No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Ten policies for pollinators
Abstract
Earlier this year, the first global thematic assessment from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) evaluated the state of knowledge about pollinators and pollination ( 1 , 2 ). It confirmed evidence of large-scale wild pollinator declines in northwest Europe and North America and identified data shortfalls and an urgent need for monitoring elsewhere in the world. With high-level political commitments to support pollinators in the United States ( 3 ), the United Kingdom ( 4 ), and France ( 5 ); encouragement from the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD's) scientific advice body ( 6 ); and the issue on the agenda for next month's Conference of the Parties to the CBD, we see a chance for global-scale policy change. We extend beyond the IPBES report, which we helped to write, and suggest 10 policies that governments should seriously consider to protect pollinators and secure pollination services. Our suggestions are not the only available responses but are those we consider most likely to succeed, because of synergy with international policy objectives and strategies or formulation of international policy creating opportunities for change. We make these suggestions as independent scientists and not on behalf of IPBES.
... "Keep out the nonnative species? Some areas will have these interactions due to climate change and southernly species moving north" we rely on the policy forum: "Ten Policies for Pollinators" by Dicks et al. (2016) as key authors of the first global thematic assessment from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services on the state of knowledge about pollinators and pollination, which is the most extensive and comprehensive assessment on the topic to date (IPBES 2016). The 10 policies listed are those that the authors think governments should adopt to protect pollinators and secure pollination services and were chosen in part due to their potential for successful adoption (Dicks et al. 2016). ...
... Some areas will have these interactions due to climate change and southernly species moving north" we rely on the policy forum: "Ten Policies for Pollinators" by Dicks et al. (2016) as key authors of the first global thematic assessment from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services on the state of knowledge about pollinators and pollination, which is the most extensive and comprehensive assessment on the topic to date (IPBES 2016). The 10 policies listed are those that the authors think governments should adopt to protect pollinators and secure pollination services and were chosen in part due to their potential for successful adoption (Dicks et al. 2016). By its nature, the quality of information gathered through the Delphi method is limited, in part, by the knowledge and experience of the participants (Frewer et al. 2011). ...
... On the topic of pesticides and the threat they pose to pollinator health, suggestions from Delphi participants are aligned with recommendations posed by Dicks et al. (2016) including the focus on raising regulatory standards to ensure that risk assessments consider sublethal and indirect effects to a range of pollinator species, not just the honey bee. Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is responsible for performing risk assessments on pesticides prior to their authorization and periodically re-evaluates the impacts of approved pesticides to see if the risk of continued use is acceptable. ...
Invertebrate pollinators are in trouble: particularly documented are declines among bees and butterflies. Interacting stressors include pesticides, pathogens, habitat loss, nonnative species, and climate change. Many governments have strategies to reduce negative pressures on pollinators, but Canada does not despite widespread public interest in pollinator health. This study serves as a needs assessment for science-based policy solutions for wild pollinator conservation in Canada. We designed a Policy Delphi survey technique to identify solutions that experts deem both desirable and feasible. Our secondary aim was to identify research priorities that would inform the implementation of these solutions. Sixty % of the 83 unique solutions were supported and feasible at a high consensus level (10% were “strongly” supported and “definitely” feasible). General themes included improving the Canadian government's approach in assessing pesticide risk to pollinators, curbing pathogen spillover/spillback between managed and wild pollinators, and reducing the reliance of Canadian agricultural systems on pesticides, among others. We discuss solutions in reference to pollinator conservation policies recommended by the broader scientific community and identify policy levers within the context of Canada's highly decentralized approach to biodiversity conservation/management and a political economy that uses high numbers of managed, mostly nonnative bees for pollination services.
... Pollinator decline is due almost entirely to the anthropogenic transformation of natural ecosystems, which has had enormous impacts not only on biodiversity but also on human quality of life (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services [IPBES], 2016;Díaz et al., 2018Díaz et al., , 2019. Finding ways to conserve pollinators in the long-term has thus become an international conservation priority (Dicks et al., 2016; Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services [IPBES], 2016;Pearson et al., 2019;Galetto et al., 2022). ...
