User:Jengod/Cemeteries as wildlife habitat

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Roe buck in Vienna

Cemeteries (also called burial ground, graveyards, churchyards, memorial parks, et al.) are often valuable wildlife habitats with unique ecological roles. Rural cemeteries may preserve plant communities that were plowed out existence elsewhere, or have sentinel trees that serve as roosts for birds . Urban cemeteries may serve as nesting grounds and wildlife corridors, host lichen and plant specimens that struggle elsewhere, and serve sanctuaries for migrating birds traveling over cities to their nesting grounds.

The ecology of cemeteries is a form of insular ecology wherein "limited areas of suitable wildlife habitat surrounded by larger areas of unsuitable habitat."[1] Religion may be an important variable for biodiversity in cemeteries, depending on the prescribed graveyard maintenance practices of a given faith.[1]

The two most important factors for cemetery biodiversity are the size (larger is better) and age (older is better) of the burial ground.

We reviewed the results of 97 relevant studies of the topic from five continents[2]

Science etc[edit]

Pearson , birds of a New York graveyard et al[3]

The ecology of cemeteries has attracted interest since at least the early 20th century.[4]

Koehler, A., and G. Koehler. 1945. A bird study in the Madison Cemetery. Passenger Pigeon

7:15-19.

EMLEN, J. T. 1974. An urban bird community in Tucson, Arizona: derivation, structure, regula- tion. Condor 76: 184-197.

THOMAS, J. W., and R.A. Dixon . 1973. Cemetery ecology. Nat. Hist. 82( 3) :61-67.

PEARSON, T. G. 1915. Cemeteries as bird sanctuaries. Audubon Sot. Circular No. 2.

One ornithologist studying Chicago cemetery birds in the 1970s found that cavity-nesting birds common to cemeteries were spilling over into adjacent neighborhoods, meaning that the cemeteries were acting as a "base camp" for habitat expansion.[4]

"Many of the bird species found nesting in cemeteries in the present study are typical of the forest islands in the deciduous forest-prairie transi- tion zone. For these species, cemeteries may be less islands than enclaves from which in- vasion of additional kinds of urban habitat."[4]

"Other areas, such as cemeteries, provide habitat to wildlife in the urban environment. Ninety-five species of birds have been observed in cemeteries of the Boston metropolitan area (Thomas and Dixon 1974). Starlings, robins, and blue jays are abundant, as are common flickers, song sparrows, catbirds, ring-necked pheasants, and mock¬ ingbirds. Twenty species of mammals have been recorded using the cemeteries, including raccoon, striped skunk, red fox, woodchuck, red squirrel, flying squirrel, opossum, muskrat, and cottontail."[5]

"In the urban complex particularly, where natural habitats are fragmented and isolated, scattered habitat reserves and interconnecting corridors are especially valuable. Broadly viewed, wildlife reserves consist of variously designated areas such as wildlife refuges, sanctu¬ aries, and preserves, as well as undesignated areas of differing sizes that meet the basic needs of wildlife. The latter category includes parks, cemeteries, and community open spaces. In this discussion, corridors are linear strips of habitat that serve as travel lanes for seasonal movements of wildlife and as interconnecting links between or among habitat reserves. These may be natural, such as ridgetops and riparian strips along rivers, or constructed, such as fencerows and hedgerows."[5]

"Habitat edge was defined earlier as the interface between two or more structural types of vegetation. Urban areas have a lot of edge habitat. Edges demark private property boundaries, occur along streams, power lines, and transportation corridors, and are found in cemeteries, on golf courses, and in community and neighborhood parks where they separate active-use areas from passive-use areas."[5]

Urban v Rural cemeteries For example there are some 20,000 churchyards in England and Wales, which vary wildly in size but at an estimated average of an acre each, that's 20,000 acres (8,100 ha; 81 km2; 31 sq mi) of habitat,[6] roughly equivalent in size to Peak District National Park. The habitat range in the UK alone includes "seashore and rocky coast to chalk grassland, heath and deep woodland."[7]

