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Public Parkland Management for Pollinators
Elinor Meloy
MRes BSc
Masters in Research Project
A comparison of the utility of
cultivated pollinator planting
initiatives and traditionally
managed grasslands within
major urban parkland of South
Wales
Main Methods include: Reduced mowing Habitat management ‘Wildflower’ seed planting
They’re being introduced all over South Wales but…Do they work?
Urban pollinator initiatives
Aim To determine if the pollinator habitat management regimes of reduced mowing and seeding areas of urban parkland support different species richness and abundance of insect pollinators. Project duration 1st June- 1st September 2015 12 weeks , throughout British Summer Methods Vegetation quadrats, Checklist Surveys, Pan Traps
Project Summary
Results • A total of 82 species of flowering plants
were recorded: 55 at unmown sites vs 39 at seeded sites
• A total of 72 species of pollinators were recorded across the 14 sites in the three orders Diptera (33), Hymenoptera (21), and Lepidoptera (18) 65 across unmown sites vs 52 at seeded sites
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Unmown
Cardiff
Unmown
Swansea
Seed Mix 2
Cardiff
Seed Mix 1
Swansea
Seed Mix 1
Cardiff
Seed Mix 1
Swansea
Tota
l N
um
ber
of
spec
ies
Location & Management type
Lepidoptera
Hymenoptera
Diptera
The overall results suggest that reduced mowing management is a more effective planting initiative for pollinator conservation than sowing cultivated seed mixes particularly for diurnal lepidoptera
Outcomes • Both seeded and reduced mowing
areas acted as valuable forage resources
• Variation in insect pollinator response suggest that both methods provide an exploited forage resource and must continue
• Suggestions were sent to Cardiff and Swansea Council of an integrated initiative of both methods
• Benefiting not only pollinators but other urban biodiversity, reducing fragmentation and linking urban greenspace.
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