The ecological sustainability and function of urban landscapes is strongly influenced by the composition and structure of the local plant community. Taxonomic composition generally refers to the identity of the species comprising the community, while we define structure as the presence of multiple canopy layers, as well as stems of varying diameter and age. These aspects of urban vegetation significantly influence the ecology of cities, yet they are generally poorly quantified across the range of natural and constructed plant communities present in urban landscapes. We quantified vegetation composition and structure to i) simultaneously assess their variation across four green spaces types (golf courses, public parks, residential neighbourhoods and patches of remnant vegetation) in Melbourne, Australia, and ii) investigate the relationship between vegetation composition and structure within these green spaces. The four green space types supported distinctly different plant communities. Vegetation composition in the residential neighborhoods differed significantly from the others (p<0.05), largely due to the increased richness of shrubs and cultivated plants, and the reduced presence of large trees. Residential neighborhoods had the highest plant species richness, although a large proportion of these species occurred infrequently. The structural complexity of understorey vegetation (calculated as % volume occupied) below 0.5 m was highest in remnant patches followed by golf courses, public parks and residential neighborhoods. The structural complexity of understorey vegetation in remnant vegetation patches was very similar to that of golf courses even though some of the latter were dominated by exotic plant species. Variation in the composition and structure of urban vegetation might have great implications for the retention of faunal diversity within cities because different taxa have specific habitat requirements. Hence, further understanding of variations in the composition and structure of both natural and constructed plant communities in cities will greatly improve our ability to create urban landscapes that enhance both plant and animal biodiversity.
A Step By Step GuideAfter the success of his first two books, Lee has continued where he left off.He has a special talent when it comes to demonstrating his extensive knowledge in a digestible way.Lee's books are always packed full of useful information and actionable tips, where his writing style always helps to inspire you.Not just that, but Lee can back up the words in his books with the work he does on a daily basis, as a pioneer of the search marketing industry. 30-Minute WebsiteMarketing is your new one-stop-shop for understanding digital marketing in bitesize chunks.If you're looking to broaden your understanding of digital marketing and its place in business, you won't go far wrong here.This book is packed full of information that'll stand the test of time.I recommend you give this book a blast!Jack Cooper, Digital Manager, Andertons Music Co. Lee Wilson's experience and understanding of digital marketing has allowed him to distil complex marketing strategies and tactics into quick and easy process driven activities.With a focus on team management, this book is highly relevant to today's enterprise internal digital marketing teams and agencies alike.Ensuring that every stakeholder is working to the best of their ability is just one of the key aspects of this book, and condensing the team environment, communication and delivery into 30 minute activities will drive ROI.
Legionella bacteria can colonise and proliferate in water systems in the built environment and can be spread by aerosol generation. If inhaled by a susceptible individual, this can lead to respiratory infections such as Legionnaires' Disease (LD), or the generally milder Pontiac fever. Evaporative cooling systems (ECS), including cooling towers, used in industrial processes to dissipate excessive heat are prone to contamination by Legionella. From these systems it is possible for contaminated aerosols to be dispersed over a wide area, potentially exposing workers on site, neighbouring workplaces or nearby members of the public. Analysis of reported data on outbreaks of LD in Great Britain, collated for a ten year period, identified 44 separate legionellosis outbreaks of which seven were attributed to ECS and were responsible for 229 infections and 10 fatalities. This prompted an examination of health and safety inspection records which revealed, over a five year period, 321 enforcement actions taken against failings in Legionella control, of which 31% were attributed to cooling towers. Based on this evidence, an intervention programme was undertaken by health and safety inspectors in which 1,906 sites with ECS were inspected. During these inspections, sites were rated against four topics that are used to demonstrate compliance with statutory requirements for Legionella control: Risk Assessment; Written Control Scheme; Implementation of Control Scheme; and Record Keeping. While there was compliance at the majority of sites, breaches of the legislation were found at 625 sites (33% of those inspected), leading to 409 Improvement Notices (compelling dutyholders to make improvements to health and safety breaches of law in a given timeframe) and 12 Prohibition Notices (compelling dutyholders to stop work until they have remedied breaches in health and safety law) being served at 229 sites (12.0% of those inspected). Data from the intervention programme was analysed to identify root causes of these breaches of legislation on Legionella control. The majority of Improvement Notices (53%) were issued for the 'lack of effective implementation of a Written Control Scheme', with 'Risk Assessment' and 'Written Control Scheme' both accounting for 23%. More detailed examination showed major problems to be lack of training; failure to maintain the cleanliness of cooling towers and the water within them; risk assessments either being absent or not up to date, i.e., no longer representing the risks present; and Written Control Schemes being absent or insufficiently detailed. This provides a valuable data resource for dutyholders, so that they can understand where they need to focus to achieve significant improvement in legal compliance and therefore reduce the risk of LD for employees and members of the public affected by their workplace, and valuable data for regulators to target future interventions aimed at improving dutyholder compliance leading to better protection of workers and members of the public.
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