Designing urban garden beds: native vegetation creates healthy habitats for arthropods in Melbourne, Australia
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Springer Nature
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-025-01751-1
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-025-01751-1
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Funder: The University of Queensland
Effective management of urban green spaces can positively contribute to the biodiversity of a city. Yet, much of the information about which management practices support biodiversity are derived from data on vertebrates, with little known about invertebrates. Here we report on a year-long field study in Melbourne, Australia across 12 urban garden beds that vary in their design and management. We investigate vegetation-based design and management choices that impact arthropod populations, to provide guidelines for the design and management of urban garden beds. First, we show that native vegetation facilitates flowering and enables arthropods to undertake crucial life cycle activities across the year. We also suggest that complex vegetation (that is, vegetation with canopy, midstorey and understorey elements) may facilitate important arthropod behaviours, and find that canopy trees are not strongly associated with arthropod activity, despite being a common target of vegetation management interventions in urban parks. Finally, we find that the vegetation preferences are not uniform across all arthropod groups, and as such a patchwork of garden beds with different design features will support a diverse set of arthropods within a park and across a city. We recommend that these three interventions be considered when designing and managing urban garden beds, to encourage functioning arthropod populations and support conservation in urban areas.
Effective management of urban green spaces can positively contribute to the biodiversity of a city. Yet, much of the information about which management practices support biodiversity are derived from data on vertebrates, with little known about invertebrates. Here we report on a year-long field study in Melbourne, Australia across 12 urban garden beds that vary in their design and management. We investigate vegetation-based design and management choices that impact arthropod populations, to provide guidelines for the design and management of urban garden beds. First, we show that native vegetation facilitates flowering and enables arthropods to undertake crucial life cycle activities across the year. We also suggest that complex vegetation (that is, vegetation with canopy, midstorey and understorey elements) may facilitate important arthropod behaviours, and find that canopy trees are not strongly associated with arthropod activity, despite being a common target of vegetation management interventions in urban parks. Finally, we find that the vegetation preferences are not uniform across all arthropod groups, and as such a patchwork of garden beds with different design features will support a diverse set of arthropods within a park and across a city. We recommend that these three interventions be considered when designing and managing urban garden beds, to encourage functioning arthropod populations and support conservation in urban areas.