(1st Place) Promoting ground-dwelling insects through sustainable practices in suburban landscapes

Urbanization is increasing globally, with negative effects on soil biodiversity and arthropod communities. With vegetation cover removal and increased imperviousness, urban soils are heavily disturbed, requiring improved management to enhance ecosystem services. Sustainable landscape design such as using native plants and compost amendments could promote insect biodiversity in urban ecosystems. We are conducting an experiment to evaluate effects of sustainable landscape practices on diversity of ground-dwelling insects, particularly beetles.

The study is being conducted at a new residential development in central Florida. Sixteen plots with native plants were established in January 2022 in a randomized complete block design consisting of four blocks of four plots, each with two compost treatments (compost incorporated before planting or no compost added) and two irrigation treatments (weekly irrigation or irrigation only during the first six months) applied in all combinations. Preliminary results indicate that compost amendment increased both the number of Coleoptera counts and families compared to the non-compost treatment. Additionally, ground cover plants clearly increased beetle counts and families. The long-term study will include seasonal differences and additional abiotic factors as covariates.

Interdisciplinary studies such as this enhance and strengthen connections between academic sector, urban planners, and community and can help identify the most effective landscape approaches that support conservation efforts in urban ecosystems.