell, B. L., Steele, M. K., & Trammell, T. L. E.
Affiliations
  • Utah State University (US)
  • Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota 140 Gortner Lab, 1479 Gortner Avenue St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
  • University of Minnesota (US)
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
  • Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies (US)
  • Department of Geography Indiana University Bloomington Indiana 47405 USA
  • Morton Arboretum (US)
  • The Graduate Center, CUNY (US)
  • US Forest Service (US)
  • Arizona State University (US)
  • Duke University (US)
  • Research Corporation of The University of Hawaii (US)
  • Woodwell Climate Research Center (US)
  • University of Utah (US)
  • Northern Arizona University (US)
  • Virginia Tech (US)
  • University of Delaware (US)
Corresponding author
Pearse, William D.
Venue
Ecosphere
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2018-02
Volume
9
Issue
2
ISSN
2150-8925 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2794263711
Cited by
130
References
73
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 7
FWCI
11.38
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Ecosphere (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • VTechWorks (Virginia Tech) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Clark Digital Commons (Clark University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Florida International University Digital Commons (Florida International University) (submittedVersion)
  • Florida International University Digital Commons (Florida International University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) (submittedVersion)
  • Open Access Server of the Woods Hole Scientific Community (Woods Hole Scientific Community) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
National Science Foundation (EF‐1065548, 1065737, 1065740, 1065741, 1065772, 1065785, 1065831, 121238320, DEB‐0423476, BCS‐1026865, DEB‐0423704, DEB‐9714833, OCE‐1058747, OCE‐1238212, DEB‐0620652, DBI‐0620409)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Urban Arborization and Environmental Studies
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Botany and Plant Ecology Studies
Keywords
urban homogenization, urban biodiversity, floristic composition, phylogenetic diversity, spontaneous vegetation, tree density, urban ecology, North American cities

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