"In some counties, the churchyard is the last refuge for wildlife in a parish."[8]

"many of the walls and hedges surrounding churchyards are of great age"[9]

"old stone churchyard walls are especially important for wildlife in areas where there is little or no local stone. In Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, most of the county records for certain ferns refer to specimens growing on church and churchyard walls."[10]

LICHENS: "Church memorial stone is, above all, a habitat for...lichens. Some country churchyards support over a hundred different species, which glow orange, buttercup yellow, blue-green and grey against the stone." [11]

Sacred yew trees [12]

Common flora of British churchyards includes meadow saxifrage, cowslips, slender speedwell, lesser celandines, green alkanet, herb Robert[13]

"Conservation is second nature in churchyards, and in many places it already extends as much to the wildlife as to the ancient fabric of the church and the historical artefacts."[14]

Photo Little Tew, Oxfordshire Diversity cemeteries Hungary[15]

hungary protected flora[16]

Diversity cemeteries Romania[17]

“Graveyards, like military bases, are often excellent places to look for rare species and ecosystems. Recently, a twenty-five-acre remnant of tall-grass prairie was discovered in a cemetery in urban St. Louis.”[18]


citizen science Belgian bees[19]


Ecologists have found that urban green spaces including cemeteries are "collectively important, habitats for maintaining and conserving biodiversity in cities."[20]

Replicate biodiversity studies[21]


a significant fraction of the diversity of plants and small animals of the earth resides in human-influenced landscapes...cemeteries contribute to this storehouse and therefore deserve increased attention, understanding and preservation."[22]

Large cemeteries over 100 years old especially manifest "great potential for increased biotic diversity and expanded ecosystem services."[22]

Victor Shelford 1930s tall-grass prairie[22]

Mount Hope Cemetery, Lansing Michigan high ground "high-quality remnants of native habitat" snakes and owls[1]

Academic study of cemeteries as sites of ecological significance has increased due to "mounting concern about climate change, urban sprawl, habitat destruction and species extinction."[1] In 2014, team of university biologists and geographers found that "Small, undisturbed family cemeteries on the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland" provided crucial data about soil erosion rates as "continued cultivation around the cemeteries has left many of them as isolated remnant knolls, elevated above the surrounding fields."[23]

Churchyard orchid

Scalloped spirea thought extinct in Hungary but was found in 12 burial grounds

salep Turkish graveyard orchids[24]

Natural England 19 cemeteries "local nature reserves"[1] In the U.S. state of Illinois, "17 cemeteries have been protected as state nature preserves; all contain native prairie plants from pre-settlement days, such as big and little bluestem grass and Indian grass."


John Carolin guards the white oak and the other way around.[25]

Fox doing fox stuff, West Norwood Cemetery, London

In the United States, Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program TK Tk


NWF + Memphis hardwood[26]

Ebbe Nielsen biodiversity [27]

1195 nests 34 species four months 1970s[28]

Use it intentionally instead of happenstance[28]

Earth day at Arlington[29]

hedges planted around cemeteries[30]

Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol[31]

woodland habitat File:Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol.jpg

Pine trees in Kansas for birders[32]

Evergreen Cemetery Florida "magnet for migrating birds"[33]

Utah Christmas bird count Blue grouse, owls[34]

Montana bird count [35]

100 species Evergreen Cemetery Forest in Charlotte, North Carolina[36]

Cave Hill Cemetery champion trees in Kentucky[37]

Beetles[38]

Bug habitat walls Czech![39]

SCANDINAVIA graveyard as greenspace[40]

CANADA graveyard as greenspace[41]

Garden cemetery movement (Non-aligned?)

Magnificient Seven

Abney Park

West Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery replanting project[42]

Rambunctious garden graveyard??

