ASSESSING AVIAN DIVERSITY OF URBAN GREEN AREAS: THE CASE OF BORNOVA, IZMIR

WOS: 000401304800040Built-up areas mostly tend to expand over natural areas so biodiversity of urban landscapes has become an important concern. Although most of the urban green areas (UGAs) are small and scattered and comprise just a small portion of urban landscapes, they are still very diverse and rich in biodiversity and provide habitats for a variety of animals. Along with plant composition and the presence of vegetation layers, the size, form, and colour of plants in UGAs influence avian diversity. As birds are relatively easy to observe and sensitive to changes in habitats, they have been widely used for identifying and assessing biodiversity of urban landscapes. The aim this study is to look for correlations between avian diversity with canopy cover, the presence of old-growth trees, and vegetation diversity in the three UGAs in the highly urbanised landscape of Bornova-Izmir, Turkey. To accomplish this, bird and vegetation surveys were conducted for six months. Ordinary Least Square Regression Analysis was used to identify the influence of canopy cover, the presence of old-growth trees, and vegetation diversity over avian diversity in UGAs. The results revealed that there was a strong positive relationship between these factors and avian diversity. The results were discussed further on the basis of the conservation of bird diversity in the context of planning and designing UGAs