Table Of ContentSPRAWL J E
creates and contributes to habitat loss, fragmentation, pollution, and a o D
host of other environmental problems. This collection focuses on the impact of sprawl hn ITE EDITED BY
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on biodiversity and the measures that can be taken to alleviate it. With contributions o Elizabeth A. Johnson
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from biological and social scientists, conservationists, and land-use professionals, Y
a and Michael W. Klemens
Nature in Fragments examines the genesis of sprawl, its effect on species, and the n
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ways in which it alters natural communities, ecosystems, and natural processes. Issues
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discussed include the impact of sprawl on freshwater ecosystems, the economics of l
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biodiversity in urbanizing landscapes, building public awareness of the consequences m
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of sprawl, conserving biodiversity through better-informed planning, and assessing the
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effectiveness of conservation efforts. s
The contributors illustrate the need to more comprehensively integrate biodiversity
issues, concerns, and needs into the growing number of antisprawl initiatives, includ- N
ing the “smart growth” and “new urbanist” movements. By combining scientific and
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public-policy discussions, this collection enriches the efforts of those working to create
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more sustainable human environments.
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“No book has previously defined the problem of sprawl so well, linked it to
biodiversity and offered such solid, practical advice on how we can continue E THE LEGACY OF SPRAWL
to develop and still maintain sustainable human environments.”
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—DWIGHT MERRIAM, past president and fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners N
“Buildings and roads sprawling willy-nilly across the landscape are the clearest F
manifestation of the processes—overpopulation and overconsumption—that ul-
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timately threaten Earth’s biological diversity. In this volume, leading scientists and
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conservationists provide an articulate assessment of these issues and chart a course
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for addressing them.”
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—MALCOLM L. HUNTER JR., Libra Professor of Conservation Biology, University of Maine
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ELIZABETH A. JOHNSON is manager of the Metropolitan Biodiversity Program of N
the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History. T
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MICHAEL W. KLEMENS is a senior conservationist at the Wildlife Conservation
Society and director of its Metropolitan Conservation Alliance.
ISBN 978-0-231-12779-0
Center for Biodiversity and Conservation
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New Directions in Biodiversity Conservation o
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Eleanor J. Sterling, Series Editor m
www.amnh.org b
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Cover design by Lisa Hamm Cover image by James Lui
Printed in the U.S.A.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS / NEW YORK www.cup.columbia.edu
NATURE IN FRAGMENTS
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
CENTER FOR BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
NEW DIRECTIONS IN BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
Center for Biodiversity and Conservation
New Directions in Biodiversity Conservation
ELEANOR J. STERLING, SERIES EDITOR
T he books in this series are based on annual symposia presented by the American
Museum of Natural History’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation and partners.
Each symposium reviews a topic critical to biodiversity and conservation, and provides
diverse perspectives by scientists, resource managers, policymakers, and others.
EDITED BY
Elizabeth A. Johnson
& Michael W. Klemens
NATURE IN
FRAGMENTS
THE LEGACY OF SPRAWL
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS ■ NEW YORK
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
Copyright © 2005 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nature in fragments : the legacy of sprawl / edited by Elizabeth A. Johnson and Michael W.
Klemens.
p. cm. — (New directions in biodiversity conservation)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
ISBN 0-231-12778-2 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 0-231-12779-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Cities and towns—Growth—Environmental aspects—Congresses. 2. Fragmented
landscapes—Congresses. 3. Biological diversity conservation—Congresses. I. Johnson,
Elizabeth A. (Elizabeth Ann), 1954 Aug. 29– II. Klemens, Michael W. III. Series.
QH545.C545N38 2005
577.27—dc22 2005041415
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Designed by Lisa Hamm
To our children Karla, Daniel, and Robert, with whom we share our joy of
nature and our hopes for a more sustainable world.
CONTENTS
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Contributors xv
PART I BIODIVERSITY AND THE GENESIS OF SPRAWL
1. The Context and Causes of Sprawl 3
BARBARA L. LAWRENCE
2. The Impacts of Sprawl on Biodiversity 18
ELIZABETH A. JOHNSON AND MICHAEL W. KLEMENS
PART II SPRAWL, ECOSYSTEMS, AND PROCESSES
3. Freshwater Wetland Biodiversity in an Urbanizing World 57
NICHOLAS A. MILLER AND MICHAEL W. KLEMENS
4. Ecosystems, Disturbance, and the Impact of Sprawl 90
SETH R. REICE
5. Bees, Pollination, and the Challenges of Sprawl 109
JAMES H. CANE
6. Effects of Urbanization on Decomposer Communities and Soil Processes
in Forest Remnants 125
MARGARET M. CARREIRO
7. Sprawl and Disease 144
FRED W. KOONTZ AND PETER DASZAK
viii ■ CONTENTS
PART III SPRAWL AND SPECIES
8. Sprawl and Species with Limited Dispersal Abilities 157
DIANE L. BYERS AND JOSEPH C. MITCHELL
9. Sprawl and Highly Mobile or Wide-Ranging Species 181
JUSTINA C. RAY
10. Species that Benefit from Sprawl 206
STEPHEN DESTEFANO AND ELIZABETH A. JOHNSON
PART IV IDENTIFYING AND MEETING THE CHALLENGES
OF SPRAWL
11. Maintaining Connectivity in Urbanizing Landscapes 239
M. A. SANJAYAN AND KEVIN R. CROOKS
12. The Economics of Biodiversity in Urbanizing Ecosystems 263
STEPHEN FARBER
13. Conserving Biodiversity Through State and Regional Planning 284
JESSICA WILKINSON, SARA VICKERMAN, AND JEFF LERNER
14. Integrating Conservation of Biodiversity into Local Planning 313
JAYNE DALY AND MICHAEL W. KLEMENS
15. Building Public Awareness About the Effects of Sprawl on
Biodiversity 335
CYNTHIA COFFIN AND JANE ELDER
16. Creating a Framework for Change 349
MICHAEL W. KLEMENS AND ELIZABETH A. JOHNSON
Index 363
PREFACE
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his book is based in part on the symposium “Nature in Fragments: The
Legacy of Urban Sprawl,” held in April 2000 at the American Museum of
Natural History and co-sponsored by the museum’s Center for Biodiversity
and Conservation and the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Metropolitan
Conservation Alliance. The impetus behind the conference—and this book—
was to create a platform from which to integrate biodiversity issues, concerns,
and needs into the growing number of antisprawl initiatives, including the
“smart-growth” and “new urbanist” movements. Our goal is to add biodiver-
sity to the agenda of all who are creating more sustainable human environ-
ments, but who may not be fully considering ecological issues and opportuni-
ties associated with more informed development. A second, related goal is to
deepen and broaden the discussion about sprawl’s impacts on biodiversity and
to include looking at ways in which sprawl affects species and alters or modifies
natural communities, ecosystems, and processes.
There is widespread acknowledgment that biodiversity on Earth is imper-
iled and that we are in the midst of an extinction spasm of unprecedented
proportions, caused primarily by human activities (Wilcove et al. 1998).
Overpopulation and overconsumption, the roots of this crisis, are generally
discussed in terms of the following threats: habitat loss, fragmentation, and
degradation; invasive species; pollution; overexploitation of biological re-
sources; and global climate change. Sprawl creates and contributes signifi-
cantly to these threats, thus both directly and indirectly causing the decline
of biod iversity.
F or the purposes of this book, we define s prawl as poorly planned, land-con-
sumptive development, regardless of where it is located. It occurs at the edges
of cities or in rural fringes within commuting distance of metropolitan centers.
But sprawl also can be found in more remote areas. Second-home development
