Ecological benefits of green infrastructure
Student Lead: Bella Richmond
Collaborators: Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor, Lauren Bianco, Antonia Vieira Zanella, Patrick Boivin, Francois Bérubé, Paola Faddoul, Kelly Vu, Etienne Perrault-Mandeville, Danielle Dagenais, Nathalie Boucher, Thi Thanh Hiên Pham, Carly Ziter
Collaborators: Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor, Lauren Bianco, Antonia Vieira Zanella, Patrick Boivin, Francois Bérubé, Paola Faddoul, Kelly Vu, Etienne Perrault-Mandeville, Danielle Dagenais, Nathalie Boucher, Thi Thanh Hiên Pham, Carly Ziter
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Cities around the world are increasingly including green infrastructure in their policy to build « sustainable » cities due to their assumed ecological benefits. However, it is not always clear if green infrastructure delivers the ecological benefits policy claims it does. We selected an increasingly popular type of green infrastructure, green alleyways, and tested if these can provide ecological benefits in cities. To test this, we conducted ecological surveys in green alleyways in the Villeray-Saint Michel-Parc Extension neighbourhood in Montreal and in Trois-Rivieres, to assess habitat provisioning, temperature mitigation, tree abundance and diversity, vegetative complexity, and capacity for service-based traits. We worked in collaboration with teams at UdeM and UQAM, who performed qualitative interviews with residents, quantitative surveys with residents, and landscape architecture assessments of the ruelles. Overall, we found that green alleyways can provide a range of ecological benefits, but the number and capacity of these benefits highly depend on the management regime.
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Urban Tree Distribution Across Montreal Neighbourhoods
A diverse and resilient urban forest is important for city-wide biodiversity and can maintain ecosystem services in the face of environmental changes. Tree diversity varies across cities, in response to factors such as urban form, public and private investment, and cultural preferences, often creating inequity in access to the urban forest and the services that it offers. Historically, public tree databases have been the basis for calculating urban forest diversity and ecosystem services, yet recent studies suggest that trees on private land can differ in important ways from public ones, greatly influencing the composition of the urban forest. Our project takes into account trees on public and private land, and asks how urban forest diversity and structure changes along gradients of socioeconomic status and urban built density. In 2023, we surveyed 34,000 individual trees of 400 different species across 25 neighbourhoods spanning the island of Montreal. We also incorporated community science into our sampling efforts, allowing us to connect with residents and collect fine-scale tree data from private spaces. We used the Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation to measure the socioeconomic status of each neighbourhood, with our study sites spanning the full scale of the index, ensuring that we included a diverse range of communities in our sampling. Project results will help us better understand the interacting factors shaping urban forest diversity across the city, and how we can reduce inequity through both public and private tree management.
Synergies and trade-off between bird diversity and carbon storage in urban greenspaces
Cities are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of biodiversity loss and climate change. Urban greenspaces are important ecosystems that can conserve biodiversity and help offset the carbon footprint of urban areas. However, despite large-scale tree planting and restoration initiatives in cities, it is not known exactly where trees or vegetation should be planted or restored to achieve multiple benefits. As ecosystems with more functionally diverse bird communities are generally more resilient and better able to withstand the impacts of climate change knowledge of how bird functional richness varies in different greenspaces is an important component of building equitable and sustainable cities. Additionally, identifying areas with high carbon storage potential allows cities to better fight the effects of climate change. We considered urban greenspaces as a nature-based solutions tool for urban climate adaptations and biodiversity protection planning. Using bivariate mapping, we examined the spatial synergies and trade-offs between bird functional richness and carbon storage in ten Canadian cities. We also examined how vegetation attributes affected bird diversity and the amount of carbon. Our results show that carbon and functional richness are weakly positively correlated. Our maps highlight areas within cities where greenspaces could be managed, restored, or protected to maximize carbon storage and conserve biodiversity, and suggest that the goals of greenspace management and conservation efforts should be carefully considered before work begins, as vegetation that enhances carbon may not always match vegetation that enhances biodiversity.
