Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The importance of pollinators in urban areas have become a topic of current interest with increasing
urbanisation. The current trend of urbanisation, e.g., tall buildings, concrete and densification, has
forced green structures to adapt to the changes, resulting in biodiversity loss. As urbanisation
continues, cities will continue to expand and thereby, it is crucial to halt the loss of biodiversity. A
solution to tackle the limited space has been the implementation of green roofs and green walls.
With the promising opportunities that emerged with the development of green roofs and living walls,
this study aimed to investigate how the habitat requirements of wild bees could improve on these
constructions. The study conducted a literature review about wild bees and projects focusing on wild
bees from municipalities in Sweden. Additionally, lists (Tab. 1-6) of attractive plants to wild bees
were created to improve habitat requirements.
The study results indicate that preserving wild bees requires an interdisciplinary approach as
multiple factors should be considered. Although the literature review results have shown that green
roofs can effectively support biodiversity, uncertainties of the effectiveness of supporting
biodiversity remain on green walls. The compiled lists of plants suitable for semi-extensive green
roofs and wild bees is based on literature and all plants have not been tested in practice; therefore,
it should be used as a guideline to reference/experiment. The study results also showed successful
biodiversity preservation projects from municipalities, indicating that the cooperation and incentives
from planners, the public and municipalities are valuable to halt the loss.
Green roofs and green living walls are merely a complement to further enhance the existing green
structures for wild bees. Urban areas are merely one of the habitats for wild bees and cannot replace
their natural habitats.