Description:
Urban areas have increased greatly in recent decades, which has resulted in the loss of former habitats. However, the promotion of urban green spaces could have a profound effect on biodiversity. Traditional fruit orchards are an important land-use type with the potential to host myriad organisms.Our goal was to determine the most important factors that influence orchard biodiversity in the million city Prague (the capital of the Czech Republic). We used a multitaxon approach to evaluate the effect of orchard restoration in a landscape context.Restoration had a positive impact on species diversity, specifically, on the diversity of orthopterans and butterflies. Moreover, landscape context determined the biodiversity of orthopterans, butterflies, and birds, while lichen biodiversity was not affected.Our study underlined the importance of both the internal and external structure of traditional fruit orchards for species richness and composition. The results of our study supported the restoration of traditional fruit orchards as a suitable management practice for promoting city biodiversity. Moreover, restoration also has positive effects on citizens because restored orchards serve as parks for walks, picnics or sport activities.Finally, orchard restoration offers a remarkable tool for improving the attractiveness of suburban areas. These areas often lack sufficient urban greening. Thus, the effect of restoration in these areas is further multiplied by future recreational value