Chinese family graveyards[43] Native trees Pakistan cemeteries[44]

Angola cultural practices influence[45]

Ted Lousley The Natural History of the City

John Talbot White - Guardian columns? churchyards

George Barker "wildlife conservation in the care of churches and courtyards" 1972

Wilder churches

De eeuwige tuin : beplanting op graven en begraafplaatsen by Dijk, Hanneke van, Vertaalster, 1943 [The eternal garden: planting on graves and cemeteries]

Habitat enrichment[edit]

Like other cemeteries around the world,[46] the famous Père Lachaise in Paris has become a miniature biodiversity preserve.[47] A change in management practices, including a prohibition on the use of pesticides and a sterilization program that reduced the cemetery's population of feral cats, set the stage for what is now described as a "rich ecosystem."[47] Flora now growing at the cemetery includes cyclamen and orchids; wildlife present at the cemetery includes foxes and over 100 species of birds including flycatchers and tawny owls.[47]

Mt Auburn Bird Committee[48]

US Dept of Ag circular 1920 bc birds eat pest bugs[49]

u no texas [50]

Wildlife corridors[edit]

Animal tracks in the snow: Cemeteries are valuable as wildlife corridors

Cemetery prairie[edit]

Old cemeteries harbor remnants of once vast prairie[51]

northern Missouri, bluestem, Indian grass, compass plant and wild indigo[51]

Less than 40 acres[51]

Few cemeteries encouraged existing cemetery associations to use traditional methods including burns[51]

Two in O County, Iowa a

Illinois - poor township - remote - Tomlinson, Indian grass, leadplant, prairie rose, Canadian wild rye[52]

white prairie clover, purple prairie clover, prairie phlox, leadplant, wild rose and grassy death camass [53]

Patridges and badgers[54]

Never plowed![55]

Weston Cemetery Prairie Illinois

Linden Township Cemetery Prairie in Iowa

200 to 300 relic prairies in Iowa[56]

Audubon magazine, July 1972, John Madson[56]

Pilot Grove NHRP prairie [57]

Brownlee Prairie Cemetery Nature Preserve Illinois? Maybe [58]

1000 acres left in Iowa estimated[59]

Rochester Cemetery in Cedar County Iowa[59] Rochester Cemetery plant list Associated Press[60] Hallowed Prairie Iowa DNR magazine[61]

50 to 60 native plants - sand prairie - birdsfoot violet and daisy fleabane, prairie phlox, golden alexander [59]

Munson Township Cemetery in Cambridge Illinois 25 years[62]

Smith Cemetery Nature Preserve Ohio[63]

Migratory bird hostels[edit]

It is nearly always easy to locate a churchyard without difficulty; the familiar tower or spire signals to us now just as it has to people since medieval times.[8]

"Mature trees of churchyard and hedge provide effective shelter for birds, mammals and insects."[9]

Etiquette[edit]

birding w dead rules[64]

Gallery[edit]

  • Scissor-tailed Flycatcher perching on a headstone, Texas
    Scissor-tailed Flycatcher perching on a headstone, Texas
  • Lichen and fern, Church_of_the_Intercession_-_Cemetery_Wall_Detail
    Lichen and fern, Church_of_the_Intercession_-_Cemetery_Wall_Detail
  • lizard at Trincomalee_War_Cemetery, Sri Lanka
    lizard at Trincomalee_War_Cemetery, Sri Lanka
  • Sympetrum_fonscolombii_on_Cross,_Sète
    Sympetrum_fonscolombii_on_Cross,_Sète
  • Feral_Goats_at_St_Tudno's_Churchyard
    Feral_Goats_at_St_Tudno's_Churchyard
  • Green woodpeckers in cemetery
    Green woodpeckers in cemetery
  • Cemetery_mushrooms_in_Winnipeg
    Cemetery_mushrooms_in_Winnipeg
  • Wasp_nest_on_cemetery_gates,_Novaya_Ladoga
    Wasp_nest_on_cemetery_gates,_Novaya_Ladoga
  • Giant oaks shade a family burial plot
    Giant oaks shade a family burial plot
  • Fledermausbaum
    Fledermausbaum
  • Plants grow atop dry stone wall
    Plants grow atop dry stone wall
  • Palm warbler at Greenwood Cemetery in New York
    Palm warbler at Greenwood Cemetery in New York
  • A long-eared owl at Central Cemetery in Sanok [pl], Poland, across the street from a McDonald's restaurant
    A long-eared owl at Central Cemetery in Sanok [pl], Poland, across the street from a McDonald's restaurant

