Farming with Alternative Pollinators benefits pollinators, natural enemies, and yields, and offers transformative change to agriculture

Christmann, Stefanie; Bencharki, Youssef; Anougmar, Soukaina; Rasmont, Pierre; Smaili, Moulay Chrif; Tsivelikas, Athanasios; Aw‐Hassan, Aden

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-97695-5

Cited by 15 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(108 reference statements)

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“…In particular, Lhomme et al (2020) recorded a total of 961 wild bee species which ranks Morocco as the fifth most species rich country for bee richness in the Mediterranean Basin, confirming previous estimates that Morocco comprises a hotspot of wild bee diversity and pollinators in general (Patiny and Michez, 2007;Patiny et al, 2009). However, few publications exist that focus on insect pollinators and their importance in Moroccan agroecosystems (Christmann et al, 2017(Christmann et al, , 2021Sabbahi, 2021;Sentil et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…This first comprehensive study on the bee fauna associated with crops in Morocco highlights the relatively few knowledge available and the urgent need for future research in this country including: (a) research on the value of pollination services (Blaauw and Isaacs, 2014;Christmann et al, 2017Christmann et al, , 2021Christmann et al, , 2022Anougmar, 2021;Sabbahi, 2021), (b) applied research to enhance pollinator diversity, and (c) assessment of different global change drivers (i.e., climate change) and their influence on pollinator distribution and diversity (Scheper et al, 2013).…”

Section: Conservation Implications and Future Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Despite the importance of pollinators, farmers often show little interest in wild pollinators and have a poor understanding about the ecosystem service they provide, especially in developing countries (Ali et al, 2020;Tarakini et al, 2020;Christmann et al, 2021). This suggests an urgent need to study pollinators and their contribution to crop production in these countries to identify measures to protect and enhance pollinator habitats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diversity and Relative Abundance of Insect Pollinators in Moroccan Agroecosystems

Abdouni

Lhomme²,

Christmann³

et al. 2022

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Agroecosystems are often impoverished ecosystems, but they can host diverse communities of insects which provide ecosystem services. Specifically, crops may benefit from insect pollinators that increase their quantity and quality of yields. Basic knowledge is still needed regarding the identity, diversity, abundance, and ecology of insect pollinators in many parts of the world, especially in low and middle-income countries. In this study we investigate the potential of agroecosystems and crops in Morocco to host a high diversity of insect pollinators. We sampled insects in four eco-climatic regions encompassing a total of 22 crops for 2 years (2018–2019). After describing the general pattern of diversity and abundance of insect pollinators, we focused our comparative analyses on bees as they are known to be the most efficient and abundant group of insect pollinators. We recorded a total of 53,361 insect pollinators in all agroecosystems among which 37,091 were visiting crop flowers. Bees were by far the most abundant group visiting crops. Honeybees represented 49% of crop visitors followed by wild bees representing 33% of relative abundance. Three genera (Lasioglossum, Andrena, and Xylocopa) represented 53% of the total abundance of wild bees visiting crops. We identified a total of 213 species visiting crops (22% of national wild bee species richness). A comparison of the abundance, species richness, and community composition of wild bees visiting the same crops showed significant inter-regional differences for zucchini, faba bean, and eggplant. This study highlights the high diversity of pollinators in Moroccan agroecosystems and represents an important step toward exploring the Moroccan pollinator fauna. It provides basic information for future studies on pollinator conservation and pollination services.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Section: Conservation Implications and Future Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diversity and Relative Abundance of Insect Pollinators in Moroccan Agroecosystems

Abdouni

Lhomme²,

Christmann³

et al. 2022

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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“…These are not necessarily fallow areas, as many ground‐nesting pollinators prefer arable land or pastures (Cope et al, 2019 ; Skidmore et al, 2019 ). Within the land‐sharing approach Farming with Alternative Pollinators (FAP; Christmann, Aw‐Hassan, et al, 2021 ; Christmann, Bencharki, et al, 2021 ; Christmann et al, 2017 ) this land can be used for (perennial) marketable habitat enhancement plants (MHEP), fruit trees, berries, cactus, alfalfa, mint, lavender, etc., planted as corridors or hedgerows. The insect diversity attracted by MHEP enhances the productivity of pollinator‐dependent main crops (Christmann, Aw‐Hassan, et al, 2021 ; Christmann, Bencharki, et al, 2021 ; Christmann et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regard and protect ground‐nesting pollinators as part of soil biodiversity

