Introduction

The term ‘urban ecology’ can be used on two different levels (Sukopp, 1998): on the one hand it is used to describe ‘urban design programmes at the political and planning level’ (see Deelstra, 1998), while on the level of natural sciences it refers to ‘that area of biology which is concerned with urban areas’.

Since Haeckel first introduced the term ‘ecology’ in 1870 (Haeckel, 1870), its meaning has changed from a purely biological science to a ‘transdisciplinary’ science covering not only biology but also including other areas of natural sciences and increasingly even areas of non-natural sciences. This is particularly true of the branch of ecology termed ‘urban ecology’. Wittig and Sukopp (1998) define urban ecology both in a narrow sense and in a broader sense. In a narrow sense urban ecology is the branch of ecology which deals with urban biocenoses, biotopes and ecosystems, their organisms and location conditions as well as with the structure, function and history of urban ecosystems. In a broader sense urban ecology is a field of work integrated into various areas of science and planning with the aim of improving living conditions while ensuring a long-term and environmentally friendly urban development.

Irrespective of whether the term urban ecology is defined in a narrow or a broader sense, the question arises as to the spatial demarcation of the area which is to be the subject of urban ecological research, i.e. the actual object of investigation.