NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2017: Patterns, drivers and consequences of land-use transitions: urban agriculture as a model system

Ong Theresa W, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

This is an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology, under the program Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellow, Theresa Wei Ying Ong, is conducting research and receiving training that is increasing the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The fellow is being mentored by the following sponsoring scientists: Simon Levin (Princeton University), Stacy Philpott (University of California Santa Cruz), and Brenda Lin (CSIRO- Australia). Urban agriculture provides food security, biodiversity, greenspace and educational opportunities to underrepresented groups in science, yet urban landscapes are in constant flux, with parcels frequently transitioning between vacant lots, urban gardens and developed land. This research explores past and future patterns of land-use change in urban areas, the role of socio-economic and ecological factors in driving change, and how land-use change influences biodiversity and ecosystem function. The fellow is participating in multidisciplinary collaborations that will advance her work at the intersection of theoretical, landscape and urban ecology. The project addresses why transitions to urban agriculture are more permanent in some cases than others, and results will be shared with community members who are seeking land-tenure for urban gardens in gentrifying neighborhoods. The fellow is receiving training in socio-ecological theory through collaborations with the sponsoring scientists, and is developing a spatially-explicit dynamic model of land-use transitions as a function of the net socio-ecological costs associated with the direction and frequency of transitions between land-use states. The model is also being fit with socio-ecological data from urban gardens, future land-use changes are being predicted, and results are compared to past patterns observed for large, urban counties of California using historical aerial imagery. Historical land-use change is being categorized into dynamic types ranging from critical to smooth, and transition type regressed against data on pest and natural enemy biodiversity in urban gardens to understand its impact on biological control. Broader impacts and broadening participation efforts target youth from working-class families that use urban agriculture for food subsistence and are directly influenced by the land-use change resulting from gentrification of their neighborhoods. These individuals are participating in workshops focused on the socio-ecological drivers and consequences of land-use transitions for biological control services in their own neighborhoods. The results of this research are being further disseminated through policy pamphlets designed for relevance to urban gardeners and city planners.