Chapter 3
Ecology and Garden Wildlife
The BUGS projects
The BUGS study was carried out by the University of Sheffield (Biodiversity in Urban Gardens in Sheffield) between 1999 and 2002. This was a scientifically rigorous study of 61 gardens in Sheffield with a range of sizes, locations and maturities. The study looked at garden characteristics and recorded the incidence of birds, mammals, fungi, plants and invertebrates. It also tested the efficacy of various measures used to enhance garden biodiversity. BUGS 1 found 1,176 species of plant (42% of native flora in two football pitch-sized areas!) and 786 species of invertebrates. Furthermore, a second study (BUGS 2) from 2004 to 2007 extended the research to a range of cities with different climates, soils, forms and rainfalls, investigating 261 gardens in all. The size, pattern and extent of domestic gardens, patterns of spatial variation in size, shape and connectivity and the relationship of these to housing type was assessed. Frequency of trees and mature shrubs, lawn areas, ponds, compost heaps, nest-boxes and food plants for other organisms was measured together with floristic diversity. Domestic gardens were estimated to constitute between 11.3% and 24.9% of the total area of greenspace. Significant numbers of gardeners participated in wildlife gardening (mainly feeding wild birds) with no difference in socieoeconomic status or household density. A similar species richness and diversity in all cities was found in spite of differences between cities showing that human management was more important than location. Some 30% of Britain’s flora was found in these domestic gardens and they also contained some 28.7 million trees, which is just under a quarter of all trees found outside of woodlands. The researchers commented that ‘the important contribution domestic gardens make to the green space infrastructure in residential areas must be acknowledged, as their reduction will impact on biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services, and the well-being of the human population’.