Habitat Restorations in an Urban Landscape Rapidly Assemble Diverse Pollinator Communities That Persist

Abstract

Ecological restoration is a leading approach to mitigating biodiversity decline. While restoration often leads to an immediate increase in species abundance or diversity, it is rarely clear whether it supports longer-term biodiversity gains at the landscape scale. To examine the impacts of urban restoration on pollinator biodiversity, we conducted a 3-year natural experiment in 18 parks across a large metropolitan area. We applied an occupancy model to our survey data to determine how restoration, woody plant density and pollinator specialisation impacted interannual pollinator metacommunity dynamics. Restoration drove a rapid increase in pollinator species occurrence that was maintained through a positive balance between colonisation and persistence, resulting in pollinator species richness gains that are retained. We conclude that urban restoration can effectively conserve pollinator biodiversity by influencing the processes that underlie long-term population stability. Our results highlight the need to study the long-term effects of restoration in different landscape contexts.