Abstract
Background and Objectives: As urbanisation is a significant global trend, there is a profound need for biodiversity protection in urban ecosystems. Moreover, the potential of urban green space to support urban biodiversity should be appreciated. Butterflies are environmental indicators that are sensitive to urbanisation. Therefore, it is important to identify butterfly distribution patterns and the factors influencing butterfly diversity and species composition in urban parks within cities. Research Highlights: To our knowledge, ours is the first study evaluating the effects of both land cover and local habitat features on butterfly species composition in urban parks of Beijing, China. Materials and Methods: In this study, we surveyed butterfly richness and abundance in 28 urban parks in Beijing, China. The parks differed in age and location in the urban area. Meanwhile, we investigated the green space in the surroundings of the parks at multi-spatial scales at the landscape level. We also investigated local park characteristics including the age of the park (Age), perimeter/area ratio of the park (SQPRA), area of the park (ha) (Area), green space cover within the park (Greenp), nectar plant species richness (Necpl), abundance of flowering nectar plants (Necabu) and overall plant species richness (Pl). Generalised linear models (GLMs) and redundancy discriminant analysis (RDA) were applied to relate butterfly diversity and butterfly species composition to environmental variables, respectively. Results: We recorded 3617 individuals belonging to 26 species from July to September in 2019. Parks on the city fringe had significantly higher butterfly diversity. Butterfly species richness was mostly related to total plant richness. The abundance of flowering nectar plants was closely linked to butterfly abundance. Land cover had little impact on butterfly diversity and community structure in urban parks. Conclusions: Once a park has sufficient plants and nectar resources, it becomes a useful haven for urban butterflies, regardless of the surrounding land cover. Well-planned urban parks focused on local habitat quality support butterfly conservation.
Highlights
By 2050, 68% of the world’s population is projected to be living in urban environments [1]
In conclusion, butterfly species richness and abundance in parks located in the urban fringe of Beijing are significantly higher than in the urban core
New parks with rich plant resources could quickly become effective butterfly habitats. Some butterflies, such as typical generalist species had a certain degree of adaptability to the urban environment
Summary
By 2050, 68% of the world’s population is projected to be living in urban environments [1]. From 2001 to 2018, built-up areas in 325 large cities have had more than 10% of the land converted to green space [5] Under such a scenario, urban areas, especially urban parks, still provide havens for biodiversity and have great conservation potential for numerous taxonomic groups [6,7]. Urban areas, especially urban parks, still provide havens for biodiversity and have great conservation potential for numerous taxonomic groups [6,7] This potential needs to be recognised by urban greening managers and city planners [8]. Research Highlights: To our knowledge, ours is the first study evaluating the effects of both land cover and local habitat features on butterfly species composition in urban parks of Beijing, China. Well-planned urban parks focused on local habitat quality support butterfly conservation
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