Urban Farm DB
Research catalogue
Database research record2009·Sweden (Stockholm)

Bumble Bees (Bombus spp) along a Gradient of Increasing Urbanization

Karin Ahrné, Jan Bengtsson, Thomas Elmqvist

PLoS ONE

Urban Farm DB summary

This study investigated bumble bees in allotment gardens along an urbanization gradient from inner Stockholm to rural areas. Findings showed that bumble bee diversity decreased with increasing urbanization, from approximately eight species in rural areas to five to six species in urban allotment gardens. Higher variability in the abundance of certain species in the most urban areas suggested a potentially weaker reliability of the pollination ecosystem service in areas strongly influenced by human activity.