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Freedman, Eric (2017). "IN THE SHADOW OF DEATH". Earth Island Journal. 32 (1): 42–46. ISSN 1041-0406.
  2. ^ Löki, Viktor; Deák, Balázs; Lukács, András Balázs; Molnár V., Attila (April 2019). "Biodiversity potential of burial places – a review on the flora and fauna of cemeteries and churchyards". Global Ecology and Conservation. 18: e00614. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00614.
  3. ^ Pearson, T. Gilbert (1917). The bird study book. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page.
  4. ^ a b c Lussenhop, John (Winter 1977). "Urban Cemeteries as Bird Refuges" (PDF). The Condor. 79 (4): 456–461. doi:10.2307/1367725. JSTOR 1367725.
  5. ^ a b c Adams (1994), p. 73.
  6. ^ Greenoak (1985), p. 7.
  7. ^ Greenoak (1985), p. 15.
  8. ^ a b Greenoak (1985), p. 30.
  9. ^ a b Greenoak (1985), p. 35.
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  13. ^ Greenoak (1985), p. 52–80.
  14. ^ Greenoak (1985), p. 119.
  15. ^ Löki, Viktor; Schmotzer, András; Takács, Attila; Süveges, Kristóf; Lovas‐Kiss, Ádám; Lukács, Balázs András; Tökölyi, Jácint; Molnár V., Attila (2020-07-01). "The protected flora of long‐established cemeteries in Hungary: Using historical maps in biodiversity conservation". Ecology and Evolution. 10 (14): 7497–7508. doi:10.1002/ece3.6476. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 7391536. PMID 32760544.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link)
  16. ^ Löki, Viktor; Schmotzer, András; Takács, Attila; Süveges, Kristóf; Lovas‐Kiss, Ádám; Lukács, Balázs András; Tökölyi, Jácint; Molnár V., Attila (July 2020). "The protected flora of long‐established cemeteries in Hungary: Using historical maps in biodiversity conservation". Ecology and Evolution. 10 (14): 7497–7508. doi:10.1002/ece3.6476. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 7391536. PMID 32760544.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link)
  17. ^ "Romanian cemeteries".
  18. ^ Marris (2011), p. 86.
  19. ^ Vereecken, Nicolas J.; Weekers, Timothy; Marshall, Leon; D'Haeseleer, Jens; Cuypers, Maarten; Pauly, Alain; Pasau, Bernard; Leclercq, Nicolas; Tshibungu, Alain; Molenberg, Jean‐Marc; De Greef, Stéphane (November 2021). "Five years of citizen science and standardised field surveys in an informal urban green space reveal a threatened Eden for wild bees in Brussels, Belgium". CK. 14 (6): 868–876. doi:10.1111/icad.12514. ISSN 1752-458X.
  20. ^ Gallo, Travis; Fidino, Mason; Lehrer, Elizabeth W.; Magle, Seth B. (2017). "Mammal diversity and metacommunity dynamics in urban green spaces: implications for urban wildlife conservation". Ecological Applications. 27 (8): 2330–2341. ISSN 1051-0761.
  21. ^ 39. Strolling through a Century: Replicating Historical Bird Surveys to Explore 100 Years of Change in an Urban Bird Community. Academic Journal (English) ; Abstract available. By: Fidino M; Limbrick K; Bender J; Gallo T; Magle SB, The American naturalist [Am Nat], ISSN: 1537-5323, 2022 Jan; Vol. 199 (1), pp. 159-167; Publisher: University of Chicago Press; PMID: 34978969, Database: MEDLINE Complete PubMed
  22. ^ a b c Barrett, Gary W.; Barrett, Terry L. (2001). "Cemeteries as Repositories of Natural and Cultural Diversity". Conservation Biology. 15 (6): 1820–1824. ISSN 0888-8892.
  23. ^ Geleta, S. B.; Briand, C. H.; Folkoff, M. E.; Zaprowski, B. J. (2014). "Cemeteries as Indicators of Post-Settlement Anthropogenic Soil Degradation on the Atlantic Coastal Plain". Human Ecology. 42 (4): 625–635. ISSN 0300-7839.
  24. ^ Buehler, Jake (2018). "Graveyard refuges for imperiled Turkish orchids". Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 16 (1): 8–8. ISSN 1540-9295.
