Urbanisation changes natural ecosystems and vegetation to urban green spaces, and causes insect communities to experience novel challenges for survival. New evidence suggests that urban green spaces, no matter how small, can provide meaningful habitats for insects. Information on design and management of small gardens (<6 m2) in dense urban areas is still scarce. In particular, it is hardly known which garden designs provide most benefits to insects. We surveyed 65 small urban façade gardens (μ=1.7m2) in Amsterdam and The Hague in The Netherlands and measured various garden attributes that are expected to be relevant for general, flower-visiting and herbivorous insect species richness and diversity. Plant coverage and richness were the strongest predictors of insect biodiversity and species richness. We found no support for associations with native plants or garden size.

中文翻译：

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植被密度是小型私人城市前花园昆虫物种丰富性和多样性的主要驱动因素


城市化将自然生态系统和植被转变为城市绿地，并导致昆虫群落经历新的生存挑战。新的证据表明，城市绿地，无论多小，都可以为昆虫提供有意义的栖息地。在人口稠密的城市地区，关于小花园（x3C6 m2）的设计和管理的信息仍然很少。特别是，几乎不知道哪些花园设计对昆虫最有益。我们调查了荷兰阿姆斯特丹和海牙的 65 个小型城市立面花园 （μ=1.7m2），并测量了预计与一般、访花和食草昆虫物种丰富性和多样性相关的各种花园属性。植物覆盖率和丰富度是昆虫生物多样性和物种丰富度的最强预测指标。我们没有发现支持与本地植物或花园大小的关联。