Urban biodiversity assessment: A review with special emphasis on Indian scenario
Description
World’s cities are expanding rapidly in accordance with the requirements of increasing population. Urban expansion and associated land-cover and climate changes impart greater challenges on the urban ecosystems and severely threaten biodiversity. Urban biodiversity, the diversity in urban setting plays vital roles in maintaining the quality of urban life by offering a variety of environmental and social functions. The research in this field is scarce at present in India especially in Kerala, despite the alarming rates of urban growth and related changes in biodiversity. The well-being and sustainability of urban life and its diversity desires proper planning and management approaches. For such planning, a baseline information on the present status of urban biodiversity especially species documentation is essential. A long-term monitoring and estimation of composition, structure and dynamics of urban biodiversity variables and associated habitat and climatic features over time is critical for future management practices. The integration of findings in the field of urban biodiversity will contribute for a sustainable conservation planning to mitigate impacts of urbanization on biodiversity and to promote urban life. (In Proceedings of the National Environment and Climate Change Congress - 2018 (pp. 29-39). Thiruvananthapuram: Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, Department of Environment, Government of Kerala.)