Multi-Scale Assessment of Urban Gardens as Constructed Habitats for Biodiversity Conservation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Keywords:Arid Urban Garden, Spatial Morphology, Heterogeneous, Constructed Habitat, Biodiversity, Spatial Scales
Biodiversity in arid urban environments depends upon habitat formation that balances both bioclimatic and biophysical environment needs. There is the potential for urban gardens to establish symbiotic ecosystem services from microhabitat formation that collectively form an assemblage of ecological patches to connect a diverse range of flora and fauna, and establish community driven nursery and seed collection initiatives. This study of urban garden habitats situated within a new urban district of Jeddah Saudi. The analysis concentrates on the ability of garden spatial formations to construct a heterogeneous spatial morphology of sub-patch within the larger urban landscape patch. Patch and subpatch formations are examined based on the criteria of (I) assemblage of the spatial habitat (characterized by shape and spatial organization); (II) integration of spatial, functional and vegetation plantation patterns; (III) connectivity. Findings reveal that garden layout is structured by the integration and layering of plant types to generate cool understory habitat with seedling establishment, and water conservation. Designed layout of the garden as a spatial pattern is augmented with a range of microclimate mediators to dim solar exposure within the plantation habitat. A strong heterogeneity in plant formations and combinations is seen to dominant the garden formations.
Abuzinada, A. H., Al-Wetaid, Y. I., & Al-Basyouni, S. Z. M. (2005). The National Strategy for Conservation of Biodiversity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Prepared and issued by: The National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development. Conservation of Biological Diversity, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Alrashed, F., & Asif, M. (2015). Climatic classifications of Saudi Arabia for building energy modelling. Energy Procedia, 75, 1425-1430.
Bonkoungou, E. G. (2001). Biodiversity in drylands: challenges and opportunities for conservation and sustainable use. Challenge Paper. The Global Drylands Initiative, UNDP Drylands Development Centre, Nairobi, Kenya.
Brown, R. D., & Gillespie, T. J. (1995). Microclimatic landscape design: creating thermal comfort and energy efficiency. Wiley.
FARINHA-MARqUES, P. A. U. L. O., FERNANDES, C., & GUILHERME, F. (2016). Planning for Biodiversity in Public Gardens and Squares: Two Cases in Porto, Portugal. In Bridging the Gap. ECLAS Conference 2016, Rapperswil, Switzerland (No. 14, 255-258).
Goddard, M. A., Dougill, A. J., & Benton, T. G. (2010). Scaling up from gardens: biodiversity conservation in urban environments. Trends in ecology & evolution, 25(2), 90-98.
Gustafson, E. J. (1998). Quantifying landscape spatial pattern: what is the state of the art?. Ecosystems, 1(2), 143-156.
Gutzwiller, K. J. (2002). Applying landscape ecology in biological conservation: principles, constraints, and prospects. In Applying Landscape Ecology in Biological Conservation (pp. 481-495). Springer, New York, NY.
Hall, M., & Miller, A. G. (2011). Strategic requirements for plant conservation in the Arabian Peninsula. Zoology in the Middle East, 54(sup3), 169-182.
High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh, (2014). Manual of Arriyadh Plants, First Edition. Retrieved from www.ada.gov.sa/idc/groups/public/documents/AR_ADA_prints/006793.pdf
Hodgson, J. A., Moilanen, A., Wintle, B. A., & Thomas, C. D. (2011). Habitat area, quality and connectivity: striking the balance for efficient conservation. Journal of Applied Ecology, 48(1), 148-152.
Hough, M. (2004). Cities and natural process. London: Routledge.
Landis, D. A. (2017). Designing agricultural landscapes for biodiversity-based ecosystem services. Basic and Applied Ecology, 18, 1-12.
Leitao, A. B., & Ahern, J. (2002). Applying landscape ecological concepts and metrics in sustainable landscape planning. Landscape and urban planning, 59(2), 65-93.
Leitão, A. B., Miller, J., Ahern, J., & McGarigal, K. (2012). Measuring landscapes: A planner's handbook. Island press.
Lin, B. B., Egerer, M. H., Liere, H., Jha, S., Bichier, P., & Philpott, S. M. (2018). Local-and landscape-scale land cover affects microclimate and water use in urban gardens. Science of the Total Environment, 610, 570-575.
Lin, B. B., Philpott, S. M., & Jha, S. (2015). The future of urban agriculture and biodiversity-ecosystem services: Challenges and next steps. Basic and applied ecology, 16(3), 189-201.
Linehan, J., Gross, M., & Finn, J. (1995). Greenway planning: developing a landscape ecological network approach. Landscape and urban planning, 33(1-3), 179-193.
Littlefair, P. J. (2000). Environmental site layout planning: solar access, microclimate and passive cooling in urban areas. BRE publications.
Lundholm, J. T., & Marlin, A. (2006). Habitat origins and microhabitat preferences of urban plant species. Urban Ecosystems, 9(3), 139-159. DOI 10.1007/s11252-006-8587-4
McNeely, J. A. (2003). Biodiversity in arid regions: values and perceptions. Journal of Arid Environments, 54(1), 61-70. Doi:10.1006/jare2001.0890
McNeely, J.A.. (2004). Biodiversity and its conservation in arid regions. Annals of Arid Zone. 43(3&4). 219-227.
Mettam, G. R., & Adams, L. (1999). How to prepare an electronic version of your article. Introduction to the Electronic Age, E-Publishing Inc., New York, 281-304.
Mörtberg, U. M., Balfors, B., & Knol, W. C. (2007). Landscape ecological assessment: A tool for integrating biodiversity issues in strategic environmental assessment and planning. Journal of environmental management, 82(4), 457-470.
Müller, N., & Werner, P. (2010). Urban biodiversity and the case for implementing the convention on biological diversity in towns and cities. Urban biodiversity and design, 7, 3-34.
Pace, M. L., Carpenter, S. R., & Cole, J. J. (2015). With and without warning: managing ecosystems in a changing world. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 13(9), 460-467.
Pickett, S. T., & Cadenasso, M. L. (1995). Landscape ecology: spatial heterogeneity in ecological systems. Science, 269(5222), 331-334.
Rudd, H., Vala, J., & Schaefer, V. (2002). Importance of backyard habitat in a comprehensive biodiversity conservation strategy: a connectivity analysis of urban green spaces. Restoration ecology, 10(2), 368-375.
Strunk, W., White, EB. (1979) The elements of style. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan.
Van der Geer, J., Hanraads, J. A. J., & Lupton, R. A. (2000). The art of writing a scientific article. J. Sci. Commun, 163(2), 51-59.
Wang, Z. (2008). A Combined Design Approach for Integrating Habitats in Mixed-Use Development. (Unpublished Masters thesis). University of Michigan.
Zell, E., Gasim, S., Wilcox, S., Katamoura, S., Stoffel, T., & Shibli, H. et al. (2015). Assessment of solar radiation resources in Saudi Arabia. Solar Energy, 119, 422-438. doi: 10.1016/j.solener.2015.06.031
How to Cite
- The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
- Attribution: other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
With the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
- The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a pre-publication manuscript (but not the Publisher's final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access). Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
- Upon Publisher's request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author's own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
- The Author represents and warrants that:
- The Work is the Author's original work;
- The Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
- The Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
- The Work has not previously been published;
- The Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
- The Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
- The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author's breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 7 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher's use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.