The urban ecosystem it is the city, an artificial habitat built by the human being for himself, where abiotic factors and living beings are related. The physical base is the product of the constructive activity of the human being and the natural component is reduced or very controlled.
Unlike natural ecosystems, urban ecosystems are fundamentally dependent on human inputs of matter and energy. This is the one who in large cities designs and controls the presence of the natural environment.
Likewise, environmental variables such as air, temperature, soil, infiltration and water runoff, are modified by human intervention. The soil is replaced by fill and a cover of concrete, asphalt and other materials.
The composition of the air is altered by the pollutants generated by the city, the temperature is increased by the heat generated by the city and that accumulated by construction materials. Natural light cycles are altered by artificial lighting and even the vision of the night sky is altered by the action of artificial light..
For its part, the living component of the human ecosystem is centered on the human being and the presence of others such as plants and animals are determined by their relationship with humans..
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The urban ecosystem is an area where the artificial predominates over the natural component, since the city alters all the factors of the natural environment. On the other hand, it is characterized by its great dynamism and an accelerated rate of change and dominance of the cultural sphere as the maximum expression of the human being..
The urban ecosystem represents an extreme in contrast to natural ecosystems, due to the intervention of the human being in the processes. In the natural ecosystem, biotic and abiotic factors are established according to the action of natural principles and laws, while in the city almost all of these factors are human creations..
Regarding the rural ecosystem, the situation is more mediated, since the rural ecosystem is halfway between the natural and urban ecosystems. However, the city stands out for the decisive dominance of the artificial in the landscape.
The city as an ecosystem creates its particular environmental conditions, in terms of temperature, wind flow, runoff and infiltration of water and relief. In addition to the energy inputs and outputs to the system.
Large cities are vast areas covered with an artificial layer (concrete and asphalt), restricting infiltration and maximizing water runoff. In turn, the water is channeled and transported artificially, while clean water is also supplied artificially..
The relief of the urban ecosystem is defined by the constructions that are made, which affects the flow of winds. Additionally, the city generates energy or imports it artificially, basically in the form of electricity and gas, whose consumption in turn generates heat..
In addition, concrete and other materials absorb heat a lot, which is why the urban ecosystem has the effect of a "heat island" (average temperature higher than that of the natural environment). Likewise, a large part of this energy flow is used to generate artificial lighting, altering the natural cycles of day and night..
Finally, the air is also altered by the high emission of gases from heating systems, industries and vehicle engines..
The living beings that inhabit the urban ecosystem have the human being as their main element in terms of the dominant species. In addition, the city is the habitat of plant species that are mostly cultivated as ornamentals and food (urban gardens).
On the other hand, there are species that behave like weeds in parks and gardens, as well as in urban gardens. Regarding the animal components, the wild species themselves are relatively few.
Most are domestic animals (especially pets) and domestic pest animals such as cockroaches and rodents or agricultural (in gardens and orchards). An animal group that does affect some cities while maintaining their wild condition to a high degree are birds..
Non-living factors are the most modified in the urban ecosystem, from the urban landscape itself, to the modification of the climate. The context in which the species develop in these ecosystems is formed by a complex system built by humans.
These are residential buildings, office buildings, highways, pedestrian paths, parks and all urban infrastructure. All this inert physical context creates different microhabitats for humans and the rest of the living beings in this ecosystem..
Depending on the climatic zone where the urban or city ecosystem is located, they are the species that are found as an ornament in its streets and parks. Taking into account that in many cases they are exotic species (not typical of the region in particular).
For example, many streets of London (capital of Great Britain) are observed trees of Gingo biloba, a plant native to China. In other cases, native species such as bananas (Platanus x Hispanic), in the streets and squares of Europe.
Another group of plant species that inhabit the city are weed plants that invade parks and other areas of the city. These species also vary from city to city, determined by the climatic zone and the flora present in the country..
There are many animal species that have adapted to live in the human environment, being common inhabitants of the urban ecosystem, they are called synanthropic species. For example, pests like roaches and rodents.
Likewise, there are other species that do not cause damage but regularly inhabit the city, such as many birds, reptiles and those that are used as pets..
A fundamental element of urban fauna are pets, especially dogs, cats and birds, although other species are also used as pets. This includes stray dogs and cats, which inhabit the city without direct human control..
Although not easily perceived, the most numerous animal populations in the urban ecosystem are pests. These include cockroaches, rodents, mosquitoes, flies, bed bugs, and many other species..
On the other hand, there is the incursion of wild animals in the cities, some even make it their regular habitat. The latter is especially true in the case of birds, but other species such as opossum are also found in tropical cities..
Also the raccoon in cities of temperate areas and the squirrels are common inhabitants in parks of very diverse zones. In some Canadian cities, bears invade urban garbage dumps and in Florida canal alligators occasionally appear in urban areas..
There are wild birds that reach the urban ecosystem and adapt by getting shelter and feeding facilities. Such is the case, for example, of various species of herons, such as those of the genus Egretta.
Sometimes the species are expressly introduced by humans, such as the macaws that currently inhabit the city of Caracas (Venezuela). These birds were expressly bred and released in the city, being their natural habitat in the south of the country.
New York City is one of the largest urban ecosystems in the world, with 12,844 km2 and more than 20,000,000 inhabitants. Its scope extends vertically considerably, given the number of skyscrapers it has (883) and about 113 km2 of parks, including a zoo and 23 km of marine beaches.
In the acquaintance Central park, is one of the last populations of elms (Ulmus americana) in this region of the US In addition, there are about 300 species of animals, mostly birds and 150 species of trees.
Among the domestic animals, in addition to dogs and cats, the horses that drag buggies in the park stand out. On the other hand, these animals are also used by the New York Mounted Police.
This is another of the megacities of the world, with an area of 1,495 km² and more than 20,000,000 inhabitants. This area was already a large urban ecosystem before Spanish colonization, in the 15th century with around 300,000 inhabitants..
Today this city has several parks, including the Chapultepec forest and zoo, the largest in Latin America with 678 ha. Flora and fauna abound in these parks, especially in Chapultepec, where, for example, the cacomixtles (Bassariscus astutus), raccoon brothers.
While among the plants the ahuehuete stands out (Taxodium huegelii), the national tree of Mexico, also known as the Moctezuma cypress or sabino. It is a plant that reaches 500 years of life, with more than 30 m in height and up to 15 m in diameter of trunk.
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