Sonja Knapp were able to demonstrate that the number of plant species in Halle has risen considerably between the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 21st -- from 711 to 860 species. At the same time, however, the evolutionary diversity of plants has declined: native species from a wide range of plant families have died out regionally and been replaced by more closely related species. The team calculated how the current evolutionary diversity of Halle's flora would change if, firstly, the plants found in Halle listed on the Red List of endangered species disappeared and, secondly, the most common introduced species in Germany which are not yet found in Halle were to migrate there. As the loss of evolutionary diversity in Halle is primarily being driven by the loss of native species -- including many species which depend on cool, nutrient-poor environments, Sonja Knapp and her colleagues are calling for more protection for these species and their habitats.
All over the globe, the urbanization of landscapes is increasing. 60% of the land surface which is expected to be urban by 2030 is currently not built on at all. How this will impact on biological diversity will only be apparent in retrospect. However, for most cities there have been systematic surveys of biological diversity, although only since the second half of the 20th century. Researchers have now revealed, on the basis of historical data, how plant diversity in the region of Halle an der Saale has changed in over 300 years of urbanization, and have also made predictions about the future. Urbanization is one of the most important issue and topics to be discussed today. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170426093154.htm
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May 2017
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