Organization
Fundación Global Nature
Urban garden in Valencia
Type of ecosystem
Other
Working group
WG 4: Socio-territorial
Location
Valencia
Site manager
Ayuntamiento de Valencia
Purpose of the experimentation
The aim of this pilot was to test 3 types of seed mixes adapted to different conditions of the public garden. The 3 interventions were agreed with the local authority and the gardeners. One intervention was done in a semi-shaded area, another one was a grassland type garden and the third one was a plot in the middle of a urban orchard. In the three cases, the objective was to create appealing gardening sites with native species and enhancing the number of pollinators.The test was performed in 2021 and 2022, and during 2022 and 2023 the self replication of the communities established will be followed-up. During the testing, 4 plant inventories were done as well as monitoring of the pollinators' activity using FGN's methdology from Observatorio de la Biodiversidad Agraria.
List of species sown
The list of species used as well as the degree of establishment can be found in a specific report attached.
Protocol
The document attached includes all the details regarding the plots, list of species and results achieved Report_GT4_pilot_Valencia.docx (1.9MB)
Update interventions
Contributor
Organization
Fundación Global Nature
Name
Jordi Domingo
Experimental site
Urban garden in Valencia
Update interventions
Date (or period) of the observation
November 2022
Description / Observations
As detailed in the results' report, the first phase of the pilot in the urban garden of Valencia was finished in summer 2022. In the 3 interventions, we could see a great development of the native seeds, both in terms of soil coverage and representativity of the plant community (low deviation from the mixes used). Pollinators' activity was also assessed through specific methdologies, resulting in a very high abundance and diversity of pollinators compared to other areas.
As this pilot has a strong aesthetic component, it was decided to remove the vegetation in the plots once the plants had produced the new seeds (end of June 2022). Plants were left on the ground, as a mulch layer, with the objective of having a good resowing capacity. During the winter (2022-2023) plots will be monitored for assessing plant re-growth, and if the weather conditions allow, a complete assessment will be done in March 2023.
As this pilot has a strong aesthetic component, it was decided to remove the vegetation in the plots once the plants had produced the new seeds (end of June 2022). Plants were left on the ground, as a mulch layer, with the objective of having a good resowing capacity. During the winter (2022-2023) plots will be monitored for assessing plant re-growth, and if the weather conditions allow, a complete assessment will be done in March 2023.