Refúgios urbanos: a influência das áreas verdes na diversidade de abelhas e seus recursos florais

Abstract

Cities present both challenges and solutions for sustainability in an increasingly urbanized world. Urbanization results in biotic homogenization due to temperature changes, reduced vegetation cover, and problems with air and water quality, which reduce ecosystem services, such as pollination performed by bees. However, well-planned urban green areas can mitigate these negative effects by acting as refuges for bees and influencing the diversity of pollinators and the pollen they carry. This study's main objectives are to understand whether urban green areas serve as refuges for bees and how urbanization influences the diversity of bees and the pollen they carry, in addition to comparing the presence and activity of bees in urban and natural green areas using collection methods and statistical and network analyses. Data were collected in urban green areas and natural environments in the municipality of Uberlândia-MG, comparing the species richness of bees and the diversity of pollen morphotypes. The dissertation is structured into two chapters. The first chapter studies the interactions of bees with the sampled green areas, exploring the arrangement of these areas and their influence on pollinator activity and presence. This chapter reveals that the proximity and size of green areas are critical factors that positively affect bee activity. The second chapter focuses on pollen sampling, examining the pollen grains collected from each bee to identify differences in the amount of pollen morphotypes carried in natural and urban areas. The results indicate that in urban areas, the diversity of pollen morphotypes is influenced by the variety of ornamental plants present, providing a rich resource base for bees. This study demonstrates that despite the challenges posed by urbanization, well-planned urban green areas can play an important role in biodiversity conservation. The collected data show that these areas not only support a rich diversity of bees but also increase the diversity of collected pollen, suggesting that such areas can partially compensate for the loss of natural habitats and maintain essential pollination services for urban sustainability.