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Pollinators in the city: Europe-wide synthesis evidences the relevance of biodiversity-friendly urban management

Pollinators in the city: Europe-wide synthesis evidences the relevance of biodiversity-friendly urban management
Lead author Gabriella S眉le (right) and Ph.D. student Vir谩g N茅meth (left) sampling a sown flower strip in Budapest, Hungary. These colorful, flowering patches provide not only food and nesting resources for pollinators but also an aesthetic attraction for residents. Credit: M谩rton K谩llai

Pollinators receive considerable interest due to their fundamental role in ecosystem functioning and human well-being. Unlike farmlands, studies of urban pollinator-promoting interventions have only started to grow rapidly recently and have not yet been synthesized, hampering all the related policies.

To fill this gap, a new study investigated the impacts of pollinator-friendly management compared to conventionally managed urban green spaces.

This research was led by the HUN-REN Center for Ecological Research in collaboration with 28 European institutes. in Ecology Letters, the synthesis examines whether pollinator-promoting interventions have positive effects on vegetation, floral resources, and a broad range of pollinator groups.

The findings show that urban pollinator-promoting interventions generally benefit plants and pollinators with taxon-, intervention-, habitat-, and spatio-temporal-specific differences.

The researchers compiled 28 primary datasets, covering 15 years and 12 countries, with 1,051 sampling sites within Europe. They analyzed the general effects, as well as the differences between the intervention types, such as abandonment, extensive mowing, flower sowing, and combined practices, and the habitat types, such as parks, grasslands, road verges, and private and .

General results present mostly positive and never negative effects for pollinator-promoting interventions, while the details are also particularly fascinating.

Lead author Dr. Gabriella S眉le explains, "Our synthesis underscores the importance of biodiversity-friendly management practices in cities. All of these pollinator-promoting interventions can be applied not only in public spaces but also in , allotments, green roofs, and balconies, providing opportunities to improve the public perception of insects and taller vegetation with wildflowers."

  • Pollinators in the city: Europe-wide synthesis evidences the relevance of biodiversity-friendly urban management
    Head of pollinator monitoring in Budapest, Viktor Szigeti, catching pollinators on a sown flower strip. In many cases, pollinator-promoting interventions are established in public spaces frequently used by residents, such as a traffic intersection. Credit: M谩rton K谩llai
  • Pollinators in the city: Europe-wide synthesis evidences the relevance of biodiversity-friendly urban management
    Reducing mowing frequency in public green spaces gives wildflowers a chance to survive, creating blooming islands in the concrete jungle. Credit: Viktor Szigeti

Impacts on pollinators appear to be stronger for flower sowing as , road verges as habitat, and locations in Northwestern Europe.

Dr. Viktor Szigeti notes, "Despite all the efforts to harmonize and compile wide-scale datasets, some limitations have become clear, e.g. for certain pollinator taxa (e.g. beetles), regions (e.g. the Mediterranean), and novel interventions (e.g. for ground-nesting insects).

"A synthesis always holds the potential to guide the next steps: the need is clear for longer-term and larger-scale studies encompassing multiple taxa, interventions, and , as well as sampling farmlands, cities, and protected areas simultaneously, even globally."

Building on the collective expertise of 38 authors in pollinator ecology, the researchers identified and proposed concrete actions to make more favorable for pollinators while also considering wider socio-ecological aspects.

Dr. Andr谩s B谩ldi notes, "Our synthesis also presents both ecological and socio-economic arguments and highlights potential pros and cons of pollinator-promoting interventions. Our recommendations draw attention to knowledge gaps and offer actions to make specific interventions more favorable, primarily for pollinators, while also integrating the residents' needs."

In the era of climate change and , the threats, but also the available mitigation opportunities, make the enhancement of green spaces in urban settlements an urgent priority.

To reach the ambitious goal of bringing people, plants, and together in multifunctional, resilient, and sustainable infrastructures, citizens and stakeholders will need to develop locally adapted, collaborative, and research-informed biodiversity initiatives.

More information: Gabriella S眉le et al, Pollinator鈥怭romoting Interventions in European Urban Habitats鈥擜 Synthesis, Ecology Letters (2025).

Journal information: Ecology Letters

Provided by HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research

Citation: Pollinators in the city: Europe-wide synthesis evidences the relevance of biodiversity-friendly urban management (2025, August 22) retrieved 13 October 2025 from /news/2025-08-pollinators-city-europe-wide-synthesis.html
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