11 Nov Acceptance of near-natural greenspace management among European urbanites
Title: Acceptance of near-natural greenspace management relates to ecological and socio-cultural assigned values among European urbanites
Authors: Jussi Lampinena, Maria Tuomib, Leonie K. Fischerc,d,e, Lena Neuenkampf,g, Josu G. Aldayh,i, Anna Bucharovaj,k, Laura Cancellieril, Izaskun Casado-Arzuagam, Natálie Čeplován,o, Lluïsa Cerveróp, Balázs Deákq,r, Ove Erikssons, Mark D E Fellowest, Beatriz Fernández de Manuelm, Goffredo Filibeckl, Adrián González-Guzmán1u, M. Belen Hinojosav, Ingo Kowarikd,e, Belén Lumbierresh, Ana Miguelp, Rosa Pardop, Xavier Ponsh, Encarna Rodríguez-Garcíaw,x, Roland Schrödery, Marta Gaia Sperandiiz, Philipp Unterwegeraa, Orsolya Valkóq,r, Víctor Vázquezab,ac & Valentin H. Klausad
Accepted: 27.10.2020
Published: 31.10.2020
Journal: Basic and Applied Ecology
Affiliations
a Biodiversity Unit, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Turku, PL 20014, Finland
b Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries, and Economics, The Arctic University of Norway, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway
c Institute of Landscape Planning and Ecology, University of Stuttgart, Keplerstraße 11, D-70174 Stuttgart, Germany
d Department of Ecology, Chair of Ecosystem Science/Plant Ecology, Technische Universität Berlin, Rothenburgstr. 12, D-12165 Berlin, Germany
e Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), D-14195 Berlin, Germany
f Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
g Institute of Ecology and Earth Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
h Department of Crop and Forest Sciences, Agrotecnio, Universitat de Lleida, Av Rovira Roure 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain
i Joint Reseach Unit CTFC—AGROTECNIO, Lleida, Spain
j Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
k Institute of Landscape Ecology, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Heisenbergstr. 2, 48149 Münster, Germany
l Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, Via San Camillo de’ Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
m Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), pc. 48940 Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain
n Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Masaryk University, Poříčí 7, CZ-603 00 Brno, Czech Republic
o Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, CZ-611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
p Estudi TALP (Territori Arquitectura i Laboratori de Paisatge), C/Calamocha 3 3-A 46007, Valencia, Spain
q Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, MTA-ÖK Lendület Seed Ecology Research Group, Vácrátót, Hungary
r Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Lendület’ Landscape and Conservation Ecology Research Group, Vácrátót, Hungary
s Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
t People and Wildlife Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire RG6 6AS, UK
u Department of Agronomy, University of Cordoba, Campus de Rabanales, C.P. 14014 Córdoba, Spain
v Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Fábrica de Armas, E-45071 Toledo, Spain
w Instituto Universitario de Gestión Forestal Sostenible, Universidad de Valladolid, Avda. de Madrid, 44, 34004, Palencia, Spain
x ALEB (Active Learning in Ecology and Biotechnology), C/ Las Moreras, 5, 30149, El Siscar (Santomera) Murcia, Spain
y Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Landscape Architecture, Oldenburger Landstr. 24, 49090 Osnabrück, Germany
z Dipartimento di Scienze, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, 00146, Rome, Italy
aa Dr. Unterweger Biodiversitätsplanung, Wain, Germany
ab Department of Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Málaga, Boulevard Louis Pasteur s/n, 29071-Málaga, Spain
ac Department of Research and Development, Coccosphere Environmental Analysis, 29120-Málaga, Spain
ad Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zürich, Universitätstr. 2, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
Abstract
Grasslands are widespread elements of urban greenspace providing recreational, psychological and aesthetic benefits to city residents. Two urban grassland types of contrasting management dominate urban greenspaces: frequently mown, species-poor short-cut lawns and less intensively managed, near-natural tall-grass meadows. The higher conservation value of tall-grass meadows makes management interventions such as converting short-cut lawns into tall-grass meadows a promising tool for urban biodiversity conservation. The societal success of such interventions, however, depends on identifying the values urban residents assign to different types of urban grasslands, and how these values translate to attitudes towards greenspace management. Using 2027 questionnaires across 19 European cities, we identify the assigned values that correlate with people’s personal greenspace use and their preferences for different types of urban grasslands to determine how these values relate to the agreement with a scenario of converting 50% of their cities’ short-cut lawns into tall-grass meadows. We found that most people assigned nature-related values, such as wildness, to tall-grass meadows and utility-related values, such as recreation, to short-cut lawns. Positive value associations of wildness and species richness with tall-grass meadows, and social and nature-related greenspace activities, positively correlated with agreeing to convert short-cut lawns into tall-grass meadows. Conversely, disapproval of lawn conversion correlated with positive value associations of cleanliness and recreation potential with short-cut lawns. Here, people using greenspaces for nature-related activities were outstandingly positive about lawn conversion. The results show that the plurality of values assigned to different types of urban grasslands should be considered in urban greenspace planning. For example, tall-grass meadows could be managed to also accommodate the values associated with short-cut lawns, such as tidiness and recreation potential, to support their societal acceptance.