Curriculum vitae

BLOOMING BANDS FOR OUR CITIES IN TIMES OF CLIMATE CHANGE: SUBNATURAL

URBAN BLOOMING AREAS ALONG TRANSPORT AXES TO PROMOTE ECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONALITY

The continuous growth of many European cities and the increased sealing of large areas in rural regions are dramatically changing the landscape and the living environments of numerous animal and plant species. Thus, declining habitats and wildlife populations are observed Europe-wide, and at the moment the drastic reduction of the insect fauna (especially of wild bees and other pollinators) is in public focus.

Several studies suggest a decreased pollinator diversity and abundance with increasing stage of urbanization (proportion of sealed ground, density of buildings, traffic volume etc.), which is induced by the fragmentation of habitats in city areas. The gene exchange of isolated insect populations is often limited under urban conditions.

One part of my PhD project is addressed to the cross-connection of these isolated pollinator populations by providing them the possibility to move along an inner city–suburb–gradient. Therefore, blooming areas will be established along big traffic axes in Munich. To determine the maximum distances the insects are able to cover, the blooming plots will be planted in varying intervals.

Besides their attractiveness for insects, a large-scale on-road-test of blooming areas will be conducted in an urban environment. The applied seed mixtures vary in their composition, also under consideration of rare species, to investigate their capability under real-life conditions.

Besides its biodiversity effects and its aesthetic and spatial-structuring character, urban green also regulates the city climate. Alongside the positive consequences for the pollinator fauna, also the effects on the microclimatic site conditions will be investigated in contrast to conventional urban plantings.

The following scientific and practical aims are defined for the project “Blooming Bands”:

1. Development and testing a city-wide blooming-band-network along several urban main traffic axes to promote pollinator movements and for urban climate modification
2. Assessment of the climatic resilience and of the attractiveness of various wildflower species mixtures for pollinators and other beneficial organisms in contrast to already existing urban green
3. Climatic optimization of the sizes and distances of the blooming plots as corridors for pollinators and other organisms along gradients of urbanization, based on their moving behavior
4. Improvement of the quality of lives of city dwellers due to the microclimatic and aesthetic effects of the blooming wildflower areas
5. Development of viable compromises in the area of conflict of nature conservation and the maintenance of urban green to enhance urban climatic resilience and pollinator diversity

https://www.roek.wzw.tum.de/en/news/master-bachelor/9-urbane-oekologie/

The project is funded by the Regina Bauer Foundation and the StMUV. It is part of the Center for Urban Nature and Climate Adaptation www.zsk.tum.de

Publikationen

Dietzel, S. & Fischer, C. (2020): Ausbreitungsbewegung von Isodontia mexicana (SAUSSURE, 1867), der
Stahlblaue Grillenjäger in Bayern: Weitere Nachweise aus dem Stadtgebiet von München. Nachrichtenblatt der bayerischen Entomologen 69 (3/4), 98-99.

Dietzel, S., Sauter, F., Moosner, M., Fischer, C. & Kollmann, J. (2019): Blühstreifen und Blühflächen in der landwirtschaftlichen Praxis – eine naturschutzfachliche Evaluation. ANLiegen Natur 41 (1), 73-86.