... Furthermore, most research has limited replication, with data collected from a small number of sites (Millard et al., 2020). Therefore, there are still few studies assessing the representativeness of pollinators in the current protected areas (PAs) or suggesting key conservation regions to guide effective management policies (Dicks et al., 2016;Delso et al., 2021). This type of information is now more crucial than ever, since conservation possibilities will drastically decrease as time passes (Sarukhan, 2008;Galetto et al., 2022). ...
... The literature presents a wide range of drivers of pollinators decline, and there appears to be broad consensus about their relative importance (Vanbergen et al., 2013;Goulson et al., 2015;Dicks et al., 2016). Several works include the intensification of agriculture as the primary driver of population declines Vanbergen et al., 2013;Senapathi et al., 2015;Kovács-Hostyánszki et al., 2017) due to loss of natural habitats, food, and nesting resources (Haines-Young, 2009;Zabel et al., 2019). ...
Pollinators are currently the focus of international concern, as numerous studies have documented declines in their diversity and abundance. Pollinator conservation has therefore become an international priority. We selected 815 pollinator species (including bats, bees, hummingbirds, and hawkmoths) inhabiting the southern United States, Mexico and part of Central America to assess the overlap between their distributions and land-use changes. We also analyzed the representativeness values of species contained within current protected areas (PAs). Then, we considered three important pressures-habitat loss, population density and infrastructure, and crop-specific pesticides-to determine high-priority and complementary conservation areas to optimize the long-term protection of these species. We found strong overlap (74.5 %) between the distributions of pollinator species and areas with a moderate or high degree of human modification. Furthermore, current PAs are both insufficient and inefficient: they cover only 14.3 % of the study area and represent on average 14.6 ± 8.6 % of the species' total distribution area. For 62.7 % of the species, <15 % of their distribution occurred within PAs. This picture is particularly alarming for the most range-restricted and threatened species. If our prioritization were implemented, the protection coverage would increase to 30 % (in line with the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework), substantially increase representativeness values, and cover over 25 % of the ranges of all species. In the context of the current biodiversity crisis, we provide insights about where transboundary efforts should focus to design a PA network that is effective for the conservation of whole biodiversity, including important ecosystem processes.
... This figure includes about 70-80% of the world's crops, which benefit from insect pollination to varying degrees. If pollination by bees and other pollinators fails, productivity in agro-ecosystems and crops may also fail (Klein et al., 2006;Garibaldi et al., 2009;Dicks et al., 2016). ...
... High levels of disturbance or vast areas of uniform cropping landscapes, dominated by monocultures of annual crops (e.g. grains and oil seeds), have been hampering the establishment and sustainability of pollinator populations (Altieri et al., 2015;Dicks et al., 2016;Balfour et al., 2021). ...
... Those returns will far outweigh the food benefits they take from both crops and non-crop plants. Given below is a summary of some of the recent critical findings in several reports (Altieri et al., 2015;Goulsen et al., 2015;Bretagnolle and Gaba, 2015;Potts et al., 2016;Hicks et al., 2016;Dicks et al., 2016). ...
