Opportunities and threats for pollinator conservation in global towns and cities

• Published in: Current opinion in insect science Vol. 38; pp. 63 - 71
• Main Author: Baldock, Katherine CR
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 01.04.2020
• Subjects: bees; biodiversity; cities; climate change; community gardens; community structure; green infrastructure; habitats; home gardens; honey bee colonies; landscapes; nesting sites; pollinators; stakeholders; towns; urban areas; urbanization
• ISSN: 2214-5745; 2214-5745; 2214-5753
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2020.01.006

•Threats to urban pollinators include urban intensification, climate change, pesticides and pollution.•Adding honey bee hives could negatively affect wild pollinators in urban areas.•Allotments and domestic gardens benefit urban pollinator communities.•Adding flowers and nesting sites and reducing grass mowing benefits pollinators.•Actions by multiple stakeholders are important for urban pollinator conservation. Urban expansion is considered to be one of the main threats to global biodiversity yet some pollinator groups, particularly bees, can do well in urban areas. Recent studies indicate that both local and landscape-level drivers can influence urban pollinator communities, with local floral resources and the amount of impervious cover in the landscape affecting pollinator abundance, richness and community composition. Urban intensification, chemicals, climate change and increased honey bee colony densities all negatively affect urban pollinators. Maintaining good areas of habitat for pollinators, such as those found in allotments (community gardens) and domestic gardens, and improving management approaches in urban greenspace and highly urbanised areas (e.g. by increasing floral resources and nesting sites) will benefit pollinator conservation. Opportunities for pollinator conservation exist via multiple stakeholders including policymakers, urban residents, urban planners and landscape architects.