Two enabling factors for farmer-driven pollinator protection in low- and middle-income countries

Christmann, Stefanie; Aw‐Hassan, Aden; Güler, Yasemin; Sarisu, Hasan Cumhur; Bernard, Marc; Smaili, Moulay Chrif; Tsivelikas, Athanasios

doi:10.1080/14735903.2021.1916254

Cited by 14 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…The impact of reducing 25% of the surface of faba bean and increasing the diversity of floral resources in favor of pollinators was visible in pollinator abundance and species richness in the whole fields. Similar to two pilot projects (Christmann et al 2017(Christmann et al , 2021, our experiment showed FAP-induced benefits for pollinator conservation. This approach should be assessed in other countries and different insect pollinated crops, as using MHEP might be more acceptable for farmers than e.g.…”

Section: Pollinator Species Overlap In Fap Fieldssupporting

confidence: 64%

“…"Farming with Alternative Pollinators" (FAP) (Christmann and Aw-Hassan 2012; Christmann et al 2017Christmann et al , 2021Christmann 2019b) is a new approach aiming to increase farm income as an incentive for farmers to engage in pollinator protection. Alternative pollinators refer to wild pollinators that farmers currently do not value for their wide contribution in agricultural production (Christmann et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, as Kleijn et al (2015) confirmed for wild flower strips, MHEP can also host specialist species that are not able to forage on the main crop. Therefore, MHEP from FAP approach can contribute to supporting pollinator diversity, pollination service and produce marketable products for sale (Christmann et al 2017(Christmann et al , 2021.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Farming with Alternative Pollinators” approach increases pollinator abundance and diversity in faba bean fields

et al. 2021

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Pollinators are threatened worldwide and strategies and measures to support their conservation are proliferating. Among them, the approach “Farming with Alternative Pollinators” (FAP) aims to support pollinators by seeding strips of pollinator-attracting cultivated plants surrounding the crops, and simultaneously providing income to the farmer. In this study we assessed whether this approach supports pollinator diversity in agro-ecosystems and increases flower visitor diversity and abundance in faba bean fields in north-west Morocco. We tested the impact of FAP using a variety of marketable habitat enhancement plants (MHEP): flax, coriander, arugula, chia and canola. A total of 62 pollinator species were recorded, among which almost half of them are new records for the region. Most wild pollinators recorded in faba bean were digger bees (genus Anthophora) and long-horn bees (genus Eucera). MHEP shared diverse flower visitors with faba bean and hosted diverse pollinator groups that did not meet their food requirements from the main crop. The FAP approach highly increased flower visitor abundance and diversity in the whole FAP fields, however it did not generate significant pollinator spillover towards the main crop. Implications for insect conservation: our results show that the FAP approach is an effective approach to mitigate pollinator decline in agro-ecosystems.

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Section: Pollinator Species Overlap In Fap Fieldssupporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Farming with Alternative Pollinators” approach increases pollinator abundance and diversity in faba bean fields

et al. 2021

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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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“…A recent study comparing the effect of reduction of fertilizer input, irrigation, and pollination, found that a reduction of insect pollination has a stronger effect on crop yield than other agricultural inputs (Fijen et al, 2020). Furthermore, insect pollination enhances the yield and the quality of many crops at both the local and global scale, such as for faba bean (Aouarsadli et al, 2008;Cunningham and Le Feuvre, 2013), strawberries (Abrol et al, 2019;MacInnis and Forrest, 2019), apple (Garratt et al, 2014a;Hünicken et al, 2021), eggplant (Jayasinghe et al, 2017), cucumber (Christmann et al, 2017(Christmann et al, , 2022, and tomato (Bashir et al, 2018;Toni et al, 2020). Moreover, many countries are becoming increasingly dependent on pollinators because production has shifted to more pollinator-dependent crops (Aizen et al, 2008;Potts et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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Two enabling factors for farmer-driven pollinator protection in low- and middle-income countries

Cited by 14 publications

References 52 publications

“Farming with Alternative Pollinators” approach increases pollinator abundance and diversity in faba bean fields

“Farming with Alternative Pollinators” approach increases pollinator abundance and diversity in faba bean fields

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

Diversity and Relative Abundance of Insect Pollinators in Moroccan Agroecosystems

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