The Colonisation of Urban Wasteland
Basic info on the colonisation of wasteland including examples
Refers to AQA A2 Geography, Ecosystems Change and Challenge Unit
- Created by: Bethany
- Created on: 19-03-14 17:00
View mindmap
- The Colonisation of Urban Wasteland
- Types of wasteland
- Abandoned railway lines
- Industrial Sites
- Derelict Buildings
- Uncultivated strips of land between neighbouring gardens
- Unattended areas of cemertaries and parks.
- Areas destroyed by bombing in the aftermath of WWII
- Long-term or short-term wasteland?
- If longterm wasteland then plants have time to develop further.
- What can cause colonisation to vary?
- Long-term or short-term wasteland?
- If longterm wasteland then plants have time to develop further.
- Aspect
- South facing slope warmer/ drier.
- North facing colder/ damper.
- Porosity
- More moist so eood, brick and mortor colonised more rapidly than stone/ metal.
- Slope
- Horizontal areas and gentle slopes accumulate debries so soil may develop.
- Rainwater also drains away more slowly; steep slopes experience rapid runoff and remain dry.
- Horizontal areas and gentle slopes accumulate debries so soil may develop.
- Surface Roughness
- Plants cannot stick to (and colonise) smooth surfaces such as metal/ glass
- Pollution Levels
- High concentrations of lead or other pollutants may inhibit colonisation.
- Long-term or short-term wasteland?
- Sources of Seeds
- Cattle herding through urban areas (Addis Ababa, Dublin until the 1970s)
- Bring seeds in excrement along trading routes, bringing common pasture plants such as greater plantain to Dublin.
- Seeds of forest plants clinging on to former wooded areas
- May be preserved in gardens/ parks etc. with the potential to spread via. wind/ animals.
- How ground ivy/ wood avens have come into the city.
- Cities as a 'melting pot' for plant immigration
- 35% of Dublin's plants non-native, many brought in with grain consignments for brewery. ACCIDENTAL INTRODUCTION.
- Oxford Ragwort case study
- Escaped from Oxford's botanical gardens in 1794.
- Reached London by 1867, transported along railway lines, and now commonplace.
- As the cinnabar moth only eats ragwort, it has begun to colonise, even on inner city wasteland. The colonisation of Oxford Ragwort had therefore brought a new species to city.
- Plants brought in for medicinal uses or aesthetic appeal
- Buddliea brought from China in 1890. Grows well in the city on walls were little else grows, for example on the tops of derelict buildings.
- Attracts butterflies . Nettles grow alongside all over city wasteland, which the tortoiseshell butterflies feed on.
- Buddliea brought from China in 1890. Grows well in the city on walls were little else grows, for example on the tops of derelict buildings.
- Cattle herding through urban areas (Addis Ababa, Dublin until the 1970s)
- Faunal Species
- Centipedes, millipedes, earthworms can tolerate a wide variety of conditions found on wasteland.
- Butterflies and common field grasshopper found on wastelands.
- More specialist species. The larvae of certain moths e.g. wormwood shark, depend on wasteland plants.
- Types of wasteland
Similar Geography resources:
Teacher recommended
Comments
No comments have yet been made