Gardens, once viewed by conservationists as biological deserts, are being reassessed in light of recent research. Amidst the challenges of climate change and the biodiversity crisis, they hold significant potential to enhance the biodiversity and resilience of urban ecosystems. They can even act as species reservoirs, helping to preserve both the diminishing native and agricultural biodiversity.
 
In particular, allotment gardens, which create larger, interconnected green spaces, play a vital role. Adapted to historically changing societal needs, allotment gardens today, supported by their institutional framework, could act as pioneers of ecological and societal transformation. This paper explores the current situation, the challenges, and the potential of allotment gardens to promote biodiversity and presents evidence-based guidelines for maximizing the biodiversity performance of allotment gardens through targeted design, maintenance, and community building. Policymakers, supported by allotment garden federations from the federal to the city level as well as local allotment garden associations, can create the necessary framework conditions to decisively promote this transformation. We advocate making allotment gardens a central pillar of societal engagement in biodiversity conservation.
 
View magazine (DE)