Effects of Landscape and Local Factors on the Diversity of Flower-Visitor Groups under an Urbanization Gradient, a Case Study in Wuhan, China

Abstract

Urbanization is one of the primary forces driving worldwide pollinator decline. Moderate urban expansion with appropriate green space planning can help in maintaining pollinator diversity and pollination service. We investigated the relative effects of landscape and local factors on the diversity of flower-visitor functional groups in a moderately urbanized city, Wuhan, located in central China. We found that the proportion of impervious surface had no significant effect on the number of visitations, but it was negatively associated with the diversity of flower-visitor groups. The number of visitations by Halictidae and Lepidoptera correlated positively with local flower density and flowering plant species richness, respectively. Flowering plant species richness was also positively correlated with the diversity of flower-visitor groups. The proportion of green space was negatively associated with the visitation number of Muscidae and the overall diversity of flower-visitor groups, revealing the potential influence of green space quality on pollinator assemblage. The pollination networks under three urbanization levels (with a total of 11 flower visitor groups and 43 plant species) were asymmetric, highly nested, and generalized. The suburb sites contained the highest diversity of interactions. Core flowering plants (Oenothera speciosa, Coreopsis grandiflora and Cyanus segetum) are exotic species with attractive flowers. Improving green space quality (high flower density and flowering plant species richness) and using attractive native flowering plants (Nandina domestica, Rosa chinensis, Astragalus sinicus, Cirsium arvense var. integrifolium, and Zabelia biflora) would enhance the function of urban green space to maintain pollinator diversity and ecosystem stability.