Changes over time in tree cavity availability across urban habitats |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Biological Sciences, DePaul University, 2325 N. Clifton Ave., Chicago, IL 60614, USA;2. Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, Lafayette, IN, USA;3. Environmental Sciences Program, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA;4. Negaunee Institute for Plant Conservation Science and Action, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL, USA;5. Urban Wildlife Institute, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, USA;1. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, 123 Brown Street, Heidelberg 3084, Victoria, Australia;2. ICON Science Research Group, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne 3000, Victoria, Australia;3. BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University, Clayton 3800, Victoria, Australia;1. Population Wellbeing and Environment Research Lab (PowerLab), New South Wales, Australia;2. School of Health and Society, Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia;3. Centre for Digital Transformation, School of Computing and Information Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia;4. Australian Centre for Culture, Environment, Society and Space, School of Geography and Sustainable Communities, Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia;5. School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia;1. University of Antwerp, Department of Engineering Management, Belgium;2. Flanders Make@UAntwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium;3. Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, University of Antwerp, Belgium;4. Independent Researcher, 19 The Greenway, Haxby, York YO32 3FE, UK;5. Imperial College London, 109 Weeks Building, 16–18 Prince''s Gardens, London SW7 1NE, UK;6. Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090 Melle-Gontrode, Belgium;7. Nanolab Centre of Excellence, Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium;1. Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Connecticut, 1376 Storrs Road, Storrs, CT 06269, USA;2. Departamento de Geografía, Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, Universidad de Chile, Portugal 84, Santiago, Chile;3. Departamento de Urbanismo, Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, Universidad de Chile, Portugal 84, Santiago, Chile;4. Independent Consultant, Santiago, Chile;1. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, S.P. 6 Lecce-Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy;2. The Research Centre for Built Environment Asset Management (BEAM), Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Rd, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK |
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| Abstract: | In urban ecosystems, tree cavities provide critical habitat for a variety of wildlife, and their occurrence is influenced by tree health, management, and cavity excavators. Changes over time in vegetative structure, human use patterns, and built environment affect the formation and persistence of tree cavities, and these changes may differ in various urban habitats. Trees with some decay are often associated with tree cavities, however, parks and residential habitats which are highly managed often lack highly-decayed trees, and large trees which are dead and damaged are likely to be removed and replaced with saplings. We surveyed changes over seven years (in 2013 and 2020) in the abundance of both excavated woodpecker cavities and decay cavities, in three urban habitats (forest, park, and residential) in the Chicago region, IL, USA. We observed greater stability of cavity abundance in managed park and residential habitats over time. Low numbers of highly-decayed trees in park and residential habitats were associated with reduced excavated cavity presence compared to forests. As expected, in both 2013 and 2020, the probability of cavity presence for both excavated and decay cavities was increased with greater tree size and higher levels of tree decay, though the patterns of this association varied between habitat types and years. The continued replacement and maintenance of existing trees means that managed park and residential habitats were more stable than unmanaged forest remnants, which are vulnerable to large changes in tree characteristics which could foster unpredictable booms or busts in cavity supply. A stable inventory of tree-cavities depends on preserving large trees, and decay of urban trees benefits habitat quality for cavity-nesters. Pruning of branches or removal of dead trees curtails the life-cycle of tree cavities in decayed branches, so that more highly managed habitats contain fewer cavities than the number of trees could potentially support. Cavity abundance could be improved in stable habitats through reduced intervention where safe, allowing cavity development to occur in situ. |
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| Keywords: | Urban forestry Urban ecology Tree cavities Tree hollows Urban habitat Habitat change Wildlife habitat Habitat management |
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