Scholarlink

<p>Lawns are ubiquitous in North American urban environments and constitute a simplified ecosystem with low plant diversity compared to natural ecosystems. Given their prevalence, these areas have great potential to enhance biodiversity, for example by increasing their attractiveness to pollinators. However, scientific data on the use of alternative groundcovers in established lawns is scarce. The goal of this two-year project was to monitor the attraction of pollinators and resilience of four different groundcover species (<i>Fragaria virginiana</i> Miller, <i>Bellis perennis</i> L., <i>Trifolium repens</i> L., and <i>Thymus serpyllum</i> L.) incorporated into existing lawns in Québec City and Montréal (Canada). A total of nine experimental sites were established in June 2021. A conventionally mowed lawn as well as an unmowed lawn were included as controls at each site. Plant survival, growth, and flowering data were collected at 21-day intervals in 2021 and monthly in 2022. Sweep net sampling was performed to assess pollinator diversity and abundance. Our results showed that all four species can be successfully introduced into established lawns. <i>Fragaria virginiana</i> and <i>T. serpyllum</i> had the highest survival, <i>T. repens</i> and <i>T. serpyllum</i> showed the highest cover, and <i>B. perennis</i> consistently produced the most flowers despite having a lower survival. Established lawns at all sites already had significant floral diversity, which resulted in minimal impact of groundcover introduction on pollinator abundance and diversity. However, a total of 2,389 bees and hover flies were captured, which highlights the positive effects of diversified lawns on pollinators.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Enhancing urban lawn diversity: investigating survival, growth, flowering, and pollinator attractiveness of groundcover plant species

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年6月2日

查看全文
  • Anaïs Grenier,
  • Frédéric McCune,
  • Étienne Normandin,
  • Ann-Catherine Laliberté,
  • Colin Favret,
  • Valérie Fournier,
  • Guillaume Grégoire

摘要

Lawns are ubiquitous in North American urban environments and constitute a simplified ecosystem with low plant diversity compared to natural ecosystems. Given their prevalence, these areas have great potential to enhance biodiversity, for example by increasing their attractiveness to pollinators. However, scientific data on the use of alternative groundcovers in established lawns is scarce. The goal of this two-year project was to monitor the attraction of pollinators and resilience of four different groundcover species (Fragaria virginiana Miller, Bellis perennis L., Trifolium repens L., and Thymus serpyllum L.) incorporated into existing lawns in Québec City and Montréal (Canada). A total of nine experimental sites were established in June 2021. A conventionally mowed lawn as well as an unmowed lawn were included as controls at each site. Plant survival, growth, and flowering data were collected at 21-day intervals in 2021 and monthly in 2022. Sweep net sampling was performed to assess pollinator diversity and abundance. Our results showed that all four species can be successfully introduced into established lawns. Fragaria virginiana and T. serpyllum had the highest survival, T. repens and T. serpyllum showed the highest cover, and B. perennis consistently produced the most flowers despite having a lower survival. Established lawns at all sites already had significant floral diversity, which resulted in minimal impact of groundcover introduction on pollinator abundance and diversity. However, a total of 2,389 bees and hover flies were captured, which highlights the positive effects of diversified lawns on pollinators.