Characterization of bird diversity coldspots in relation to urban land use patterns and distribution: a modeling approach in Isfahan City, Iran

The distribution and structure of urban land use/land cover (LULC) are important determinants of avian diversity, and their unbalanced integration might create low-diversity (coldspot) areas. This study developed a modeling procedure to identify the LULC-driven avian diversity coldspots in Isfahan City, Iran. The bird Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H') was calculated along several rural-to-urban straight transects. It was hypothesized that H' is influenced by the LULC characteristics of neighboring areas measured in several circular buffer rings. Using a multiple linear regression (MLR) model (R2 = 0.649; p = 0.040), the most important variables were found to be: distance to and area of the nearest green patch, road coverage, percentage of green areas and mean Euclidean distance between green patches in different buffer rings. The spatial application of the MLR model indicated that bird diversity decreases considerably toward the urban core due to decreasing area and proximity of green covers. Assuming that the lowest 10th percentile of H' represent bird coldspots, three low-diversity areas were identified, covering almost 3% (324.3 ha) of the urban interior environment. These areas provide a potential focus for biodiversity conservation through further development of green parks.