Urban biodiversity performance determining model (UrBioPDeM): The case of Isparta, Türkiye

Identifying, protecting, and developing biodiversity in urban environments contributes to ecosystem integrity. Although there are studies addressing biodiversity in natural areas in Türkiye, there has been no study specifically measuring the biodiversity of city centers. Adapting existing methods for measuring city biodiversity to Turkish cities is challenging due to their unique local dynamics. Therefore, there is a need to identify indicators that can be used to monitor and evaluate biodiversity performance for the protection and sustainability of urban areas in Türkiye and to develop a feasible, reliable, and measurable biodiversity performance assessment approach. The developed UrBioPDeM has 4 main factors and 32 sub-factors. Indicators for the assessment and management of urban biodiversity performance in Isparta, Türkiye, were identified and analyzed, and it was found that Isparta’s urban biodiversity has low potential. Therefore, suggestions were made to increase the urban biodiversity of Isparta. The developed approach is an appropriate and effective biodiversity performance model that can be applied in Turkish cities. The factors and sub-factors used in this method can be adjusted and revised according to the potential biodiversity characteristics of a city.