Christmann¹

2022

Ecological Applications

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While the Convention on Biological Diversity employs a habitat‐oriented definition of soil biodiversity including all kinds of species living in soil, the Food and Agriculture Organization, since 2002 assigned to safeguard soil biodiversity, excludes them by focusing on species directly providing four ecosystem services contributing to soil quality and functions: nutrient cycling, regulation of water flow and storage, soil structure maintenance and erosion control, and carbon storage and regulation of atmospheric composition. Many solitary wasps and 70% of wild bees nest below ground and require protection during this long and crucial period of their lifecycle. Recent research has demonstrated the extent of threats to which ground‐nesting pollinators are exposed, for example, chemicals and deep tillage. Ground‐nesting pollinators change soil texture directly by digging cavities, but more importantly by their indirect contribution to soil quality and functions: 87% of all flowering plants require pollinators. Without pollinators, soil would lose all ecosystem services provided by these flowering plants, for example, litter, shade, roots for habitats, and erosion control. Above‐ and belowground biota are in constant interaction. Therefore, and in line with the Convention's definition, the key stakeholder, the Food and Agriculture Organization should protect ground‐nesting pollinators explicitly within soil biodiversity conservation.

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“…Nevertheless, from the pollinator conservation viewpoint, additional investigations on the contribution of the FAP approach to the diet of pollinators present in the agroecosystems rather than pollinators visiting the crops are needed. In fact, selecting only MHEP flowering at the same time as the main crop and benefiting only the pollinators of the main crop, would drive FAP into agricultural intensification, whereas it was developed to support a wide range of different pollinators by different types of MHEP flowers and by prolonging the flowering period beyond the period of the main crop (Christmann and Aw-Hassan, 2012;Christmann et al, 2021b;Sentil et al, 2021).…”

Section: Effect Of the Farming With Alternative Pollinators Approach ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the “Farming With Alternative Pollinators” Approach on Crop Pollinator Pollen Diet

et al. 2022

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Pollinators are facing declines at a global level. One of the main factors driving this decline is insufficient access to floral resources due to habitat loss and degradation that can affect both diet generalist species as well as those with more restricted floral preferences. Here we evaluated the effect of a novel mitigation strategy in agricultural ecosystems, Farming with Alternative Pollinators (FAP) on the pollen diet of crop pollinators. The approach dedicates 25% of the cropped area to Marketable Habitat Enhancement Plants (MHEP) that attract pollinators, natural enemies of the crops, and provide farmers with income. We assessed the effect of the approach on pollen diet of faba bean (Vicia faba) and pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) flower visitors in four different regions in Morocco during 2018 and 2019 by comparing control fields (monoculture) and FAP fields in 13 trials and 101 sites. Results from 25 wild bee species show that almost two-thirds of the species carrying or collecting pollen when visiting pumpkin flowers and half of the species carrying or collecting pollen when visiting faba bean flowers gathered this pollen from two or more host plants (i.e., MHEP, main crop, and/or wild plants) and displayed a wide dietary breadth. Pollen grains from the main crops were poorly represented on the female scopae, indicating that crops were mainly visited for nectar. Hence, crop flower visitors may require alternative pollen sources to meet their nutritional needs. The number of pollen genera collected by flower visitors and the dietary breadth of crop flower visitors did not show a significant increase in response to FAP management. Among the selected MHEP, sunflower (Helianthus annuus) was the pollen resource for pumpkin flower visitors. In faba bean, flower visitors collected pollen from coriander (Coriandrum sativum) and canola (Brassica napus). Our study sheds light on the importance of characterizing the pollen diet and the foraging behavior of crop pollinators to identify appropriate plant species that complement their food, maintain and conserve their populations.

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Farming with Alternative Pollinators benefits pollinators, natural enemies, and yields, and offers transformative change to agriculture

Cited by 15 publications

References 52 publications

Diversity and Relative Abundance of Insect Pollinators in Moroccan Agroecosystems

Diversity and Relative Abundance of Insect Pollinators in Moroccan Agroecosystems

Regard and protect ground‐nesting pollinators as part of soil biodiversity

Impact of the “Farming With Alternative Pollinators” Approach on Crop Pollinator Pollen Diet

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