Abstract
Urban ecology is a well-established integrative discipline with many historical roots. One of the eminent pioneers of urban ecology is the German ecologist Herbert Sukopp, who works in Berlin since the late 1950s and is often referred to as the founder of the "Berlin School of Urban Ecology". On the occasion of his 90th anniversary in 2020, this paper aims to recognize and commemorate the major contributions of Sukopp to the field of urban ecology, based on his scientific work and on results of an online survey on his perception in the international scientific community. Sukopp’s contributions were groundbreaking for the establishment of urban ecology. Specifically, his work furthered: (1) the performance of comprehensive biodiversity studies across all land-use types within the city, in relation to the specifics of urban environments; (2) the establishment of modern approaches of nature conservation in cities and their integration into all land-use types, and the city as a whole; (3) the formation of a multidisciplinary conceptual basis of urban ecology as a modern science, with combined scientific and applied perspectives, ultimately aiming at the preservation and further development of nature within cities for the benefit of urban residents. Herbert Sukopp is thus an important and inspiring pioneer in the field of urban ecology.
Highlights
Urban ecology has gained tremendous significance - in a century during which half of humanity lived in cities and urbanization was recognized as a major driver of environmental change globally (Grimm et al 2008; Ellis 2015)
& urban ecology, e.g. Kunick (1974, 1982) on the organization of plant assemblages along an urbanization gradient in Berlin; & nature conservation, e.g. Auhagen (1985) on conservation approaches for humid forests threatened by drainage; & invasion ecology, e.g. Trepl (1984) on the invasive Impatiens parviflora; & vegetation science, e.g. Müller (1988) on lawns in Bavarian cities or Seidling (1990) on forest remnants
That is why much of the work in the Sukopp group addressed timely environmental issues, and why the resulting scientific output notably supported the development of Berlin as a green city as shown in detail in books on Greening Berlin (Lachmund 2013) and the intersection of urban ecology and landscape planning in Berlin (Pobloth 2008)
Summary
Urban ecology has gained tremendous significance - in a century during which half of humanity lived in cities and urbanization was recognized as a major driver of environmental change globally (Grimm et al 2008; Ellis 2015). This is done here by combining three approaches: (i) reporting some data on Sukopp’s publications; (ii) analyzing results of an unpublished online survey from 2015 which intended to capture the perception of Sukopp’s work by the international scientific community, and (iii) reflecting major contributions of Sukopp to different facets of urban ecology and the development of the scientific discipline This is based on the personal knowledge of his work and my long-lasting co-operation with Herbert Sukopp – and supported by open comments of participants in the online survey
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