Oliver Poole, Alba Costa, Christopher N. Kaiser‐Bunbury, Rosalind F. Shaw
{"title":"Pollinators respond positively to urban green space enhancements using wild and ornamental flowers","authors":"Oliver Poole, Alba Costa, Christopher N. Kaiser‐Bunbury, Rosalind F. Shaw","doi":"10.1111/icad.12779","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<jats:list> <jats:list-item>Pollinator diversity and abundance are under direct threat from human activities. Despite societal dependence on pollinators for crop production, humankind continues to drive pollinator declines through agricultural intensification and urbanisation.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>Urban environments can provide refuge to some pollinators. There is a need, however, to understand how pollinator communities can be supported in these areas while also considering human needs. Public green spaces provide a promising avenue to target plant–pollinator conservation measures in an urban setting due to their large area, high abundance and low plant–pollinator biodiversity.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>We used a paired design to compare the plant community, pollinator community and plant–pollinator interactions of (i) public urban green spaces enhanced with wildflower meadows and pollinator‐friendly ornamental plantings to (ii) control unenhanced urban green spaces. The planting types within enhanced sites were also separately compared.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>Our results show that not only was the diversity of the overall pollinator community higher in enhanced than control sites, but also the complexity of some wild Hymenoptera and the abundance of Diptera pollinator groups. The negative impact of urbanisation on some pollinator groups was reduced in enhanced sites compared with control sites. Planting both pollinator‐friendly ornamental plants and wildflower meadows significantly increased the visits from Diptera and the diversity in the plant–pollinator community compared with wildflower plantings alone.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>Our results suggest that enhancing public spaces for pollinators has positive effects on key groups and can help mitigate the impacts of urbanisation. Non‐native ornamental plants can also play a role in enhancing green spaces for pollinators while maintaining their recreational functions. This supports a mixed‐planting approach for improving public green spaces in urban areas for both people and nature.</jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":13640,"journal":{"name":"Insect Conservation and Diversity","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Insect Conservation and Diversity","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12779","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENTOMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Pollinator diversity and abundance are under direct threat from human activities. Despite societal dependence on pollinators for crop production, humankind continues to drive pollinator declines through agricultural intensification and urbanisation.Urban environments can provide refuge to some pollinators. There is a need, however, to understand how pollinator communities can be supported in these areas while also considering human needs. Public green spaces provide a promising avenue to target plant–pollinator conservation measures in an urban setting due to their large area, high abundance and low plant–pollinator biodiversity.We used a paired design to compare the plant community, pollinator community and plant–pollinator interactions of (i) public urban green spaces enhanced with wildflower meadows and pollinator‐friendly ornamental plantings to (ii) control unenhanced urban green spaces. The planting types within enhanced sites were also separately compared.Our results show that not only was the diversity of the overall pollinator community higher in enhanced than control sites, but also the complexity of some wild Hymenoptera and the abundance of Diptera pollinator groups. The negative impact of urbanisation on some pollinator groups was reduced in enhanced sites compared with control sites. Planting both pollinator‐friendly ornamental plants and wildflower meadows significantly increased the visits from Diptera and the diversity in the plant–pollinator community compared with wildflower plantings alone.Our results suggest that enhancing public spaces for pollinators has positive effects on key groups and can help mitigate the impacts of urbanisation. Non‐native ornamental plants can also play a role in enhancing green spaces for pollinators while maintaining their recreational functions. This supports a mixed‐planting approach for improving public green spaces in urban areas for both people and nature.
期刊介绍:
To publish papers of the highest scientific quality within the general area of insect (and other arthropods) conservation and diversity covering topics ranging from ecological theory to practical management.
Papers are invited on the following topics: Conservation genetics; Extinction debt; Long-term conservation planning and implementation; Global implications of local or national conservation actions; Management responses of species and communities; Captive breeding programs; Comparisons of restored and natural habitats; Biogeography; Global biodiversity; Metapopulation dynamics; Climate change: impacts on distributions and range; Invasive species: impacts and control; Effects of pollution; Genetic threats to diversity by introgression; Effects of fragmentation on diversity and distribution; Impact of agricultural and forestry practices on biodiversity; Enhancing urban environments for diversity and protection; Biodiversity action plans: can we scale up from insects?; Effectiveness and choice of indicator species; Soil biodiversity and interactions with above-ground biodiversity; Ecological interactions at local levels; Ecological and evolutionary factors influencing diversity and local, regional and global scales; Sustainable livelihoods and training on the ground; Integrating science and policy.