Effectiveness of new agri-environment schemes in providing foraging resources for bumblebees in intensively farmed landscapes

Pywell, Richard F.; Warman, E. A.; Hulmes, Lucy; Hulmes, S.; Nuttall, P.; Sparks, Tim H.; Critchley, C.N.R.; Sherwood, A. J.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2005.10.034

Cited by 146 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Similarly to abundance, at the largest scale of the investigation, at 2 km, the extent of arable fields (including organic fields) had negative effect. This is in agreement with the findings of Pywell et al (2006), that the richness of the bumblebee assemblage at a 10 × 10 km square scale was positively correlated with land use heterogeneity and the proportion of grasslands.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

The role of local and landscape level factors in determining bumblebee abundance and richness

Sárospataki¹,

Bakos²,

Horváth³

et al. 2016

Acta Zool Acad Sci H

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Wild bees are important contributors to the pollination ecosystem service, but they are especially vulnerable to agricultural intensification which causes the loss and fragmentation of natural habitats. We monitored bumblebee populations (Bombus spp.) in 14 grassland patches incorporated into the agricultural habitat mosaic in the Mezőföld region, Hungary. We asked how bumblebee populations were affected by local vegetation quality and the presence of various landscape elements, including fields in agri-environmental schemes, at various spatial scales. A stratified analysis revealed that vegetation quality, especially the lack of weeds, was the most important local factor that positively affected both bumblebee abundance and species number. We found no significant landscape scale effects between 50-250 m. Between 500-1000 m grassland area in the landscape had consistently significant positive effect on species richness. At the 2 km scale the extent of arable fields had a negative impact on both abundance and richness. A higher percentage area of arable fields in the landscape participating in agri-environmental schemes had no positive effect on bumblebee abundance or species richness. Considering all local and landscape effects and their possible interactions, model selection and variance partitioning revealed that local factors were the most important determinants of bumblebee richness and abundance. Local and landscape factors had high shared variance but did not interact with each other. The present study indicated that small scale landscape composition had the lowest importance, but larger scale landscape composition was significant, most likely because bumblebees can forage far from their nests. If we are able to provide good quality grassland patches incorporated into the agricultural habitat mosaic, then we can build on the strong spill over propensity of bumblebees and can expect their contribution to the pollination of various crops.Key words: Bombus, pollination, landscape complexity, grassland, agri-environmental scheme INTRODUCTIONFrom the second part of the 20th century, the intensification of agricultural production became higher than ever before. The intensive agricultural * This paper is dedicated to Prof. László Papp, in honor of his 70th birthday and his outstanding contribution to the fields of dipteran taxonomy and ecology.Acta Zool. Acad. Sci. Hung. 62, 2016 388 SÁROSPATAKI, M., BAKOS, R., HORVÁTH, A., NEIDERT, D., HORVÁTH, V. et al. management resulted in general biodiversity decline in Europe (de Heer et al. 2005), leading to a decrease in the level of ecosystem services including pollination (Murray et al. 2009). The landscape change and fragmentation of habitats through agricultural intensification created structurally poor landscapes (Tilman et al. 2001), and these affected the diversity and abundance of pollinators, especially wild bees (Biesmeijer et al. 2006, Goulson et al. 2010, Kremen et al. 2002, Potts et al. 2010.Pollination is an important ecosystem service, provided prima...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

The role of local and landscape level factors in determining bumblebee abundance and richness

Sárospataki¹,

Bakos²,

Horváth³

et al. 2016

Acta Zool Acad Sci H

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“…We suggest integrating the following general practices into management plans: (i) increase nesting opportunities with the particular nesting needs of different pollinating species in mind and these may include gaps in surface vegetation or modifying cultivation practices (Shuler et al 2005), retaining neighbouring forest nesting sites for groundnesting bees (Cane 1997a,b) or leaving dead wood providing holes for cavity-nesting bees (Westrich 1996), (ii) increase forage by providing suitable diverse floral resources in the local area and the broader landscape during the season of pollinator activity (Kevan et al 1990;Banaszak 1992;Westrich 1996;Goulson 2003;Ghazoul 2006). Crop rotation using these flowering plants should be especially applied in intensified uniform agricultural landscapes and may also help to enhance other ecosystem services such as soil improvement, pest management by breaking cycles of damaging pests or erosion control, (iii) enhance opportunities for colonization by connecting habitats with flowering strips and hedgerows around arable fields, small forest patches or even single trees as 'stepping stones' (Steffan-Dewenter et al 2002Pywell et al 2006), and (iv) reduce the risk of population crashes in the field and the surrounding habitats by foregoing use of broad-spectrum insecticides during bloom, especially those with systemic or micro-encapsulated formulations that can contaminate nectar and pollen (Kevan 1975;Wood 1979;Delaplane & Mayer 2000). Financial burdens of these recommendations could be ameliorated through agro-environmental schemes, such as those in Europe and the United States, which compensate farmers who apply management strategies to conserve biodiversity.…”

Section: Management Conclusion and Future Directions (A) Pollinator mentioning

confidence: 99%

Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops

et al. 2006

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The extent of our reliance on animal pollination for world crop production for human food has not previously been evaluated and the previous estimates for countries or continents have seldom used primary data. In this review, we expand the previous estimates using novel primary data from 200 countries and found that fruit, vegetable or seed production from 87 of the leading global food crops is dependent upon animal pollination, while 28 crops do not rely upon animal pollination. However, global production volumes give a contrasting perspective, since 60% of global production comes from crops that do not depend on animal pollination, 35% from crops that depend on pollinators, and 5% are unevaluated. Using all crops traded on the world market and setting aside crops that are solely passively self-pollinated, windpollinated or parthenocarpic, we then evaluated the level of dependence on animal-mediated pollination for crops that are directly consumed by humans. We found that pollinators are essential for 13 crops, production is highly pollinator dependent for 30, moderately for 27, slightly for 21, unimportant for 7, and is of unknown significance for the remaining 9. We further evaluated whether local and landscape-wide management for natural pollination services could help to sustain crop diversity and production. Case studies for nine crops on four continents revealed that agricultural intensification jeopardizes wild bee communities and their stabilizing effect on pollination services at the landscape scale.

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“…These studies have identified several factors that can affect abundance and species diversity in the strips: flower abundance (e.g. Pywell et al, 2006), plant diversity (e.g. Aviron et al, 2007) seed mixture (e.g.…”

Section: Abundances and Species Diversity In Wildflower Stripsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Species groups that have been studied include bees and bumblebees, butterflies, beetles, bugs, grasshoppers. Sown wildflower strips have proven capable of containing high numbers of bumblebees (Carvell et al, 2006(Carvell et al, , 2007Pywell et al, 2005Pywell et al, , 2006, with strips sown with few plant species particularly rich in pollen and nectar attracting most bumblebees (e.g. Pywell et al, 2005).…”

Section: Abundances and Species Diversity In Wildflower Stripsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sown Wildflower Strips – A Strategy to Enhance Biodiversity and Amenity in Intensively Used Agricultural Areas

Haaland¹,

Gyllin²

2011

The Importance of Biological Interactions in the Study of Biodiversity

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Effectiveness of new agri-environment schemes in providing foraging resources for bumblebees in intensively farmed landscapes

Cited by 146 publications

References 32 publications

The role of local and landscape level factors in determining bumblebee abundance and richness

The role of local and landscape level factors in determining bumblebee abundance and richness

Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops

Sown Wildflower Strips – A Strategy to Enhance Biodiversity and Amenity in Intensively Used Agricultural Areas

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