Garden Pollinators and the Potential for Ecosystem Service Flow to Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture

Urban Farm DB summary

This study sampled bees from gardens in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area and estimated typical foraging distances to assess whether urban gardens might supply pollination services to surrounding agricultural land. It estimates that when pollination-dependent crops are nearby, 30–50% of the garden bee community could potentially provide pollination services to adjacent crops, suggesting urban gardens could provision neighboring farms or serve as a refuge for pollinators.