The Effect of Blue-Green Infrastructure on Habitat Connectivity and Biodiversity: A Case Study in the Otakaro/Avon River Catchment in Christchurch, New Zealand

The natural capital components in cities (blue-green infrastructure BGI) are designed to address long-term sustainability and create multi-benefits for society, culture, business, and ecology. We investigated the added value of BGI through the research question Can the implementation of blue-green infrastructure lead to an improvement of habitat connectivity and biodiversity in urban environments? To answer this, the Biological and Environmental Evaluation Tools for Landscape Ecology (BEETLE) within the Land Utilisation and Capability Indicator (LUCI) framework was adopted and applied in Christchurch, New Zealand, for the first time. Three ecologically representative species were selected. The parameterisation was based on ecological theory and expert judgment. By implementation of BGI, the percentages of habitats of interest for kereru and paradise shelduck increased by 3.3% and 2.5%, respectively. This leads to improved habitat connectivity. We suggest several opportunities for regenerating more native patches around the catchment to achieve the recommended minimum 10% target of indigenous cover. However, BGI alone cannot return a full suite of threatened wildlife to the city without predator-fenced breeding sanctuaries and wider pest control across the matrix. The socio-eco-spatial connectivity analysed in this study was formalised in terms of four interacting dimensions.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates that implementing blue-green infrastructure (BGI) can improve biodiversity and habitat connectivity in urban environments. While BGI can increase habitat percentages for specific species, achieving the recommended target of indigenous cover still requires regenerating more native patches and expanding pest control.