Green Walls of Paris: An Ecological Analysis of Birds’ Use of Two Green Wall Types
Meghan Spigle (MLA I AP)
Project Overview
This study was conducted from May to July 2010, during the bird breeding season in the urban environment of Paris, France. Field work consisted of an observational analysis of breeding birds’ use of two types of green or vegetal walls. The first wall type, mur emblematique, is a green wall construction with notably high plant biodiversity developed by the botanist, Patrick Blanc. The second green wall type, mur vigne, consists of a planted vine which grows upon an architectural wall or lattice structure. Observations were made at 14 walls (seven of each wall type), within the urban periphery of Paris, using the point count method to test for breeding bird abundance and diversity.
The field study reveals trends in the two green walls’ relative ability to host species abundance and diversity in the urban environment. Higher density of generalist bird species was found in the mur vigne category. While higher bird diversity was detected in the mur emblematique category. A correlation between bird diversity and wall area revealed a positive correlation between increased wall area and increased diversity for both wall types. A correlation between bird abundance and wall area revealed a positive correlation between increased wall area and increased abundance for the mur emblematique category. However, a negative correlation was established between increased wall area and increased abundance for the mur vigne category.
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