Urbanization is a growing threat to biodiversity across the globe. As more and more habitats are being destroyed and species extinction rates are rising, we have started looking at how we might decrease this loss of biodiversity. One answer is changing our urban environments to more biodiversity friendly ones. Since conditions within a city and a natural landscape might differ, it is important to understand how landscape variables affect biodiversity in urban areas. The purpose of this study was to investigate how landscape variables (Coniferous/mixed forest, Open uncultivated land, Fields, Deciduous forest, Water, High and Low urban development, and Industrial area) affect bird diversity, richness, and community assembly in a small city in central Sweden. Surveys were conducted on 33 sites. Results from a multiple regression comparing the environmental variables to richness or diversity showed that Water was positively correlated to both diversity and richness. A redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that bird species assemblage was significantly affected by Coniferous/mixed forest, Water, and Fields when the whole bird community was considered. However, when only passerines were included in the RDA, Urban development and Coniferous/mixed forest had the strongest impact. When conservation efforts are made in urban areas, these variables need to be considered since they are correlated with different species and they might not be the same ones that are associated with richness or diversity of birds.

Wetlands are among the most species-rich environments and important for biodiversity. The area of Swedish wetlands has decreased significantly over the past century, primarily due to drainage for forestry and agriculture. The volume of standing trees on peatlands increased by 75% between 1980 and 2000. Large conservation efforts aim to protect and restore wetlands, necessitating informed and effective actions. This study investigates whether populations of wetland birds in Dalarna County, Sweden, have been affected by increased tree growthbetween the 1970s and the 2010s. Using data from bird inventories conducted by Dalarnas Ornitologiska Förening and Länsstyrelsen Dalarna on 110 wetlands, a linear regression model examined the relationship between changes in the number of selected wetland birds and vegetation changes per wetland area. Vegetation changes, derived from Naturvårdsverkets satellite-based monitoring program, showed that the proportion of areas with increased biomass varied from none to 11.5%. The study found no significant relationship between vegetation changes and changes in the total number of waders or in the number of individual wetland bird species. Key ecological requirements for wetland bird species, such as low tree height and wetness, may have remained sufficiently intact to avoid affecting bird numbers, given the relatively small vegetation changes detected. Identifying areas with high conservation values and understanding how the threat of increased biomass affects these values is important to achieve the environmental goal of "Thriving Wetlands", necessitating continued monitoring to detect possible future changes and address issues promptly.