Urbanization

Urbanization is very harmful to biodiversity for a number of reasons. One is that growing cities and urban areas require more resources such as fuel and timber for construction and maintenance of the area. Growing populations are creating the need for the creation of more and more urban areas, which in turn raises the demand for fuel and timber even more. Another impact of urbanization that causes a loss in biodiversity is that it fosters habitat loss or habitat fragmentation. As I talked about it a previous post, habitat fragmentation is a threat to biodiversity for a number of reasons. In this case, the danger is through the isolation of populations. If they cannot sustain themselves in their new, smaller and often isolated habitat, the species is in danger. Another facet of this is that many species require a large, continuous habitat to sustain themselves. Habitat fragmentation is primarily a threat to those species, and species that are sensitive to their environment. More sensitive populations often are dependent on immigrant individuals to sustain the population. While decreasing biodiversity and increasing urbanization are correlated, there have been instances documented in which diversity of species increases in urbanized areas. This is thought to be the result of imported species, insects, plants, and outdoor community areas such as parks and gardens. There are many factors to be considered when dealing with urbanization and biodiversity, and while there are such areas, the disruption of habitat and habitat loss are some of the primary issues to be thought of.

Sources:

Hardman, Sam. "How Does Urbanization Affect Biodiversity?" Ecologica. Ecologica, 06 Nov. 2011. Web. 04 May 2015.

Pauchard, Aníbal, Mauricio Aguayo, Eduardo Peña, and Rpberto Urrutia. "Download PDFs." Multiple Effects of Urbanization on the Biodiversity of Developing Countries: The Case of a Fast-growing Metropolitan Area (Concepción, Chile). ScienceDirect, n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.