According to a study from the University of Minnesota, the biodiversity of plants in urban communities and cities around the United States is very low. By examining what was growing in people’s yards all over the US, the researchers determined that a homogenization of plant species has been happening.
According to a study from the University of Minnesota, the biodiversity of plants in urban communities and cities around the United States is very low.
By examining what was growing in people’s yards in six major metropolitan areas, the researchers determined that a homogenization of plant species has been happening.
Plants in large cities are more like the plants in other cities than their surrounding natural environment.
Although there are different species of plants in different cities across the country, the genetic diversity is lacking.
One issue is how the kinds of plants that are taking over urban areas will affect the other parts of the native ecosystem.
Doctor Sonja Knapp, who worked on a similar study from Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Germany said: “If self-pollinating species are supported by urbanization and consequently increase their frequency in the regional species pool, fewer pollinators such as bees or butterflies will be supported.”
There are some possible reasons behind this including chain garden stores carrying the same plants, or landscaping restrictions imposed by many urban communities.
What do you think? Why do so many yards in America look the same?
