Misconceptions or misunderstandings? On the standardization of basic terms and definitions in urban ecology

Abstract

Urban ecology is a promising research field that could generate important information to be transferred into practical applications for urban landscape planning and management. However, the lack of homogeneity in technical terms used to describe urban-related sampling sites makes generalizations difficult to establish. After the substantial effort to standardize procedures for quantitatively determining major points along urban gradients using large scales ten years ago, recent studies have proposed novel definitions to define terms related to both habitat and landscape levels with the aim of describing specific study sites within urban systems. In this essay, I discuss the definition of several terms related to sites within urban systems (e.g., urban, suburban, peri-urban, non-urban, ex-urban, rural) and propose straightforward ways to standardize and accurately describe them. Undoubtedly, the use of well-defined terms in urban ecology studies will not only permit a better understanding of the nature of study sites across urban ecology studies and grant the possibility to perform robust comparisons among urban ecology studies, but could also aid policy makers and urban landscape planners and managers to enhance the ecological quality of urban systems around the globe.