Existing evidence on the use of urban forest management in carbon solutions and avian conservation: a systematic literature map
Cities need urgent solutions for the twin crises of global climate change and biodiversity loss. Urban nature-based solutions are being advocated for as multi-functional tools capable of tackling these socio ecological challenges. Urban forest management is a nature-based solution with high potential to address these twin crises while also providing other benefits. For example, urban forest management for carbon climate solutions could also support biodiversity and avian conservation. However, evidence from scientific research that could support multiple outcomes remains siloed, limiting conservation, effective policy and management opportunities. We systematically mapped evidence related to the influence of urban forest management strategies on (1) avian conservation and, (2) carbon climate solutions within the global temperate region. Our findings highlight existing research gaps across scales, forest metrics (e.g., connectivity, diversity), and avian success metrics (e.g., nest success). We found a strong knowledge base for carbon climate solutions at broad-scales, such as land-use types, composition and canopy cover. We found a similarly large knowledge base for broad-scale avian metrics, mainly abundance and species richness. Finally, the most commonly used forest metrics, such as land-use type and composition, had a scale-mismatch with scale of application for both avian and carbon literature. Overall, our map guides policy makers towards areas of evidence prime for effective policy measures in addition to directing researchers to existing gaps that support urban forest management, for biodiversity enhancement and multiple benefits.
Cross-sectoral workshop to identity barriers and solutions to collaboration in urban nature-based solutions work
Collaborators: Kayleigh Hutt-Tayor, Barbara Frei, Adrina Bardekjian, Sarah Chamberland, Carly Ziter
Solutions oriented work in nature-based solutions requires broad-scale thinking, urgent innovation and the coordination of multiple actors. Looking ahead, collaboration at small and large scales across a diverse set of sectors and interests is needed to improve our capacity for change. We gathered a group of over 30 stakeholders currently working in nature-based solutions (government, NGO, academia) to identify the key barriers to cross-sectoral work and to discuss the solutions needed to improve cross-sectoral collaboration and maximize the power of ideas and projects within this growing domain.
Living Atlas of Quality in design and the built environment
Collaborators: University of British Columbia, McGill University, University of Waterloo, University of Calgary, Athabasca University, Laurentian University, Universite de Montreal, Carleton University, Universite de Laval, Dalhousie University
As part of a Pan-Canadian project, 14 universities are working in parallel to raise the bar of quality in the built environment. Together, these sites are developing analyses and dialogues in specific contexts that address issues that challenge current definitions of quality in the built environment. The Concordia team is focused on three aspects of quality for improving the lived experiences of aging adults in Montreal. We focus on aspects of livability, biodiversity and decarbonization using case studies across the island of Montreal.
Balcony Garden Project
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The Balcony Garden project is a participatory science project exploring the potential of balconies as green space for urban biodiversity conservation. For the pilot study in 2024, we are exploring the capacity of balcony gardens to support Monarch butterflies. Therefore, we are recruiting balconies from boroughs with currently high Monarch butterfly observations in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, Le Sud-Ouest, Verdun, and Lachine. Interested balcony-owners can submit information about their balcony to see if their balcony meets the conditions for the experiment.
We will also be recruiting participants to help us test the growth of native or naturalized plant species that are also pollinator-friendly, to better understand what other pollinator plants can be grown on balconies. |
Corridor Ecologique du Grand Sud-Ouest biodiversity monitoring
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Cross-city Ecosystem Services
Student Lead: Bella Richmond
Collaborators: Nicole Yu, Alec Robitaille, Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor, Carly Ziter
Collaborators: Nicole Yu, Alec Robitaille, Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor, Carly Ziter
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The capacity for ecosystem services in a particular neighbourhood or city is determined by many different drivers, such as tree diversity. We hypothesize that across cities, there are some common drivers, i.e., cross-city drivers, that influence the ecosystem service capacity provided by urban trees in a consistent way. Determining the cross-city drivers of ecosystem services could allow urban planners and other stakeholders to understand the ecology and plan effectively before ever planting a tree, thus contributing to an increased ability to plan healthy and equitable cities.
