Instructor: Abhinandan Bera

Urban Ecology & Assistant Professor

Department of Architecture and Planning
Environmental Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra
Planning (AR 605) Contact: abera@bitmesra.ac.in /
+917595957828
Today we will learn…
Urban climates: Soil & organisms
What comprises a city?
Built structure
Urban Chicago: tar (tarmac or asphalt) (21%), lawn (20%), buildings (17%), and cement (12%)
Suburban Chicago: lawn (33%), herbaceous vegetation (20%), tar (12%), and buildings (8%)

Physical Environment
Urban Ecosystem: climate, substrate, organisms, topography, and time
Elements of physical environment: Soil, water, air.

Organisms
Trees, Shrubs, Birds, Animals, Humans.
Habitats: Where organisms live
What comprises a city?
Built structure
Urban Chicago: tar (tarmac or asphalt) (21%), lawn (20%), buildings (17%), and cement (12%)
Suburban Chicago: lawn (33%), herbaceous vegetation (20%), tar (12%), and buildings (8%)

Physical Environment
Urban Ecosystem: climate, substrate, organisms, topography, and time
Elements of physical environment: Soil, water, air.

Organisms
Trees, Shrubs, Birds, Animals, Humans.
Habitats: Where organisms live
(urban) Soil – what we think it does
Our primary perception of
the nature of urban soil:
disturbed landscapes.

Studies focus on highly

disturbed and human-
constructed soils along
roadsides and in highly
developed areas.

Source: https://bugwoodcloud.org/images/768x512/5410517.jpg
(urban) Soil – what it (actually) does
Soil acts as a growth
media and substrate for
flora and fauna.

Heterogeneity in soil
adds to biodiversity.

Influences nutrient flow

and hydrological cycle.
(urban) Soil – what we do > what we get

Human interventions change soil Change in vegetation, land use, and

structure, physical properties, soil resultant pollution in air and water.
chemistry.

Disturbed soils in urban areas typically Compact soil infiltrates limited water even
have limited infiltration capacities due to during small storm events. Results in
hydrophobic surfaces, crust formation, flooding.
and soil compaction.

Contamination of soil due to heavy Polluted water bodies lead to health

metals, untreated industrial effluents. concerns. Polluted soil leads to lower
production of crops.
 Measuring (urban) soil conditions

Source: Pickett et al. (2011)

What comprises a city?
Built structure
Urban Chicago: tar (tarmac or asphalt) (21%), lawn (20%), buildings (17%), and cement (12%)
Suburban Chicago: lawn (33%), herbaceous vegetation (20%), tar (12%), and buildings (8%)

Physical Environment
Urban Ecosystem: climate, substrate, organisms, topography, and time
Elements of physical environment: Soil, water, air.

Organisms
Trees, Shrubs, Birds, Animals, Humans.
Habitats: Where organisms live
How much vegetation do we have?
Measure plant canopy by
Leaf Area Index (LAI)
A measurement of total leaf
area per unit of ground area.

https://bluenorth.co.za
How much vegetation do we have?
Measure plant canopy by
Leaf Area Index (LAI)
A measurement of total leaf
area per unit of ground area.

Spatial heterogeneity of
vegetation increases
biodiversity > creates
habitat.
What kind of vegetation do we have?

Health of trees calculated

by
Normalized Difference
Vegetation Index (NDVI)

Ranagalage et al. (2017) An Urban Heat Island Study of the Colombo Metropolitan
Area, Sri Lanka, Based on Landsat Data (1997–2017)
 What is NDVI?

LL_wavelength_EN_002-1b04977b.jpeg (809×380) (lenalighting.com

)

The pigment in plant leaves, chlorophyll, strongly absorbs visible light

(from 0.4 to 0.7 µm) for use in photosynthesis. The cell structure of the
leaves, on the other hand, strongly reflects near-infrared light (from 0.7 to
1.1 µm).
Happy tree Stressed tree
Source: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
What kind of vegetation do we have?
Exotic vs native species: Which do you
prefer? Why? Which better adapts to the
environmental conditions?
More affluent neighborhoods often have
more exotic plants. Less affluent ones have
more native species. Why?

Planted; reforested; remnant.

How do vegetation patterns change from

urban to rural areas?
(think in terms of landscape structure)
No more
Please!