Examining Landscape Determinants of Mosquito Abundance in Urban Green Spaces

Urban green spaces provide essential ecosystem services for humans, yet simultaneously create favorable habitats for mosquito breeding. The presence of mosquitoes discourages human recreation and poses a public health risk through disease transmission. To understand the relationship between mosquito abundance and environmental characteristics of urban green spaces, a study was conducted in urban green spaces in Xuzhou city, eastern China. Ten sample sites in urban green spaces were selected and adult mosquitoes were sampled with Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) light traps on six summer evenings in 2024, while microclimatic data (temperature, relative humidity, wind speed) were measured continuously by negative-ion sensors and anemometers. High-resolution orthophotos acquired with a Da Jiang Innovation (DJI) unmanned aerial vehicle were used to quantify landscape composition within 50-, 100-, 150- and 200-m buffers around each sample site. Correlation analyses and stepwise multiple linear regression then identified the key drivers of mosquito abundance. The results showed that: (1) aquatic emergent vegetation was a positive predictor of mosquito abundance across all buffer sizes; (2) both impervious surfaces (e.g., roads, squares, paths) and open water without aquatic emergent vegetation were negatively associated with mosquito abundance; and (3) a 50-m buffer radius provides the optimal scale for predicting the impact of landscape elements on mosquito abundance in urban green spaces. At last, this paper puts forward anti-mosquito strategies through scientific design and management of landscape elements.