From urban lawns to urban meadows: Reduction of mowing frequency increases plant taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity

Chollet, Simon; Brabant, Charlotte; Tessier, Samson; Jung, Vincent

doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.08.009

Cited by 85 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Tall-grass meadows are typically mown once or twice per year in late summer and can provide habitat for native plants and animals (Cilliers et al, 2004;Norton et al, 2019;Watson, Carignan-Guillemette, Turcotte, Maire, & Proulx, 2020). Converting lawns to meadows significantly increases their value for biodiversity (Chollet, Brabant, Tessier, & Jung, 2018;Wastian, Unterweger, & Betz, 2016) and bene-fits ecosystem functions such as pollination or heat regulation (Ignatieva & Hedblom, 2018). However, especially the visual appearance of senescing tall-grass meadows and their usability for outdoor activities strongly differs from short-cut lawns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public attitudes toward biodiversity‐friendly greenspace management in Europe

Fischer

Neuenkamp

Lampinen

et al. 2020

CONSERVATION LETTERS

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Increasing urbanization worldwide calls for more sustainable urban development. Simultaneously, the global biodiversity crisis accentuates the need of fostering biodiversity within cities. Policies supporting urban nature conservation need to understand people's acceptance of biodiversity‐friendly greenspace management. We surveyed more than 2,000 people in 19 European cities about their attitudes toward near‐natural urban grassland management in public greenspaces, and related their responses to nine sociocultural parameters. Results reveal that people across Europe can support urban biodiversity, yet within the frames of a generally tidy appearance of public greenery. Younger people and those using greenspaces for a greater variety of activities were more likely to favor biodiversity‐friendly greenspace management. Additionally, people who were aware of the meaning of biodiversity and those stating responsibility for biodiversity conservation particularly supported biodiversity‐friendly greenspace management. Our results point at explicit measures like environmental education to increase public acceptance of policies that facilitate nature conservation within cities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public attitudes toward biodiversity‐friendly greenspace management in Europe

Fischer

Neuenkamp

Lampinen

et al. 2020

CONSERVATION LETTERS

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“…From these insights, a narrative regarding cities' contribution to biodiversity conservation has developed, and with this several strategies to promote urban biodiversity have been suggested. Classical approaches such as the designation of protected areas are increasingly complemented by integrative approaches arguing for a biodiversity-friendly management of green spaces (Aronson et al, 2017;Chollet, Brabant, Tessier, & Jung, 2018), a reconciliation of urban land use and biodiversity conservation (Elmqvist et al, 2013), the integration of biodiversity in urban design (Garrard, Williams, Mata, Thomas, & Bekessy, 2018) or the promotion of urban wilderness (Hwang, Yue, Ling, & Tan, 2019; McKinney, Kowarik, & Kendal, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant traits, biotopes and urbanization dynamics explain the survival of endangered urban plant populations

Planchuelo

Kowarik

Lippe

2020

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…Currently there is not a large body of work that investigates the effects of urban lawn mowing regime on ecological factors, although publications in this field are growing (e.g. Chollet, Brabant, Tessier, & Jung, ; Lerman et al, ; Norton et al, ). Most studies examine effects of mowing on one factor (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological and economic benefits of low‐intensity urban lawn management

Watson

Carignan‐Guillemette

Turcotte

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Intensive management of urban lawns is globally widespread, predominantly for aesthetic reasons. However, a growing body of knowledge demonstrates negative ecological and environmental effects of this practice. We present a meta‐analysis of North American and European studies from 2004 to 2019, which incorporates three previously unpublished datasets from eastern Canada, to investigate how mowing intensity impacts the ecology of urban lawns. The meta‐analysis provides aggregated evidence that invertebrate and plant diversity is lower in urban lawns under increased mowing intensity. This decline is independent of the level of contrast between mowing ‘treatment’ and ‘control’ (e.g. height or frequency of mowing), which differed considerably between studies. Intensive mowing also increases the occurrence of pest species (e.g. herbivorous beetle larvae and allergenic plants), though studies in this group were limited to northern environments. Changes in ecosystem‐level variables (soil temperature, soil moisture deficit and carbon deficit) were less evident and suggest changes in abiotic processes may take longer to become apparent. An economic case study of the mowing costs in Trois‐Rivières, Canada, suggests that cost savings of 36% may be possible with a modest reduction of mowing frequency. Synthesis and Applications. Increasing urban biodiversity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are strong motivators for reducing lawn management intensity. We also suggest that the benefits of reducing pest species while saving lawn management costs may provide additional social and economic incentives for decision makers to review urban greenspace management practices.

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From urban lawns to urban meadows: Reduction of mowing frequency increases plant taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity

Cited by 85 publications

References 22 publications

Public attitudes toward biodiversity‐friendly greenspace management in Europe

Public attitudes toward biodiversity‐friendly greenspace management in Europe

Plant traits, biotopes and urbanization dynamics explain the survival of endangered urban plant populations

Ecological and economic benefits of low‐intensity urban lawn management

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