Our research specifically asks: What are the cross-city drivers of regulatory ecosystem service capacity across Canada? We use publicly available data to test ecosystem services and their drivers in seven cities that span a longitudinal gradient across Canada using a multi-scale, multi-service approach. We test ecological, built, and sociodemographic drivers of three ecosystem services, air temperature regulation, air pollution mitigation, and carbon storage, at a fine-scale (street level), medium-scale (neighbourhood level), and large-scale (city level) across the cities. Cities are highly dynamic and heterogeneous, varying on a uniquely fine-scale. Therefore, the capacity of the urban landscape to deliver ecosystem services is also highly spatially heterogeneous. Our multi-scale, multi-city, multi-service approach captures the importance of heterogeneity in urban landscapes and seeks to deliver greater understanding of our urban trees, and the benefits they provide urban residents. |
Montreal’s values and beliefs surrounding trees
Student Lead: Bella Richmond
Collaborators: Paul Emile Tchinda, Kuan Su, Kaitlyn Pike, Johanna Bock, Tenley Conway, Lorien Nesbitt, Camilo Ordóñez, Thi Thanh Hiên Pham, Carly Ziter
Collaborators: Paul Emile Tchinda, Kuan Su, Kaitlyn Pike, Johanna Bock, Tenley Conway, Lorien Nesbitt, Camilo Ordóñez, Thi Thanh Hiên Pham, Carly Ziter
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Urban forests are characterized by relationships between people and trees, where urban trees provide benefits to people and people make decisions impacting trees. People’s perceptions of urban forests are related to the cognitive processes that underpin benefits received from trees, while also influencing support for or against trees and their management. Our study builds on a previously done cross-city analysis to more deeply investigate the relationships between language, city type, and socioeconomic status with multiple perception responses associated with urban forests (i.e., values and beliefs). We conducted an online survey about urban forest perceptions in and around Montreal, allowing us to explore perceptions between regions, locations on an urban gradient and language spoken.
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Understanding resident preferences for urban green spaces using simulated environments
Human preferences shape urban green spaces, but understanding how these preferences align with ecological value remains an active field of research. Previous studies highlight that residents consistently value flowers, habitat evenness, diverse colors, and to some extent, species richness. However, resident preferences regarding tree functional diversity and vegetation structural diversity in urban green spaces are poorly understood. This study aims to better understand resident preferences for functional and structural diversity in green spaces through a gamified platform replicating areas in Montreal, Canada. The gamified platform (CityPlayer) was developed by the Next Generation Cities Institute at Concordia University. It will allow researchers to control and replicate ecological features across groups, and allow participants to have more control over their environment than other research methods, which generally compare pictures of ecological features.
We will test the platform with residents through gaming-oriented focus groups where they design their own green space and deliberate and explain their preferences to the group. We expect that participants will select a mix of visually distinct species but will not reach high functional diversity levels because of functional groups with similar traits. We also hypothesize that participants will prefer structural diversity only when it has a neat appearance, such as wildflower meadows and trimmed bushes.
We will test the platform with residents through gaming-oriented focus groups where they design their own green space and deliberate and explain their preferences to the group. We expect that participants will select a mix of visually distinct species but will not reach high functional diversity levels because of functional groups with similar traits. We also hypothesize that participants will prefer structural diversity only when it has a neat appearance, such as wildflower meadows and trimmed bushes.
Invasive Spongy moth reservoirs
The invasive spongy moth (Lymantria dispar dispar) is a periodic outbreaker responsible for severe defoliation of hardwood and softwood trees in North America. Understanding aspects of biotic and abiotic factors impacting the survival and population density of Ldd, across a geospatial gradient can provide insight into these outbreaks in its non-native habitat. Between periods of outbreak, Ldd moths maintain lower-density reservoir populations that do not cause as much notable damage to forests. These populations provide a source for future outbreaks but are discreet and challenging to identify. As part of my doctoral work, I explore factors, such as forest composition and historical Ldd densities, that may help predict the locations of low-density populations, in-between outbreaks. I surveyed sites across Quebec in 2023 and hypothesize that there will be: a higher density of Ldd in forest patches with a lower proportion of oak trees; and a lower density of Ldd in historically severe outbreak locations. The ability to identify these variables could facilitate forest management and control practices that may head off an oncoming outbreak.
Urban bird nesting success
Project description coming!
Historical legacies on current ecosystems
Student Lead: Bella Richmond
Collaborators: Michael Paulauskas, Erica Padvaiskas, Laura Carolina Gonzalez Sinisterra, Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor, Alec Robitaille, Carly Ziter
Collaborators: Michael Paulauskas, Erica Padvaiskas, Laura Carolina Gonzalez Sinisterra, Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor, Alec Robitaille, Carly Ziter
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Cities are temporally dynamic ecosystems that experience continuous redevelopment over time. Development patterns often reflect the power structures and inequities that shape our societies. Urban parks are developed on different land-use types, and are susceptible to inequitable development patterns, past and present. Urban parks also provide critical benefits to resident wellbeing and contain natural elements that are susceptible to the effects of historical decision making.
