Abstract
Urban ecosystems are carrying an extinction debt. Mitigating this debt will require the development of a predictive framework that improves our understanding of the factors causing decline of native biodiversity in urban areas. I argue that nitrogen is a common currency around which such a predictive framework could be built. I first summarise the evidence that shows the probable extent of nitrogen enrichment in urban ecosystems. I then review the body of empirical evidence that describes how nitrogen enrichment affects ecosystem process and function. By unifying these two bodies of empirical evidence, I generate a series of testable hypotheses that may allow for a better understanding of native biodiversity loss in urban areas.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 23 |
Journal | Land |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Sep 2016 |
Keywords
- Biodiversity
- Competition
- Eutrophication
- Extinction
- Herbivory
- Nitrogen
- Urban ecology