In addition to the benefits weeds provide to natural enemies of pest insects, weedy taxa are emerging as a critical component that can support pollinators, which are crucial for world crops. Understanding the vital interactions between pollinators, weeds, and crops will enable both the scientific community and the public to appreciate the ecological values of colonizing taxa even more. The species richness of wild bees and other pollinators has declined over the past 50 years, with some species undergoing significant declines and a few going extinct. The causal factors include the excessive use of neonicotinoid pesticides, which directly affect pollinator insects and indirect effects, which include fragmentation of habitat and losses of floral resources due to land clearing and intensive agriculture. Agriculture is recognized as the main driver causing pollinator declines through land-use change, declines in traditional farming practices, intensive farming practices, such as monoculture, tillage and agrochemical use, especially neonicotinoid insecticides, and the excessive use of herbicides for weed control. Agriculture also provides opportunities to support pollinators, through ecologically-friendly farming (Diversified and Conservation Farming Systems) in which habitat can be retained and floral resources for pollinators enhanced. Many countries, especially in Western Europe, the U.K. and the U.S.A., now have programmes dedicated to reintroducing 'green' infrastructure and setting aside field margins and unmanaged areas in agricultural landscapes as Nature-Based Solutions (NSBs) to support pollinators with food resources. The overwhelming evidence from research in the last two decades indicates that colonizing taxa can help bees with rich and diverse food and nectar resources over extended periods. The Convention on Biological Diversity (2018) acknowledges the need to improve knowledge of pollinators and pollination and their role in maintaining ecosystem health and integrity beyond agriculture and food production. Ecological restoration of damaged or modified urban ecosystems can increase the connectivity of pollinator-friendly habitats and support species dispersal and gene flow. These measures can also contribute to climate change mitigation and disaster risk reduction. Weedy taxa, with their abundant flowery resources, have a critical role to play in all of the above.
... Pollinators provide essential ecosystem services, greatly contributing to plant reproduction and food production and security (Ollerton, 2021;Ollerton et al., 2011;Porto et al., 2020), as 75 % of agricultural crops and 87.5 % of plant species in the world are pollinated by animals (Klein et al., 2007;Ollerton et al., 2011). Given their importance, the conservation of pollinators is considered a top priority for maintaining ecosystem functioning and promoting human welfare (Dicks et al., 2016;IPBES, 2016;Potts et al., 2016). Nevertheless, climate change and several anthropogenic impacts on naturee.g., habitat loss, fragmentation, agricultural expansion, and urbanizationare recognized as some of the main drivers of pollinator decline across the globe, especially for many bee species (Dicks et al., 2021;Potts et al., 2010;Regan et al., 2015;Rhodes, 2018;Millard et al., 2021;Teixido et al., 2022). ...
... Pollinators provide essential ecosystem services, greatly contributing to plant reproduction and food production and security (Ollerton, 2021;Ollerton et al., 2011;Porto et al., 2020), as 75 % of agricultural crops and 87.5 % of plant species in the world are pollinated by animals (Klein et al., 2007;Ollerton et al., 2011). Given their importance, the conservation of pollinators is considered a top priority for maintaining ecosystem functioning and promoting human welfare (Dicks et al., 2016;IPBES, 2016;Potts et al., 2016). Nevertheless, climate change and several anthropogenic impacts on naturee.g., habitat loss, fragmentation, agricultural expansion, and urbanizationare recognized as some of the main drivers of pollinator decline across the globe, especially for many bee species (Dicks et al., 2021;Potts et al., 2010;Regan et al., 2015;Rhodes, 2018;Millard et al., 2021;Teixido et al., 2022). ...
Urbanization affects the occurrence, abundance and distribution of pollinators worldwide. Although urban green spaces support many pollinators, global estimates of urban pollinator diversity are still lacking. Here, we present a global overview of urban pollinators, characterizing the most frequently recorded species and functional groups, as well as the types of urban green spaces where these pollinators were most frequently recorded. A systematic review of the literature revealed a total of 11,560 pollinator records in urban green areas. These comprised 3148 species from 255 cities in 46 countries, with more than half of the studies (~67 %) carried out in non-tropical cities. Hymenoptera was the main pollinator group recorded, especially bees, followed by Lepi-doptera and Diptera worldwide. However, birds were more commonly reported in tropical than non-tropical regions, highlighting their importance as pollinators in the tropics. The most frequently recorded species were social and generalist bees, including invasive and managed species. Hence, while some bees may be able to persist in urban areas, other groups may face challenges that need to be considered when planning urban pollinator conservation. Considering the urban habitat types where pollinators were sampled, university campuses and gardens were the most common types investigated in tropical and non-tropical regions, respectively. These results may reflect regional differences in urban landscape characteristics, as well as a research bias caused by greater investment in urban ecology research in non-tropical countries. Our review synthetizes the diversity of urban pollinators worldwide and highlights the gaps and challenges in promoting their conservation more inclusively.
