Relationship between management of green spaces at business sites and quality of the biodiversity they host

Background/Question/Methods

The area dedicated to business activity increased by 42 % during the last 30 years in the Île-de-France (IdF) region (France). In urban and suburban zones, the green spaces at business sites can represent large surfaces : in IdF, they cover 8 700 ha i.e. 8 % of the total urban green spaces. Given their importance, they likely could play a role in the green network of the cities. Nevertheless, little is known about the biodiversity they host. We suppose that this biodiversity strongly depends on the types of management that are applied. Our aim in this study is (1) to describe plant and butterfly communities of business sites and (2) to establish the possible relationship between management and quality of the communities.

Fifty six business sites of idF were inventoried during summer 2012. A typology of the habitats was performed.Wild plants and butterflies were listed in each habitat of each site following standardized protocols. Canonical Correspondance Analyses were used to establish the relationship between communities and management.

Results/Conclusions

202 wild plant species were inventoried in the quadrats. 48 species occurred once whereas 20 appeared in more than 50 % of the sites i.e: Veronica arvensis (98 %), Plantago lanceolata (89.5 %), Prunella vulgaris (66.6 %), Achillea millefolium (56 %). 12.9 % of species were considered as “rare” by the Conservatoire Botanique du Bassin Parisien (CBNBP) and 22 species “in regression” or “vulnerable” in IdF. 18 species of butterflies were observed. Pieris rapae, Polyommatus icarus, Pararge aegeria and Colias crocea stand for 57 % of observations

According to companies, the management of the site is mainly driven by its cost and the well-being of the employees. 35 % of study sites had an adaptive management of their green spaces that strongly influenced the species and functional diversities of the plant communities of the sites. It was not the case for butterfly species which were more driven by the spatial structure of the sites.

Given their high number in urban or suburban zones, the green spaces at business sites can contribute efficiently to the ecological networks in urban zones, if their area is not too small and if convenient managements are carried out.