Effects of urbanization on pollination services

University Of Illinois At Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Urban agriculture is increasing in the United States, with vegetables and fruits often grown in private and community gardens as well as larger tracts of vacant land. These small-scale agricultural efforts may contribute to urban sustainability and can provide food security for those living in low-income inner city neighborhoods with limited access to fresh produce. Despite the potential social, nutritional, and ecological benefits of urban agriculture, little is known about the pollination services that support such efforts. Many crops grown in urban gardens benefit from or are dependent on pollination by insects, especially bees. However, while studies have found some bees to be prevalent in florally-diverse urban habitats, bee diversity or abundance also have been shown to decrease with increasing urbanization. Therefore, pollinator communities may vary across the urban landscape due to local management of floral resources (e.g., flower plantings along city blocks) as well as development intensity at larger spatial scales; these factors may then influence pollination services across the urban landscape. To determine how pollination services are distributed across the urban landscape, this research will (a) evaluate changes in pollinators and their response to floral resources across a gradient of urban development, and (b) determine how these biotic changes affect the consistency and magnitude of pollination services. The research will take place in Chicago, IL, the third largest city in the United States. In addition to sampling pollinator communities, this study will use an experimental "mobile garden" on the back of a pick-up truck to quantify directly pollination services across the city. An assessment of pollination services in cities will increase understanding of the potential sustainability of urban ecosystems. This knowledge can be applied to increasing yield in urban agriculture, potentially contributing to food security in densely populated neighborhoods. This project will train undergraduate and graduate students through participation in research and educate Chicago residents about the importance of pollinators. Finally, the research will inform urban planners about the ecological attributes, at both neighborhood-block and landscape scales, that affect the ecosystem service of pollination.