Cemetery Series: The Cemetery Habitat

Cortland Rural Cemetery. Photo Credit to PBM.

Cemeteries are not just for the dead, but for the living. In fact, graveyards serve as safe havens for rare plants and animals. Tombstones in Britain are the only home of some species of endangered lichens. The Calvary Cemetery in north St. Louis, Missouri contains the last original prairie grasses in the area and is one of the few spaces where ground-nesting bees survive. The Weißensee Jewish Cemetery in Berlin is home to 608 species of wildlife including an arthropod (Agonum gracilipes) which was thought to be extinct. It’s not extinct! That little invertebrate has been living in a graveyard in the middle of Berlin.

The Trinity Church Cemetery. Photo by author.

Cemeteries are often the only fragments of natural habitat left in cities or areas dominated by agriculture. This makes graveyards vital to the survival of many species.

Author's own image.

The Trinity Church Cemetery. Photo by author.

Wildlife thrives in un-manicured cemeteries and in cemeteries with tombstones placed close together. At the Weißensee Jewish Cemetery mentioned above – the place that surprised scientists with the arthropod – most species are found in areas left to grow naturally. Closely-crammed tombstones provide hiding places for animals like foxes and coyotes. Tight spaces between grave monuments also makes it harder to remove sprouting plants, allowing them to grow and prosper.

Kings Chapel Burying Ground. Photo by Author.

Author's own image.

The flora and fauna in cemeteries provide data on many topics like conservation biology, species diversity, and climate change. Managers at some cemeteries embrace the wildlife found among the gravestones and host birdwatching programs or guided hikes through their land. One great example is the Cortland Rural Cemetery in Cortland, New York that offers a self-guided tour on the cemetery featuring the trees and lichen growing there.

Cortland Rural Cemetery. Photo Credit to PBM.

To learn more about cemeteries and science check out my previous posts: Cemetery Geology and Death and the Environment.

The Trinity Church Cemetery. Photo by author.

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