Opportunities for biodiversity in sustainable cities

Urbanisation is a main driver of ecological change, but how the process of urbanziation affects biodiversity is not well understood. This project on urban ecology monitors the impact of urbanisation and establishes an Urban Living Lab (ULL) for sustainable city development. In the city of Bern, a 20-ha site (Viererfeld) will be developed to house 3000 people. The window of opportunity to capture the pre-development state prior to construction will yield unique data of scientific merit and immense value for BGB that leverages rich measurements of urban transformation.

We aim to

1. quantify habitat structure (2D, 3D), configuration and composition using high-resolution available GIS data sets;
2. supplement the physical habitat with a plant and arthropod biodiversity assessment;
3. obtain a differentiated baseline of the variation in artificial light using drones and measurements on the ground throughout the year and across various weather conditions

Website Viererfeld, Stadt Bern