Moderation is best: effects of grazing intensity on plant–flower visitor networks in Mediterranean communities

Lázaro, Amparo; Tscheulin, Thomas; Devalez, Jelle; Nakas, Georgios; Stefanaki, Anastasia; Hanlidou, Effie; Petanidou, Theodora

doi:10.1890/15-0202

Cited by 52 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 80 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In addition, bees and wasps might have a greater mobility (Torné‐Noguera et al ) and thus are less influenced by local disturbances. We need more information on the rewiring capacity of different flower visitor functional groups in face of a habitat disturbance (Burkle et al , Aguirre‐Gutiérrez et al , Lázaro et al ) as well as on the ultimate consequences of such rewiring for plant reproductive success. From a conservation viewpoint, monitoring these changes in natural communities could be highly relevant to the proposal of effective conservation strategies (Campos‐Navarrete et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, flower visitor abundance and species richness have been shown to increase with floral abundance (Hegland and Boeke , Hagen and Kraemer ) and plant diversity (Potts et al , Ghazoul , Blüthgen et al 2007, Ebeling et al ). In general, there is still scarce information on how different pollinator functional groups can respond to habitat disturbance (Burkle et al , Aguirre‐Gutiérrez et al , Lázaro et al ) and how they change their interaction patterns with plants in the community (e.g. their rewiring capacity within the network).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effects of habitat loss on the plant–flower visitor network structure of a dune community

Traveset

Castro‐Urgal

Rotllàn‐Puig

et al. 2017

Oikos

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pollination is a valuable ecosystem service, and plant–pollinator interactions in particular are known to play a crucial role in conservation and ecosystem functioning. These mutualisms, like other ecological interactions, are currently threatened by different drivers of global change, mainly habitat loss, fragmentation, or modification of its quality. Most studies so far have focused on the impact of such disturbances on particular species interactions and we thus need more empirical evidence on the responses at a community‐level. Here we evaluated how habitat loss influenced the pattern of interactions between plants and their flower visitors in a coastal dune marshland community. Using data from four years (2008–2011), we assessed the effect of a large disturbance in the area (occurring in 2010) that represented the loss of more than 50% of the vegetation cover. We found a considerable decrease in species richness and abundance of flower visitors, which resulted in a lower number of interactions after the disturbance. Not all functional groups, however, responded similarly. Contrary to the expected from previous findings, bees and wasps were less negatively influenced than beetles, flies and ants, possibly due to their higher movement capacity. Species interactions in the community were more specialized after habitat loss, resulting in a lower level of network nestedness and a higher modularity. At a species level, the number of flower visitors per plant decreased after the disturbance, and plants were visited by less abundant flower visitors. Our findings lead us to predict that the overall plant–flower visitor network became less robust and resilient to future perturbations. However, the fact that each functional group responds distinctly to disturbances makes it more difficult to foresee the final consequences on community composition and ecosystem functioning.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of habitat loss on the plant–flower visitor network structure of a dune community

Traveset

Castro‐Urgal

Rotllàn‐Puig

et al. 2017

Oikos

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…; Lázaro et al . ). Further, spatial planning and grassland management that increases spatial heterogeneity in the grazed area can be beneficial to pollinator diversity in regions adapted to grazing, such as those historically grazed by native large herbivores (Fuhlendorf & Engle ).…”

Section: Land Management To Increase Local Nesting and Foraging Resoumentioning

confidence: 97%

Ecological intensification to mitigate impacts of conventional intensive land use on pollinators and pollination

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Worldwide, human appropriation of ecosystems is disrupting plant-pollinator communities and pollination function through habitat conversion and landscape homogenisation. Conversion to agriculture is destroying and degrading semi-natural ecosystems while conventional land-use intensification (e.g. industrial management of large-scale monocultures with high chemical inputs) homogenises landscape structure and quality. Together, these anthropogenic processes reduce the connectivity of populations and erode floral and nesting resources to undermine pollinator abundance and diversity, and ultimately pollination services. Ecological intensification of agriculture represents a strategic alternative to ameliorate these drivers of pollinator decline while supporting sustainable food production, by promoting biodiversity beneficial to agricultural production through management practices such as intercropping, crop rotations, farm-level diversification and reduced agrochemical use. We critically evaluate its potential to address and reverse the land use and management trends currently degrading pollinator communities and potentially causing widespread pollination deficits. We find that many of the practices that constitute ecological intensification can contribute to mitigating the drivers of pollinator decline. Our findings support ecological intensification as a solution to pollinator declines, and we discuss ways to promote it in agricultural policy and practice.

show abstract

“…In the same study system, Lazaro et al. (2016b) further showed that intermediate grazing intensities create larger and more diverse pollination networks. Surprisingly, the effects of cattle grazing on managed honey bees are also poorly known; nevertheless, a few studies have shown the importance and positive contribution of Mediterranean rangelands to the availability of honey bee foraging plants (Petanidou and Smets ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Rangeland sharing by cattle and bees: moderate grazing does not impair bee communities and resource availability

Shapira

Henkin

Dag

et al. 2020

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rangelands are a dominant anthropogenic land use and a main driver of natural habitat loss worldwide. Land sharing, the integration of agricultural production and biodiversity conservation, may provide a platform for managing rangelands to fulfill multiple ecosystem services. However, livestock grazing can greatly affect biodiversity and little is known about its effects on providers of focal ecosystem services, such as pollinators. We investigated the effect of cattle grazing on bee communities and their foraging and nesting resources in Mediterranean rangelands. Specifically, we explored the effect of moderate cattle grazing on flowering plant abundance, species richness and composition, the diversity of nesting substrates, and consequently, the possible effects on wild bee and honey bee foraging activity, species diversity, and community composition. We conducted field research in the Mediterranean rangelands of Israel during the main bee activity season, in the spring of 2012 and 2013, comparing paired cattle‐grazed and ungrazed areas. The availability of floral and nesting resources for bees was unaffected or positively affected by grazing. Similarly, wild bee abundance, species richness, and composition were not affected by grazing, but were instead shaped by spatiotemporal factors. Nor was honey bee activity level impaired by grazing. The foraging preferences of bees, as well as flower species composition and peak bloom differed between grazed and ungrazed areas. Therefore, in our studied rangelands, grazing had its main effect on the foraging choices of honey bees and wild bees, rather than on their abundance and diversity. Moreover, our results indicate the potentially important role of ungrazed patches in increasing nectar and pollen diversity and availability in rangelands for both honey bees and wild bees in the spring. Hence, maintaining a mosaic of moderately grazed and ungrazed patches is expected to provide the greatest benefits for wild bee conservation and honey bee activity in Mediterranean rangelands. Our findings support the notion of rangeland sharing by cattle and bees in Mediterranean ecosystems under moderate grazing intensities, mimicking the coexistence of honey bees, wild bees, and cattle in Mediterranean ecosystems on an evolutionary timescale.

show abstract

Moderation is best: effects of grazing intensity on plant–flower visitor networks in Mediterranean communities

Cited by 52 publications

References 80 publications

Effects of habitat loss on the plant–flower visitor network structure of a dune community

Effects of habitat loss on the plant–flower visitor network structure of a dune community

Ecological intensification to mitigate impacts of conventional intensive land use on pollinators and pollination

Rangeland sharing by cattle and bees: moderate grazing does not impair bee communities and resource availability

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About