Aotearoa BiodiverCity / Design Guide / Design Strategies /

Pollinator pathways & flora plantings

SCALES / ,
SYNERGIES / , ,

CASE STUDIES //

A pollinator pathway with connected native flowering plantings supporting bees, butterflies, and other invertebrates across an urban neighbourhood in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Definition

Pollinator pathways and flora plantings are connected networks of flowering vegetation that provide continuous foraging and habitat resources for pollinators across urban environments.

What this strategy does

Creates linked planting corridors that support pollinator movement and persistence.

Avoids isolated, single-species, or short-duration plantings.

Context

Urbanisation fragments habitat and limits pollinator movement; coordinated planting improves ecological connectivity and resilience in towns and cities.

Technical considerations

Design considerations

Plant selection and diversity

Prioritise locally appropriate native flowering plants to support native pollinators and established plant–pollinator relationships.1

Use mixed plantings with non-invasive ornamentals only where needed to extend flowering periods; non-natives must supplement, not replace, natives.2, 3, 4

Maximise plant species richness to support diverse pollinator communities and functional redundancy.2, 5, 6, 7

Spatial and habitat structure

Incorporate layered vegetation (groundcovers, herbaceous plants, shrubs, trees) to increase foraging and nesting opportunities.2, 6, 8

Specify species with overlapping flowering times to maintain year-round resource availability.2, 3

Provide nesting and shelter features such as dead wood, and low-disturbance zones.1, 7

Implementation considerations

Management and performance

Reduce mowing frequency and avoid intensive maintenance regimes that remove flowers or nesting habitat.2, 12

Urban soils may have altered nutrients or compaction affecting plant establishment and long-term diversity.12

Issues & barriers

Habitat fragmentation

High impervious surface cover reduces pollinator movement and disproportionately affects small-bodied and specialist species.9, 10, 11

Planting trade-offs

Poorly selected non-native species can disrupt plant–pollinator networks or become invasive.2, 3, 11

Competing land-use demands

Recreation, aesthetics, and maintenance expectations can limit floral density and habitat persistence.2, 12

Synergies & opportunities

Climate change

Pollinator plantings contribute to urban cooling, stormwater management, and ecosystem resilience.13, 14, 15, 16, 17

Human wellbeing

Biodiverse, flowering landscapes improve mental health, social connection, and perceived environmental quality.2, 4, 18

Food security

Diverse pollinator communities support urban food production and stabilise pollination services.2, 19, 20

Financial case

Ecosystem services and performance value

Improved pollination services

Supports higher yields in urban agriculture and community gardens.6, 9, 20

Cost-effectiveness

Perennial, biodiverse plantings reduce long-term maintenance, chemical inputs, and replacement costs.6

Resilience benefits

Increased ecological resilience lowers costs associated with pest outbreaks and infrastructure stress.6, 20

Monitoring & evaluation metrics

Core metric

Pollinator abundance and species richness from repeat surveys.2, 3, 20

Advanced or long-term metric

Plant–pollinator interaction network complexity and pollination success (e.g. fruit or seed set).9, 21, 22, 23

Additional resources or tools

International

Pollinator Pathmaker: Algorithmic tool for designing pollinator-supportive gardens.

References
  1. Iwasaki, J., & Hogendoorn, K. (2023). The conservation of urban flower visitors Down Under. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1103257
  2. Salisbury, A., Armitage, J., Bostock, H., Perry, J., Tatchell, M., & Thompson, K. (2015). Enhancing gardens as habitats for flower-visiting aerial insects: Should we plant native or exotic species? Journal of Applied Ecology, 52, 1156–1164. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12499
  3. Poole, O., Costa, A., Kaiser-Bunbury, C., & Shaw, R. (2024). Pollinators respond positively to urban green space enhancements using wild and ornamental flowers. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 18, 16–28. https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12779
  4. Toscano, S., Romano, D., Lazzeri, V., Leotta, L., & Bretzel, F. (2025). How can plants used for ornamental purposes contribute to urban biodiversity? Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17094061
  5. Kral-O’Brien, K., O’Brien, P., Hovick, T., & Harmon, J. (2021). Higher plant richness supports higher pollinator richness across many land use types. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 114, 267–275. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saaa061
  6. Erickson, E., Patch, H., & Grozinger, C. (2021). Herbaceous perennial ornamental plants can support complex pollinator communities. Scientific Reports, 11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95892-w
  7. Majewska, A., & Altizer, S. (2019). Planting gardens to support insect pollinators. Conservation Biology, 34. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13271
  8. Sharmin, M., et al. (2024). Urban greening with shrubs can supercharge invertebrate abundance and diversity. Scientific Reports, 14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58909-8
  9. Bennett, A., & Lovell, S. (2019). Landscape and local site variables influence pollinators and pollination services in urban agriculture. PLoS ONE, 14. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212034
  10. Wenzel, A., et al. (2020). How urbanization is driving pollinator diversity and pollination. Biological Conservation, 241, 108321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108321
  11. Baldock, K. (2020). Opportunities and threats for pollinator conservation in cities. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 38, 63–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2020.01.006
  12. Rust, W., et al. (2024). Soil–plant–pollinator relationships in urban grass and meadow habitats. Diversity. https://doi.org/10.3390/d16060354
  13. Pataki, D., et al. (2021). The benefits and limits of urban tree planting. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.603757
  14. Kisvarga, S., et al. (2023). Plant responses to global climate change and urbanisation. Horticulturae. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9091051
  15. Sharifi, A. (2020). Co-benefits and synergies between urban climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. Science of the Total Environment, 750, 141642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141642
  16. Fan, K., et al. (2023). Soil biodiversity supports multiple ecosystem functions in urban greenspaces. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 7, 113–126. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01935-4
  17. Shin, Y., et al. (2022). Actions to halt biodiversity loss generally benefit the climate. Global Change Biology, 28, 2846–2874. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16109
  18. Marselle, M., et al. (2021). Biodiversity and health in the urban environment. Current Environmental Health Reports, 8, 146–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-021-00313-9
  19. Katumo, D., et al. (2022). Pollinator diversity benefits ecosystems and human welfare. Plant Diversity, 44, 429–435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pld.2022.01.005
  20. Lowenstein, D., Matteson, K., & Minor, E. (2015). Diversity of wild bees supports pollination services in an urbanised landscape. Oecologia, 179, 811–821. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3389-0
  21. Daniels, B., et al. (2020). A “plan bee” for cities. PLoS ONE, 15. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235492
  22. Theodorou, P., et al. (2017). Flower-visitor network structure across urban gradients. Functional Ecology, 31, 838–847. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12803
  23. Kaiser-Bunbury, C., & Blüthgen, N. (2015). Integrating network ecology with applied conservation. AoB Plants, 7. https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plv076