Association between urbanization and the biotic integrity of urban forest remnants

Abstract

The disturbance of forest fragments has reduced environmental quality, ecosystem services and climate mitigation in several cities. The aim of the current article is to analyze the quality of native forest fragments close to urban areas. Seven forest fragments in Southeastern Brazil were selected for analysis based on two spatial scales: landscape and fragment. Analyses were structured by combining landscape diagnosis to the evaluation of the analyzed fragments, based on the application of an Index of Biotic Integrity. Data analyzed at landscape scale have shown association between the size of the analyzed urban forest fragment and its biotic integrity, as well as inversely proportional association between integrity and perimeter/area ratio. The fragment scale enabled corroborating the current study’s hypothesis and evidenced association between quality of urban forest fragments and their proximity to urban areas. The adopted method has proved to be an important instrument to help developing environmental public policies focused on urban forests’ planning and conservation.