Urban areas are increasing worldwide, which poses threats to animal wildlife. However, in certain cases cities can provide refuges for endangered animals. The European green toad (Bufotes viridis) is one of such examples, which is known from cities throughout their distribution. In contrast, considerable areas of their former (primary) habitats have been degraded. The primary habitats of this species include steppes and wild river floodplains, both characterized by dynamic changes and the presence of open areas. We used available green toad observation data (2007–2020) to model the effects of land-use types on occurrence probability in the city of Vienna. Forest and densely populated areas were highly significantly negatively associated with green toad presence, while transformation/construction site areas showed a strong positive effect. Such occurrence pattern might be characteristic for early succession species, which depend on stochastic environmental disturbances (e.g., droughts and floods) in their primary habitats. We argue that urban landscape planning should appreciate the potential ecological value of open land in cities which is either in a transition phase or a permanent ‘wasteland’. Ecological managing of such landscape could vastly increase urban biodiversity.

中文翻译：

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奥地利维也纳市欧洲绿蟾蜍 (Bufotes viridis) 的土地利用偏好：开阔土地在城市环境中的重要性

世界范围内的城市地区正在增加，这对野生动物构成了威胁。然而，在某些情况下，城市可以为濒危动物提供避难所。欧洲绿蟾蜍 (Bufotes viridis) 就是这样的例子之一，在其分布的城市中广为人知。相比之下，它们以前（主要）栖息地的相当大面积已经退化。该物种的主要栖息地包括草原和野生河流漫滩，两者都以动态变化和开阔区域为特征。我们使用可用的绿蟾蜍观测数据（2007-2020 年）来模拟土地利用类型对维也纳市发生概率的影响。森林和人口稠密地区与绿蟾蜍的存在高度显着负相关，而改造/建筑工地区域显示出强烈的正效应。这种发生模式可能是早期演替物种的特征，这些物种取决于其主要栖息地的随机环境干扰（例如，干旱和洪水）。我们认为，城市景观规划应该重视处于过渡阶段或永久“荒地”的城市中开放土地的潜在生态价值。这种景观的生态管理可以极大地增加城市生物多样性。