Vegetation of urban wastelands in Rotterdam and the effect of human disturbance

Sixty wastelands of Rotterdam were described in terms of plant species composition, biodiversity and succession and they were analysed for multiple geological and geographical parameters. The sites were clustered according to species composition. Significantly different environmental variables between the clusters were selected for further analysis in order to identify which abiotic factors contribute most to the presence or absence of the species. Age, zonation and human activity have the highest explanatory value for the composition of the wasteland communities. Sites towards the periphery of the city have the lowest amount of human activities. The youngest sites are situated in the centre, the recycling rate of wastelands is the fastest in the centre and decreases towards the outskirts. On sites with two human activities the number of species was higher than on sites with one, three or four human activities. This can be explained with the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. Apparently, some disturbance is beneficial to the typical urban vegetation.