Greening cities for all species: How to support human and pollinator wellbeing in urban areas?

Hakemuksen tiivistelmä

Urbanization reshapes landscapes, and impacts also many functionally important species groups. Among such are pollinators, which are vital for upkeeping plant biodiversity, yet they are declining due to habitat and flower resource loss and pesticide exposure. At the same time, urban green infrastructure may offer alternative habitats and food resources for pollinators. Urban green areas also support human wellbeing in many forms. No previous study has jointly addressed human and pollinator wellbeing in urban areas. This project addresses the gap by building on knowledge about the specific environments that urban residents perceive as beneficial for their wellbeing, and accompanies this with data about pollinators in those areas. In this project we examine which features of urban areas support the shared wellbeing the best. We first identify sites that are experienced as best for human wellbeing based on an existing dataset from over 5000 residents in the city of Espoo, Finland. In the best 30 sites we will sample pollinators with pan traps, and identify them with DNA metabarcoding, to determine the pollinator diversity. We will place bumble and mason bees hives to the sites, and record their colony growth and wealth. We also use the bee nests to sample pollen to show which plants are preferred and to sample pesticide exposure. In addition, we measure pesticides from ornamental plants directly, and air quality. We then use the pesticide and other descriptive data from the sites together with various geospatial data describing the urban structure, environmental features and vegetation, to determine the traits of the study sites supportive of the joint wellbeing. We will further conduct geospatial habitat suitability modelling to identify and map favourable areas across the whole city of Espoo. With this, we offer a novel perspective to look at urban green spaces as well as practical knowledge for sustainable urban planning.