Evidence-base for urban green-blue infrastructure to support insect diversity

Abstract

Green-blue urban infrastructures potentially offer win-win benefits for people and nature in urban areas. Given increasing evidence of widespread declines of insects, as well as their ecological importance, there is a need to better understand the potential role of green-blue urban infrastructure for insect conservation. In this review, we evaluated 201 studies about the ability of green-blue infrastructure to support insect diversity. Most studies were focused on the role of local and landscape-level characteristics of green-blue infrastructure. Fewer studies explicitly compared one type of infrastructure to another, and even fewer compared insect communities between green-blue infrastructure and traditional infrastructure. Overall, the body of research highlights the importance of plant diversity and reduced intensity of management (e.g., mowing) for most insect taxon groups. While local characteristics seem to be generally more important than landscape factors, insect communities within green-blue infrastructures can also depend on their connectivity and landscape context. Some infrastructure types are generally more beneficial than others; for instance, ground-level habitats tend to support more insects than green roofs. Few studies simultaneously studied synergies or trade-offs with other services provided by green-blue infrastructure, but environmental variables, such as tree cover and plant diversity, that affect insects are likely to also affect the provision of other services such as improving thermal comfort and the well-being of people. Our review offers some initial evidence for how green-blue infrastructure could be designed for multifunctionality with insects in mind.