13 May Public attitudes towards biodiversity-friendly greenspace management in Europe
Title: Public attitudes toward biodiversity‐friendly greenspace management in Europe
Authors: Leonie K. Fischer*1,2, Lena Neuenkamp*3, Jussi Lampinen4, Maria Tuomi4, Josu G. Alday5, Anna Bucharova6,7, Laura Cancellieri8, Izaskun Casado-Arzuaga9, Natálie Čeplová10, Lluïsa Cerveró11, Balázs Deák12, Ove Eriksson13, Mark D E Fellowes14, Beatriz Fernández de Manuel9, Goffredo Filibeck8, Adrián González-Guzmán15, M. Belen Hinojosa16, Ingo Kowarik1,2, Belén Lumbierres5, Ana Miguel11, Rosa Pardo11, Xavier Pons5, Encarna Rodríguez-García17,18, Roland Schröder19, Marta Gaia Sperandii20, Philipp Unterweger6, Orsolya Valkó21, Víctor Vázquez22,23 & Valentin H. Klaus24,+
Accepted: 02.03.2020
Published: 13.05.2020
Journal: Conservation Letters
DOI: 10.1111/conl.12718
Affiliations
1 Department of Ecology, Chair of Ecosystem Science/Plant Ecology, Technische Universität Berlin, Rothenburgstr. 12, D-12165 Berlin, Germany
2 Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), D-14195 Berlin, Germany
3 Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
4 Department of Biology, University of Turku, PL 20014, Finland
5 Department of Crop and Forest Sciences, Agrotecnio, Universitat de Lleida, Av Rovira Roure 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain
6 Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
7 Institute of Landscape Ecology, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Heisenbergstr. 2, 48149 Münster, Germany
8 Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, Via San Camillo de’ Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
9 Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), pc. 48940 Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain
10 Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Masaryk University, Poříčí 7, CZ-603 00 Brno, Czech Republic
11 Estudi TALP (Territori Arquitectura i Laboratori de Paisatge), C/Calamocha 3 3-A 46007, Valencia, Spain
12 MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
13 Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
14 People and Wildlife Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire RG6 6AS, UK
15 Department of Agronomy, University of Cordoba, Campus de Rabanales, C.P. 14014 Córdoba, Spain
16 Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Fábrica de Armas, E-45071 Toledo, Spain
17 Instituto Universitario de Gestión Forestal Sostenible, Universidad de Valladolid, Avda. de Madrid, 44, 34004, Palencia, Spain
18 ALEB (Active Learning in Ecology and Biotechnology), C/ Las Moreras, 5, 30149, El Siscar (Santomera) Murcia, Spain
19 Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Landscape Architecture, Oldenburger Landstr. 24, 49090 Osnabrück, Germany
20 Dipartimento di Scienze, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, 00146, Rome, Italy
21 MTA-DE Lendület Seed Ecology Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032, Debrecen, Hungary
22 Department of Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Málaga, Boulevard Louis Pasteur s/n, 29071-Málaga, Spain
23 Department of Research and Development, Coccosphere Environmental Analysis, 29120-Málaga, Spain
24 Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zürich, Universitätstr. 2, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
Abstract
Increasing urbanization worldwide calls for more sustainable urban development. Simultaneously, the global biodiversity crisis accentuates the need of fostering biodiversity within cities. Policies supporting urban nature conservation need to understand people’s acceptance of biodiversity-friendly greenspace management. We surveyed more than 2000 people in 19 European cities about their attitudes towards near-natural urban grassland management in public greenspaces, and related their responses to nine sociocultural parameters. Results reveal that people across Europe can support urban biodiversity, yet within the frames of a generally tidy appearance of public greenery. Younger people and those using greenspaces for a greater variety of activities were more likely to favor biodiversity-friendly greenspace management. Additionally, people who were aware of the meaning of biodiversity and those stating responsibility for biodiversity conservation particularly supported biodiversity-friendly greenspace management. Our results point at explicit measures like environmental education to increase public acceptance of policies that facilitate nature conservation within cities.