Urbanization is a major cause of habitat loss worldwide, consequentially affecting native plant, butterfly, and bird diversity. Residential yards are often the dominant greenspaces remaining in cities, ranging extensively in landscaping style, maintenance, and contents due to resident preferences and gardening goals. This study aims to understand which aspects of residential garden management best support bird and butterfly diversity by assessing trends in gardening practices and resident demographics. Between May – August 2017, 47 residential yards were surveyed in Pittsburg, Kansas, a micropolitan city. Each yard was surveyed for its plant species composition and structure. Three butterfly transects and three bird point counts were conducted to assess community composition and richness. Residents are currently being surveyed for their gardening practices, environmental knowledge, and homeownership status (renter vs. owner). A series of ANOVAs and linear regressions were used to analyze the relationships between species richness, lawn composition, and resident survey data. We predicted an increase in native plants and yard complexity would correspond to greater bird and butterfly species richness. We also predicted that a variety of sociodemographic factors such as income, education, and environmental knowledge would show a positive relationship with more natural and diverse vegetation and wildlife-friendly management choices.
Results/Conclusions
A total of 47 bird and 27 butterfly species were observed across all yards. Yards with traditional, lawn-style management had significantly fewer bird (x̅= 9.4) and butterfly (x̅= 3.2) species as compared to more natural, complex vegetation styles (x̅= 13.7 and 6.8, respectively; ANOVA: F = 9.6, P < 0.001). Preliminary findings show positive relationships between urban exploiter bird species (i.e. European Starlings, etc.) and gardens with fewer plant species and simple vegetation structure. Bird communities also seem to separate out by the homeowner’s income, indicating a potential luxury effect surrounding urban biodiversity in residential gardens. More natural and complex vegetation structure may provide small patches of refugia for many native species in cities. Many similar studies conducted in larger, more urbanized cities suggest the importance of urban greenspace management for native wildlife diversity; however, this study is unique in that we focus our efforts on an urban center within a rural community in Southeast Kansas. By exploring trends in homeowner management practices, we aim to achieve a better understanding of which variables influence personal choices and which are most important for increasing wildlife diversity in urban residential areas.