Abstract
Wild plant species establish themselves spontaneously in cities all over the world in different microhabitats. Thriving in a city is by no means easy for plants as urban landscapes are hot, highly fragmented, severely disturbed and polluted. This has triggered urban plants to adapt to their environment in different ways. We will provide examples of adaptations that have evolved in different urban species and populations. Initially characterized as 'weeds', urban flora is increasingly appreciated for improving the quality of our living environment by providing shade during heat waves, reducing traffic noise, and retaining water during floods. Sadly, many urban designers and citizens suffer from 'plant blindness': they do not notice the diversity of their green surroundings and miss out on how urban flora enriches their lives. Artificial intelligence has huge potential to cure plant blindness, validate plant-based ecosystem services, and change perceptions of the added value of urban green spaces with multiple stakeholders. We describe how computer vision algorithms are currently being developed for (micro)species identification, quantification, and phenology assessments of plants. AI-based tools are also increasingly employed to study adaptations of urban plants. We will end this chapter by providing some suggestions for the practical applications of such tools.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Moral Design and Green Technology |
| Editors | Bart Wernaart, Gerard Schouten |
| Publisher | Brill |
| Pages | 196-207 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9789004730779 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9789004711679 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 29 May 2025 |
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Added value of AI for studying urban plants'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Cite this
- APA
- Author
- BIBTEX
- Harvard
- Standard
- RIS
- Vancouver