  25. ^ Dybas, Cheryl Lyn (2003-05-26). "In Old Graveyards, the Dead Protect the Living". Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  26. ^ PEACEFUL ISLANDS OF BIODIVERSITY. By: Wexler, Mark, National Wildlife (World Edition), 15455157, Apr/May2008, Vol. 46, Issue 3
  27. ^ "The Sydney Morning Herald 21 Mar 2001, page Page 38". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  28. ^ a b Scott, Ralph (1974-10-10). "Cemeteries offer homes for wildlife". The Journal Herald. Dayton, Ohio, United States. p. 42. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  29. ^ "Earth Day tour of Arlington National Cemetery". DVIDS. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  30. ^ "Reading Evening Post 30 Nov 1998, page 9". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  31. ^ "Evening Post 27 Sep 1984, page 13". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
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  33. ^ "The Wichita Eagle 27 Jul 1986, page 88". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  34. ^ "The Salt Lake Tribune 19 Dec 2002, page 28". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
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  38. ^ Cathcart-James, Margaret; Foster, Chris; Pickles, Brian J (2022-01-13). "Challenging assumptions about burial ground biodiversity using flying beetles as indicators in urban areas". Journal of Urban Ecology. 8 (1): juac024. doi:10.1093/jue/juac024. ISSN 2058-5543.
  39. ^ Tuf, Ivan Hadrián; Weissová, Nelly (2022-05-18). "Bug cemetery: a case study of terrestrial isopod distribution on a brick wall in the Czech Republic". ZooKeys. 1101: 191–201. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1101.76132. ISSN 1313-2970.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
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  41. ^ Quinton, Jessica M.; Duinker, Peter N. (2019-06-01). "Beyond burial: researching and managing cemeteries as urban green spaces, with examples from Canada". Environmental Reviews. 27 (2): 252–262. doi:10.1139/er-2018-0060. ISSN 1181-8700.
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  44. ^ "ASSESSING THE ROLE OF GRAVEYARDS IN NATIVE TREES CONSERVATION ALONG MODIFIED LANDSCAPES; A CASE STUDY FROM MANSEHRA, PAKISTAN". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  45. ^ Stories told by plants on graveyards in Northern Angola Thea Lautenschläger, José Lau Mandombe, Monizi Mawunu, Christoph Neinhuis Url
  46. ^ Conroy, Gemma (2021-02-04). "Graveyards Are Surprising Hotspots for Biodiversity". Scientific American. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
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  48. ^ Mosco, Rosemary (2018-10-05). "The Ins and Outs of Birding With the Dead". Audubon.org. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  49. ^ W. L. (Waldo Lee) McAtee 1883-1962 (1921). "Community bird refuges": 13, [1]  : ill., 1 map, 23 cm. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  50. ^ McAtee, W. L. (Waldo Lee) (1937-08). "Local bird refuges". UNT Digital Library. Retrieved 2023-01-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  51. ^ a b c d "Old Cemeteries Harbor Remnants of Once Vast Prairie, St. Louis Post-Dispatch 25 Aug 1985, page Page 23". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
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  54. ^ "Sioux City Journal 08 Jul 2003, page 2". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  55. ^ "The Rock Island Argus 06 Jun 1984, page 17". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
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  61. ^ "Hallowed Prairie" (PDF).
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  64. ^ "The Ins and Outs of Birding With the Dead". Audubon. 2018-10-05. Retrieved 2023-01-22.

Sources[edit]

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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