The research team surveyed 31 residential yards across Greater Los Angeles, comparing native-landscaped and conventionally landscaped properties. During repeated field visits, researchers recorded insect and bird visits to flowers while measuring plant diversity, flowering characteristics, temperature, air quality, and neighborhood conditions.
Among the study’s key findings:
Native-landscaped yards supported four times more flower-visiting insects and birds than conventionally landscaped yards.
Native yards hosted 1.5 times more pollinator species, driven largely by increases in native bees and hoverflies.
Native landscapes contained nearly three times more plant-pollinator interactions, creating stronger and more resilient ecological networks.
Native plants received 88% of all flower visits, despite making up about 80% of the available flowering plants.
The biodiversity benefits were evident even in lower-income neighborhoods, demonstrating that native landscaping can help address disparities in access to healthy urban green spaces.
Several California native plants—including California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) and white sage (Salvia apiana)—served as important hubs for pollinators within the ecological networks observed during the study.
The report highlights the growing importance of native landscaping as cities seek practical ways to improve biodiversity, support pollinators, and increase ecosystem resilience in urban environments. The study also underscores how individual homeowners can contribute to conservation through their landscaping choices.
“We expected native yards to harbor more insects and diversity than conventional yards, but the network resiliency and abundance of native insects found in native landscaped yards were amazing findings,” said Reyes, who earned her master’s degree in environmental science from Cal State LA. “These results were especially important in lower-income neighborhoods and will hopefully encourage the city to landscape with native plants in these areas.”
The article is available as an open-access publication in Urban Ecosystems, allowing anyone to read the full study.