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Thus, understanding the current day functioning of our city’s ecosystems is dependent on incorporating the continuing influence of historical conditions. To plan for the equitable distribution of park benefits in the future, we must quantify and understand the impact of historical decision-making. We measured neighbourhood socio-demographic composition, forest structure, and the cooling effect of 33 sites in parks across Montreal, each with a past land-use in one of three classes: agricultural, forested, or industrial. We asked: 1) What are the effects of historical land-use types on current park capacity to provide cooling? 2) How do surrounding communities differ around parks of each historical land-use type and do these differences indicate inequity? We find little evidence of past land-use type affecting the relative cooling effect nor forest structure of our parks. We do find that forest structure affects the cooling effect, where tree density strengthens the cooling effect and tree size weakens the cooling effect. We found a complex dynamic with inequity at previously industrial sites, where historic environmental racism has resulted in these parks being surrounded by communities with higher proportions of immigrants, and lower median incomes than Montreal’s average. If we want to plan cities that provide critical benefits equitably, we must understand the implications of developing our greenspaces on different types of land. This study provides some evidence that an equitable future is possible on many different types of current land-uses.
Rapid assessment techniques for ecological benefits of green alleyways
Student Lead: Bella Richmond
Collaborators: Marie Dade, Jesse Rieb, Elena Bennett, Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor, Serena Sinno, Emily Kroft, Fatemeh Izadi, Lingshan Li, Catherine Destrempes, Klara Winkler, Erin Crockett, Karina Benessaiah, Jackie Hamilton, Michael Paulauskas, Carly Ziter
Collaborators: Marie Dade, Jesse Rieb, Elena Bennett, Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor, Serena Sinno, Emily Kroft, Fatemeh Izadi, Lingshan Li, Catherine Destrempes, Klara Winkler, Erin Crockett, Karina Benessaiah, Jackie Hamilton, Michael Paulauskas, Carly Ziter
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Urban green infrastructure – the network of greenspaces across cities – provides ecosystem services that are important for urban sustainability. Because of this, cities are increasingly redeveloping underused alleys into green infrastructure to improve ecosystem service capacity. But it remains unclear if these green alleys are delivering on the promise of supplying particular ecosystem services.
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Indicators usually used to measure ecosystem services within green infrastructure may not be suitable for green alleys because of the unique structure, features and level of community engagement of these alleys. Here we developed and tested a rapid assessment approach appropriate for use by community members and practitioners to evaluate ecosystem service capacity, using a green alley network in Montréal (Canada) as a case study. We collected data on green alley vegetation structure, aesthetic features and four ecosystem services (food provision, habitat for pollinators, anthropogenic noise regulation and air temperature regulation). We modelled the relationships between vegetation structure, aesthetics, and ecosystem services, to determine if these rapidly assessed features of green alleys are appropriate indicators to evaluate ecosystem service capacity. Our results show that a rapidly assessed measure of vegetative ground cover is strongly associated with habitat for pollinators, highlighting potential for vegetative ground cover as an indicator for this service. No aesthetic features were associated with the four ecosystem services, suggesting that further research is required to untangle these complex relationships. Rapid assessments of alley vegetation were not associated with air temperature or anthropogenic noise, contrasting the findings of previous studies. Our research provides a starting point for developing indicators of ecosystem service capacity that are tailored specifically to the unique structure and features of green alleys, a crucial step in testing the efficacy of this increasingly popular sustainable development strategy.
Understanding Stocks and Flows of Urban Wood Waste Across Multiple Cities to Inform Climate Change Mitigation Strategies
Collaborators: Niraj Dayanandan, Lauren Bianco, and Carly Ziter
Urban forests offer many benefits to urban residents, including climate change adaptation and mitigation. These urban forests also produce significant “wood waste”. In recent years, urban wood waste in Montreal and other North American cities has increased significantly due to global environmental change, such as an increase in ice storms and other natural events, as well as invasive insects that kill urban trees (e.g., emerald ash borer). While some of this wood waste is re-used or composted, most unfortunately goes to landfill. This material can be a large source of greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change, from the collection process and throughout its life-cycle in processing. Emissions from urban forestry waste are poorly understood. For this reason, our project is interested in measuring emissions from urban forestry waste and understanding the full life-cycle of this waste in the context of current urban forestry management practices.
As part of a broader NSERC Alliance grant, our lab is investigating the stocks and flows of urban wood waste in Montreal and Quebec City.
As part of a broader NSERC Alliance grant, our lab is investigating the stocks and flows of urban wood waste in Montreal and Quebec City.