Although human activity is considered to be a major driving force affecting the distribution and dynamics of Mediterranean ecosystems, the full consequences of projected climate variability and relative sea-level changes on fragile coastal ecosystems for the next century are still unknown. It is unclear how these waterfront ecosystems can be sustained, as well as the services they provide, when...

The rapid technological evolution, which is characterizing all the disciplines involved within the wide concept of smart cities, becomes a key factor to trigger true user-driven innovation. In this context 3D city models will play an increasingly important role in our daily lives and become an essential part of the modern city information infrastructure (Spatial Data Infrastructure). The goal o...

Recent urban landscape vegetation surveys conducted in many cities in China identified numerous plant nutrient deficiencies, especially in newly developed cities. Soil nutrients and soil nutrient management in the cities of Hubei province have not received adequate attention to date. The aims of this study were to characterize the available nutrients of urban soils from nine cities in Hubei pro...

Global urbanization is a major force that causes alteration and loss of natural habitats. Urban ecosystems are strongly affected by humans and there is a gradient of decreasing human influence from city centers to natural habitats. To study ecological changes along this continuum, researchers introduced the urban-rural gradient approach. The responses of centipedes to an urbanization gradient (...

Human activities dramatically change the abundance, diversity, and composition of species. However, little is known about how the most intense human activity, urbanization, alters food webs and trophic structure in biological communities. Studies of the Phoenix area, situated amid the Sonoran Desert, reveal some surprising alterations in the control of trophic dynamics. Species composition is r...

alkaline waste spoils [4]). Some argue that the increase in hard surfaces in cities represents a replication of many of the key features of natural habitat templates [7] found in unproductive rocky areas [5,8,9]. Urban habitats probably provide a continuum of selective novelty, from remnant natural habitats or anthropogenic analogs of other habitats to wholly novel environments. Such research c...

The creation of new ecosystems within urban contexts has undeniable benefits for city dwellers in terms increased biodiversity and related provisioning ecosystem services. However, designing areas with a high population density or which are subject to intensive use may also generate negative impacts on the anthropic dimension cause social conflicts that, turn, can undermine project’s effectiven...