Sacred Sites Provide Urban Green Spaces that Maintain Bird Diversity in Tokyo – Examining Shrines, Temples, and Historic Parks –

    A study group led by Professor Mayura TAKADA, Faculty of Science and Engineering, has published an article highlighting the importance of “sacred sites” in urban areas in light of conserving bird diversity in urban parks.
    Green spaces in cities are known to play a crucial role in maintaining urban biodiversity, however, these spaces are decreasing due to growing urbanization. Among green spaces, shrines, temples, and historic parks are classified as “sacred sites” because of their cultural and religious significance. While previous research has revealed that these “sacred sites” are high in biodiversity, they are often undervalued in urban areas.
    The study examined how shrines, temples, and historic parks in Bunkyo ward impact the birds during breeding and winter seasons, comparing these sites with urban parks. The findings suggested that sacred sites have higher bird diversity than urban parks. Additionally, the study showed that the varied and complex vegetation structures at these sacred sites positively affect bird diversity, suggesting that minimal and appropriate maintenance of shrubs at sacred sites could contribute to maintaining bird species richness.

The Study’s Abstract in Figure
(Upper) Number of forest birds confirmed at each green space during breeding and winter seasons, (Lower) Number of bird species confirmed at each green space during breeding and winter seasons. Box plot indicates maximum and minimum values with median (horizontal line), IQR, and a line edge.

-Researchers-
Mayura TAKADA: Professor, the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University (Department of Integrated Science and Engineering for Sustainable Societies)
Kota MATSUMOTO: Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University (Department of Integrated Science and Engineering for Sustainable Societies), Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Tokyo
Kazuhide NAKAJIMA: Educational and Technical Support Staff, the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University (Department of Integrated Science and Engineering for Sustainable Societies)
Mutsumi ITO: Educational and Technical Support Staff, the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University (Department of Integrated Science and Engineering for Sustainable Societies)

-Journal Information-
Journal: Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Elsevier
Dates published online: October 22nd, 2024
Article title: Sacred sites provide urban green spaces that maintain bird diversity in the megacity of Tokyo, Japan
Authors: Kota Matsumoto^{1, 2}, Kazuhide Nakajima¹, Mutsumi Ito¹, and Mayura B. Takada¹
Belong to: ¹ Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University
² Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Tokyo
DOI： 10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128550

The study was featured on Asahi Shimbun. Please click here if you are interested (only in Japanese).