How to foster biodiversity in urban grasslands? Stakeholder perceptions on biodiversity actions, challenges and solutions in Finland

Source abstract

Urban grasslands are an important part of green infrastructure that enable combining biodiversity conservation with various nature contributions to people. Numerous stakeholders could act to further benefit grassland biodiversity. However, we need a more holistic understanding of the socioecological actions to take and of the factors preventing or enabling them. We ran an online questionnaire to gather practical information from people working with green infrastructure in Finland. We targeted the entire implementation chain, i.e., planning, construction and maintenance of urban grasslands. We asked open-ended questions on 1) how biodiversity can be fostered in urban grasslands, 2) what challenges these actions face, and 3) how these challenges can be solved. Additionally, we asked for the perceived benefits of urban grasslands. The respondents richly described ecological and social biodiversity actions, challenges and solutions. Ecological themes in the responses covered the area, quality and connectivity of urban grasslands. Social themes included information, changes in mindsets, activating stakeholders, resources and regulatory factors. Moreover, the respondents identified broader benefits related to urban grasslands, including regulating and provisioning services, and promoting health, learning and recreation. In summary, respondents noted that fostering the area, quality and connectivity of urban grasslands requires targeting key barriers related to grassland-related knowledge and mindsets, and incorporating biodiversity actions across all relevant stakeholders.