An assessment of bumblebee (Bombus spp) land use and floral preference in UK gardens and allotments cultivated for food

Abstract

There is increasing interest in the value of domestic gardens for supporting biodiversity. While it is well established that bumblebees exploit urban green spaces, this is the first study to explore the land use and floral preferences of the UK's seven most common bumblebees in gardens and allotments cultivated for food. A citizen science survey was carried out at 38 sites, between 1st June and 30th September 2013. At the landscape scale, bumblebee abundance and species richness was not significantly correlated with surrounding land use characteristics (both p>0.05). Bombus pratorum was the only species to show correlations with surrounding land use, demonstrating a positive relationship with built areas and gardens and allotments, and a negative correlation with greenspace and agriculture. At the local site-level scale, bumblebee abundance was negatively correlated with areas cultivated for vegetables and fruits, and positively correlated with areas cultivated for flowers, although neither correlation was statistically significant (p=0.070 and p=0.051 respectively). Bumblebee species richness was not correlated with either land use (P>0.05). All bumblebee species were negatively correlated with areas cultivated for vegetables and fruit, bare ground and hard paving. Several flowering plants were visited by all bumblebee species, although relative preferences varied between bumblebee species. Results emphasise the importance of including floral resources within garden and allotment areas cultivated for food, and the need for a mosaic of different flowering plants to cater for varying floral preferences demonstrated by bumblebee species.

A spatial framework for targeting urban planning for pollinators and people with local stakeholders: A route to healthy, blossoming communities?

“…Our models suggest that more space for allotments in towns and cities should be provided, as these greenspaces appeared to have a positive influence on bumble bee and hoverfly habitat suitability at the 500 m scale. This is in agreement with previous studies that have reported the importance of allotments to pollinators in urban settings (Ahrné et al, 2009;Andersson et al, 2007;Tommasi et al, 2005), although the provision of a substantial floral component, rather than a focus on food cultivation, is likely to be important (Foster et al, 2016). These varied and productive urban ecosystems tend to be relatively high in biodiversity in general, and provide a range of cultural, provisioning and regulating services to society, including supporting urban climate adaptation, community cohesion and food production (Barthel et al, 2010;Speak et al, 2015).…”

Effects of urbanisation and management practices on pollinators in tropical Africa

“…This highlights the importance of using context‐specific information when promoting urban farming practices. Bee studies in European cities suggest that bee abundances and species richness did not vary according to whether the site was farmed or cultivated for flowers (Foster, Bennett, & Sparks, ). One explanation given as to why urban green spaces have more bees than rural areas is that agricultural pesticides with negative impacts on pollinators (Goulson, Nicholls, Botías, & Rotheray, ), are less prevalent.…”

A systems approach reveals urban pollinator hotspots and conservation opportunities

“…Firstly, most studies focus on just one or a small subset of urban land uses, e.g. allotments (urban food-growing areas, also known as community gardens)13–15, cemeteries and churchyards16,17, gardens15, or parks17–19. Secondly, many studies consider only subsets of potential pollinators, typically bees, hoverflies or butterflies, rather than entire pollinator communities (e.g 13–17,20–22…”