干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The difference between the urban and non-urban environment in arid landscapes can be quite distinct because of the large water and nutrient (along with many other) subsidies provided by human development. With these subsidies comes the potential to increase vertical structure and vegetation diversity over the natural landscape, creating artificial habitats. We assessed how birds were responding to urbanization in Reno, Nevada, USA (pop similar to 200,000), located in a semi-arid, "cold desert" climate. Despite a heavily developed core, we found that native richness increased as urbanization increased. Our analysis suggests that this pattern is driven by the Truckee River that flows through the city. Remnant riparian patches could combine with urban landscaping to effectively extend riparian habitat into the city. The role of urban riparian habitats for native bird conservation needs to be assessed as urbanization continues in arid regions. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.