DOI: 10.5061/dryad.pzgmsbcx6
title: Sown wildflower meadows: Can they replace natural meadows in urban spaces for bees, butterflies, and hoverflies?

description: The decline in pollinator populations is partly due to human practices
 that have contributed to the loss of wild and flower-rich habitats. In
 cities, especially city centers, urban green spaces, which are usually
 small, are often sown with wildflower meadows. The study compared
 the number and species richness of three main groups of pollinating
 insects (wild bees, butterflies, and hoverflies) for two types of meadows
 in Warsaw: sown wildflower meadows and natural meadows. The research
 results showed that there was no difference in the composition of
 insect-pollinated plants between the meadow types. There was also no
 difference between the meadow types concerning the species richness of
 butterflies, bees, and, hoverflies. However, it was confirmed that the
 number of butterflies was twice as high in natural meadows than it was in
 sown floral meadows, while in the case of wild bees and hoverflies, no
 such differences were found. The study confirmed that areas sown
 with wildflowers, usually of small areas, concentrate on pollinating
 insects and have a similar value for pollinators as larger areas of
 natural meadow. Sown wildflower meadows, if properly cared for, can ensure
 the richness of melliferous plant species and thus positively affect the
 diversity and number of pollinators. Sown meadows can compensate
 insects for the absence of large, natural meadows, especially in the
 fragmented spaces in cities.
description: # Sown wildflower meadows: Can they replace natural meadows in urban
 spaces for bees, butterflies, and hoverflies?
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pzgmsbcx6](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pzgmsbcx6) ## Description of the data and file structure The dataset contains the number of individual pollinator species—bees, butterflies, and hoverflies—captured in 2017 and 2018 from June to August across two types of green area management: natural and sown wildflower meadows in an urban area of Warsaw. The data come from a study conducted in Warsaw (N 52°13′47″, E 21°00′42″), the largest urban agglomeration in Poland. Eleven locations were selected, ten of which were situated in the central and southern parts of the city, with one located 20 km south of the city. Two types of meadows were distinguished: 1. **Natural meadows**: These are wastelands and urban meadows that were either unmown or mowed only once a year, primarily containing grasses and other native meadow plants. The size of natural meadows ranged from 0.25 ha to 2.13 ha. 2. **Sown wildflower meadows**: These were artificially established meadows sown with seed mixtures containing grasses, native species, and perennial plants. Observations were conducted during the second and third years after sowing, coinciding with the flowering of biennial and perennial plants. The size of sown wildflower meadows ranged from 0.02 ha to 0.27 ha. ### Files and variables #### File: Pollinators\_Warsaw\.xlsx **Description:** Pollinators list of species with a number of individuals. ##### Sheets information **Bee sheet** This tab shows results from bees captured, and contains values of: * Site name – name of the site where bees were captured. * Patch size – size of green area in hectare * GPS lat - latitude * GPS long – longitude * Year – year of season * Type – type of meadow Natural vs Sown * Column G to CD – bee species names and the number of individuals collected (empty if none) **Butterfly sheet** This tab showed results from butterflies captured, containing values of: * Site name – name of the site where bees were captured * Patch size – size of green area in hectare * GPS lat - latitude * GPS long – longitude * Year – year of season * Type – type of meadow Natural vs Sown * Column G to BI – butterfly species names and the number of individuals collected (empty if none) **Hoverfly sheet** This tab showed results from hoverflies captured, containing values of: * Site name – name of the site where hoverflies were captured * Patch size – size of green area in hectare * GPS lat - latitude * GPS long – longitude * Year – year of season * Type – type of meadow Natural vs Sown * Column G to AJ – hoverflies species names and the number of individuals collected (empty if none)