Urban gardens and biodiversity

Gaston, Kevin J.; Gaston, Sian

doi:10.4324/9780203839263.ch35

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Our study suggests that the species-area relationship is applicable at the scale of urban gardens and highlights the importance of promoting garden size to enhance bee diversity, which subsequently dilutes parasitism risk. Although promoting garden size is a matter of geographic, historical, cultural, and socioeconomic factors (Gaston & Gaston, 2010), our research suggests that enhancing garden size is an opportunity for pollinator conservation.…”

Section: Bee Diversity Is Promoted By Garden Sizementioning

confidence: 80%

Floral resources shape parasite and pathogen dynamics in bees facing urbanization

et al. 2022

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Urbanization is associated with increases in impervious land cover, which alters the distribution of resources available to wildlife and concentrates activity in unbuilt spaces such as parks and gardens. How resource shifts alter the dynamics of parasite and pathogen transmission has not been addressed for many important species in urban systems. We focus on urban gardens, resource‐rich “islands” within the urban matrix, to examine how the availability of floral resources at local and landscape scales influences the prevalence of six RNA viruses and three parasites in honey bees and bumble bees. Because parasites and pathogens are transmitted at flowers between visitors, we expected that floral abundance would concentrate bees within gardens, amplifying infection rates in pollinators, unless increases in floral resources would enhance bee diversity enough to dilute transmission. We found that garden size and flowering perennial plant abundance had a positive, direct effect on parasite and pathogen richness in bumble bees, suggesting that resource provisioning amplifies transmission. We also found that parasitism rates in honey bees were positively associated with parasites and pathogens in bumble bees, suggesting spillover between species. Encouragingly, we found evidence that management may mitigate parasitism through indirect effects: garden size had a positive impact on bee diversity, which in turn was negatively associated with parasite and pathogen richness in bumble bees. Unexpectedly, we observed that that parasite and pathogen richness in honey bees had no significant predictors, highlighting the complexity of comparing transmission dynamics between species. Although floral resources provide bees with food, we suggest more research on the tradeoffs between resource provisioning and disease transmission to implement conservation plantings in changing landscapes.

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Section: Bee Diversity Is Promoted By Garden Sizementioning

confidence: 80%

Floral resources shape parasite and pathogen dynamics in bees facing urbanization

et al. 2022

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“…One feature of urban ecosystems that has gained attention as potential habitat for wildlife is residential yards (or gardens) (Cannon, 1999; Gaston & Gaston, 2010; Goddard et al, 2010, 2013, 2017; Lerman et al, 2021; Lerman & Warren, 2011; Narango et al, 2017; Sperling & Lortie, 2010). Residential yards comprise a substantial percentage of land cover in many urban areas worldwide, and therefore, are a significant component of a city's greenspace (Gaston & Gaston, 2010; Ossola et al, 2019). The effect of residential yards in supporting wildlife is a pattern that has been uncovered in numerous cities across the globe (Gaston & Gaston, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ecological role of native‐plant landscaping in residential yards to birds during the nonbreeding period

Smallwood

Wood

2023

Ecosphere

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Residential yards are a form of urban land use that cover a considerable amount of area in cities worldwide and provide important habitat for wildlife, especially when landscaped with native plants. Nevertheless, most native‐plant landscaping and wildlife research in the northern temperate regions of the world has been conducted during the spring and summer breeding period, leaving a gap in our understanding of the importance of residential yards and native plants as habitats for animals during the nonbreeding period. To fill this gap, we quantified the ecological role of native‐landscaped yards to avifauna throughout Greater Los Angeles (LA), California, during the winter nonbreeding period, which is a time of year when the region hosts a high abundance and diversity of migratory and resident birds. We surveyed birds and habitat features from October to March of 2020 and 2021 at 22 pairs of native‐ and non‐native‐landscaped yards plus 10 additional native‐landscaped yards. We had three objectives for our study. First, we compared avifaunal communities, including feeding and nonfeeding behaviors, and habitat features between native and non‐native‐landscaped yards. Second, we quantified relationships between habitat features and bird richness, abundance, and feeding and nonfeeding behaviors—focusing on species affiliated with urban or natural terrestrial ecosystems of the region. Third, we documented feeding and nonfeeding behaviors by birds with native and non‐native plants. Native‐landscaped yards had a greater cover of native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, and a higher cover of natural habitat elements, including leaf litter and bare‐ground cover. Bird richness and abundance—especially bird species affiliated with tree‐ and shrub‐dominated ecosystems—were greater in native than non‐native‐landscaped yards. Further, yards with a higher cover of native plants supported greater numbers of feeding birds, with individuals focusing their foraging behaviors on distinct native trees and shrubs, including Quercus spp. (oak), Heteromeles spp. (toyon), Arctostaphylos spp. (manzanita), and Salvia spp. (sage). Our results suggest that residential yards landscaped with native plants provide important habitat for birds during the nonbreeding period and are a viable approach for residents and cities if improving conditions for birds throughout the annual cycle is a goal.

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“…; Loram et al . ; Gaston & Gaston ). Given that gardens can also play important roles in maintaining urban biodiversity and connecting otherwise fragmented urban habitats (Smith et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weeds on the web: conflicting management advice about an invasive non‐native plant

Robinson

Inger

Crowley

et al. 2016

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary Invasive non‐native plants (INNPs) can have serious and widespread negative ecological and socio‐economic impacts. It is therefore important they are managed appropriately. Within domestic gardens management decisions, which will tend to be made by individual members of the public, are likely to vary depending on (a) understanding of problems caused by INNP, and (b) knowledge of best practice. Using content analysis, an approach seldom employed in an ecological context, this study analysed variation in internet‐based information sources regarding INNP to determine how this collective discourse might influence risk perceptions and management decisions for domestic garden owners/managers. We used Japanese knotweed Fallopia japonica in the UK, as a case study, as it is one of the most ecologically and economically damaging INNP in the region. Our analysis categorized the types of author disseminating information about Japanese knotweed, the relative frequency of documents between author categories, and variation in content and style between and within author categories. We identified five author categories: environmental NGOs, control companies, government, media and the property market. There was extensive variation in document structure, topics discussed, references and links to other sources, and language style; sometimes this variation was between author categories and sometimes within author categories. The most significant variation in topics discussed between author categories was indirect socio‐economic problems, with control companies discussing these most. The number of pieces of legislation referenced and the proportion of militaristic words used were also highly significantly different between author categories. Some documents used neutral terminology and were more circumspect, whilst others were more forceful in expressing opinions and sensational. The author category returning the highest number of documents was the subcategory local government, the shortest of which contained neither links to other information nor referenced any organizations. Further analysis of local government documents revealed conflicting advice regarding the disposal of Japanese knotweed waste material; confusion about this topic could result in decisions being made that spread Japanese knotweed further and are potentially unlawful. The potential implications of our findings for the management of INNP in domestic gardens and societal perceptions of risks posed by INNP are discussed. Synthesis and applications. To help prevent inappropriate management of invasive non‐native plants (INNPs), for example Japanese knotweed Fallopia japonica in domestic gardens, we recommend that local and national authorities collaborate and work towards disseminating more consistent messages about (a) the potential socio‐economic and ecological problems caused by INNP, whilst avoiding hyperbole, and (b) the most appropriate management techniques.

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Urban gardens and biodiversity

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Floral resources shape parasite and pathogen dynamics in bees facing urbanization

Floral resources shape parasite and pathogen dynamics in bees facing urbanization

The ecological role of native‐plant landscaping in residential yards to birds during the nonbreeding period

Weeds on the web: conflicting management advice about an invasive non‐native plant

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