Scoring With Urban Biodiversity

After family and friends; comfort and pleasant living in your home city just may be more important than your job and compensation. Personally, I would rank pleasant city living better than high-paying job – for the time being.

I’ve put together this infobit to help you rank what you see around you, and point out some of the little things, you know – factoids – about the biodiversity around you. Who knows, maybe you’ll start to hate your city and be disgusted by it and then, well, my job here is done. There’s no point system, it’s just to induce observation.

1. Natures Services – These are the ’services’ that nature provides that our infrastructure has replaced. Not that that’s a problem, but it is an indicator of a city that may or may not have maintained a touch of natural systems. Do you live in a hilly city? If there is no indication that there is natural drainage (soils and treed areas) as water runs down a hill, then go ahead and score your town a little lower; they left nothing for nature to do. When storm runoff runs directly from road to drain to creek to (for example) river or ocean, that body of water is seeing every single thing anyone’s ever flicked down a drain. A small wetland system for example, can make a ton of difference.

Purification of air and water is another important service. Though we all know that trees and shrubs keep our air oxygen rich, we tend to underestimate that actual contribution. As for the atmosphere and gases we rely on to survive, there is no replacement for the services plants and trees provide. Some studies on valuations of ecological contribution (nature’s services not completely replaced) put these services at a $US 33 trillion per year globally. As a comparison, the global GNP is approximately $18 trillion annually. (Schaeffer et al, University of Victoria)

2. Woodlots and Parks – We can see these in several ways, but an important factor considering human comfort is social space. Is your favorite outside ‘hangout spot’ roadside concrete only? Or, are you inclined to chill on the grassy knoll a block away, far from the sound of traffic? Part of what cities should be doing is influencing people to make decisions in socializing around nature, experiencing natures services, in one case the dulling of noise pollution. Sure, maybe the wireless doesn’t reach that far; but rank you city just a little lower if you haven’t sat on grass in a year. Winter not included.

3. Tree Cover – the energy savings and comfort provided by high tree coverage in an urban area is priceless. Well, that’s not true, someone has put a price on it.

• Expect 10-12% savings in winter heating bills with trees as windbreaks placed strategically.
• Expect up to 25% savings from proper placement for summer cooling bills with savings from shade given.
• City-wide, the shade provided over concrete can cool a city up to 3 degrees. Heat stored in concrete and buildings is released throughout the evening and night, allowing the false need to air-condition homes. (McPherson, Heisler and Rowntree)
• On an extra note trees, shrubs and vines on the west wall of a home consistently lowered temperatures by 17%.

4. Indicator Species - this is one of my faves, as it gave me a new way to look at pigeons, Canada Geese and other non-natives. These indicator species are known as pests, but more than anything it is a sign that you live in a very disturbed system. These species literally replace native biodiversity with their ability to adapt to a changing environment and outcompete native species. That’s why pigeons and sparrows love that town square, nothing else can survive surrouded by that much concrete; they hardly have to compete.

So there you have it, 4 factors of biodiversity that affect our city and possibly your urban comfort. It’s a good thing to be aware of, as maybe you’ll have an upper hand when chosing your next home: like how much sun and wind coverage do you get on its west side? Are your storm drains likely to suffer at the bottom of this tree and soil stripped hill?

Look around. Always. Consider. Nature’s. Services.