Vegetation Management Changes Community Assembly Rules in Mediterranean Urban Ecosystems—A Mechanistic Case Study

Vincenzo Baldi, Alessandro Bellino (), Mattia Napoletano and Daniela Baldantoni
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Vincenzo Baldi: Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, Fisciano, 84084 Salerno, Italy
Alessandro Bellino: Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, Fisciano, 84084 Salerno, Italy
Mattia Napoletano: Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, Fisciano, 84084 Salerno, Italy
Daniela Baldantoni: Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, Fisciano, 84084 Salerno, Italy

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-18

Abstract: Urban ecosystems are structurally and functionally distinct from their natural counterparts, with anthropogenic management potentially altering fundamental ecological processes such as seasonal community dynamics and impairing their sustainability. However, the mechanisms through which management filters plant diversity across seasons remain poorly understood. This study tested the hypothesis that management acts as an abiotic filter, dampening seasonal community variations and increasing biotic homogenization in urban green spaces. In this respect, through an intensive, multi-seasonal case study comparing two Mediterranean urban green spaces under contrasting management regimes, we analysed plant communities across 120 plots over four seasons. Results reveal a contingency cascade under management: while the species composition remains relatively stable (+26% variability, p < 0.001), the demographic success becomes more contingent (+41%, p < 0.001), and the ecological dominance becomes highly stochastic (+90%, p < 0.001). This hierarchy demonstrates that management primarily randomizes which species achieve dominance, in terms of biomass and cover, from a pool of disturbance-tolerant generalists. A 260% increase in alien and cosmopolitan species and persistent niche pre-emption dominance–diversity patterns also indicate biotic homogenization driven by management filters (mowing, trampling, irrigation, and fertilization) that favors species resistant to mechanical stresses and induces a breakdown of deterministic community assembly. These processes create spatially and temporally variable assemblages of functionally similar species, explaining both high structural variability and persistent functional redundancy. Conversely, seasonally structured, niche-based assemblies with clear dominance–diversity progressions are observed in the unmanaged area. Overall, findings demonstrate that an intensive management homogenizes urban plant communities by overriding natural seasonal filters and increasing stochasticity. The study provides a mechanistic basis for sustainable urban green space management, indicating that reduced intervention can help preserve the seasonal dynamics crucial for sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

Keywords: urban vegetation; community seasonal dynamics; anthropogenic pressure; structural biodiversity; functional biodiversity; sustainable management; Mediterranean area (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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