The Ecology of Urbanization

Although the boundary between a city and surroundings can be visually distinct—as seen here at the edge of South Mountain Park/Preserve and development in Phoenix, Ariz.— many effects of urbanization extend far beyond such boundaries, even to the global scale.  A paper published this week in the journal Science links global change to the ecology of cities.  The study authors pointed to evidence that rural landscapes at a city's edge show changes in soils, human settlement, the diversity of plant and animal species, and nearby ecosystems while cities are substantive ecosystems in their own right, with complex human-environmental interactions and far-reaching impacts.  More about the study can be found in a press release here .

Credit: Charles Kazilek, ASU School of Life Sciences