Less is more! Rapid increase in plant species richness after reduced mowing in urban grasslands |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute of Environmental Planning, Leibniz University Hannover, Herrenhäuser Straße 2, 30419 Hannover, Germany;2. Department of Economics, University of Mannheim, L7 3-5, 68161 Mannheim, Germany;1. Biodiversity Unit, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Turku, PL 20014, Finland;2. Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries, and Economics, The Arctic University of Norway, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway;3. University of Stuttgart, Institute of Landscape Planning and Ecology, Keplerstraße 11, 70174 Stuttgart, Germany;4. Technische Universität Berlin, Department of Ecology, Chair of Ecosystem Science/Plant Ecology, Rothenburgstr. 12, 12165 Berlin, Germany;5. Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany;6. Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland;7. Institute of Ecology and Earth Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia;8. Department of Crop and Forest Sciences, Universitat de Lleida, Av Rovira Roure 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain;9. Joint Reseach Unit CTFC—AGROTECNIO, Lleida, Spain;10. Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72074 Tübingen, Germany;11. Institute of Landscape Ecology, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Heisenbergstr. 2, 48149 Münster, Germany;12. Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, Via San Camillo de’ Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy;13. Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), pc. 48940 Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain;14. Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Masaryk University, Po?í?í 7, CZ-603 00 Brno, Czechia;15. Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlá?ská 2, CZ-611 37 Brno, Czech Republic;p. Estudi TALP (Territori Arquitectura i Laboratori de Paisatge), C/Calamocha 3 3-A, 46007 Valencia, Spain;q. Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, MTA-ÖK Lendület Seed Ecology Research Group, Vácrátót, Hungary;r. Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Lendület’ Landscape and Conservation Ecology Research Group, Vácrátót, Hungary;s. Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden;t. People and Wildlife Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire RG6 6AS, United Kingdom;u. Department of Agronomy, University of Cordoba, Campus de Rabanales, C.P. 14014 Córdoba, Spain;v. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Fábrica de Armas, E-45071 Toledo, Spain;w. Instituto Universitario de Gestión Forestal Sostenible, Universidad de Valladolid, Avda. de Madrid, 44, 34004 Palencia, Spain;x. ALEB (Active Learning in Ecology and Biotechnology), C/ Las Moreras, 5, 30149, El Siscar (Santomera) Murcia, Spain;y. Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación (CSIC-UV-GV), Carretera Moncada-Náquera km 4.5, 46113, Moncada (Valencia), Spain;z. Dipartimento di Scienze, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy;11. Dr. Unterweger Biodiversitätsplanung, Wain, Germany;12. Department of Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Málaga, Boulevard Louis Pasteur s/n, 29071 Málaga, Spain;13. Department of Research and Development, Coccosphere Environmental Analysis, 29120 Málaga, Spain;14. Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zürich, Universitätstr. 2, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland |
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| Abstract: | Urban lawns provide space for recreation in cities, and they are an important part of urban green infrastructures. However, most lawns are intensively managed. As only few plant species can survive frequent mowing, urban lawns typically harbor only a limited number of plant species. To improve the biodiversity of urban lawns, it is often suggested to reduce the mowing frequency. Here, we studied the plant diversity of urban grasslands that have recently undergone management changes from mowing every few weeks to mowing only once or twice per season and compared them to intensively managed lawns. Within six years after the management changes, the grasslands with reduced mowing frequency hosted 30% more plant species than intensively managed lawns, and they were more heterogeneous both within and between grasslands. Additionally, the species composition of less frequently mown grasslands shifted from common mowing-tolerant lawn species to typical meadow species. Our study thus shows that the reduction of mowing is a simple and effective tool for increasing the biodiversity in urban grasslands. |
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| Keywords: | Biodiversity Green infrastructure Lawn management |
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