... Because of this scenario, there has been a recent growth in the investment to protect pollinator communities. Dicks et al. (2016) defined several measures that policymakers should consider when making decisions to conserve pollinators and secure pollination services, among which the creation and restoration of green infrastructures stands out as a measure designed specifically for urban ecosystems. ...
... Green infrastructures are defined as suitable patches of habitat within highly modified environments in which animals can move through or reside (Andersson et al., 2014;Dicks et al., 2016). In cities, these "new ecosystems" (sensu Hobbs et al., 2006) encompass private and public gardens, cemeteries, golf courses, etc., and can increase local biodiversity while promoting a better quality of life for surrounding communities (Coutts and Hahn, 2015;Nascimento et al., 2020). ...
Pollinator-friendly plants are often a necessary component of the management of urban ecosystem that aim to reduce the impact of the artificial urban matrix on natural pollinator populations. Nectarivorous bats are neglected components of the urban pollinator community and there is a paucity of assessments on pollinator-friendly plants that may provide urban bats with reliable, year-long resources. Crescentia cujete is a bat-pollinated Bignoniaceae with very distinctive chiropterophilous features that is often used as an ornamental species in tropical urban areas worldwide. Its flowers are large and produce copious amounts of nectar, which accumulates in the flower’s storage-shaped flowers. Thus, the species is a potential bat-friendly urban plant. We assessed the species’ year-round flower emission and nightly nectar production dynamics in a green area in northeastern Brazil, and described the behavior of its floral visitors. C. cujete showed a steady, year-round flowering pattern, with no significant seasonality. Its flowers secreted copious amounts of diluted nectar and were visited exclusively by the Pallas long-tongued bat Glossophaga soricina throughout the night at high visiting frequencies, delivering successive visits to individual flowers spaced by short intervals. Our results suggest overexploitation of floral resources from C. cujete by urban bats. Moreover, its continuous flowering and copious nectar production may become a reliable resource in an artificial environment generally lacking bat-pollinated plants, thus mitigating the effects of food shortage for urban nectar bats.
... Growing attention towards natural pollinators and pollination is reflected in their importance in the provision of ecosystem services. This fosters the development of new strategies to maximize sustainable management and conservation of crop pollinators (Dicks et al., 2016), which may potentially be used to support biodiversity conservation policies . However, despite growing interest in pollination and pollinators (e.g. ...
... Although scientists are producing high-quality evidencebased studies to support governance and public initiatives, our incipient knowledge about non-bee pollinators and the lack of longterm monitoring of pollinators and pollination severely weakens research, planning and actions (e.g. Dicks et al., 2016;IPBES, 2016;BPBES/REBIPP, 2019;Porto et al., 2020;Hipólito et al., 2021). More holistic and cross-sectoral conservation policies and actions, combined with a forward-looking research agenda, must also shine the spotlight on species that are yet to be identified as crop pollinators, and the same applies to a myriad of tropical species whose biotic interactions provide other key ecosystem services. ...
We draw attention to potential pollinator species that have not yet been reported as crop pollinators but could likely contribute to agricultural productivity. We refer to this as the neglected diversity of crop pollinators, which we argue should not be excluded from conservation strategies and land-use planning. We used Brazil as case study for at least five main reasons: (1) Brazil is one of the world’s largest food pro- ducers and exporters; (2) Tropical agricultural production is highly dependent on pollinators; (3) Brazil is almost certainly the most biologically megadiverse country; (4) Brazil has high diversity of pollinators; (5) Brazil has played a leading international role in environmental sustainability. We estimated that the neglected diversity of bees as potential crop pollinators in Brazil is 88.4%. For vertebrates, the neglected diversity is 95.2%. This means that many yet to be observed plant–pollinator interactions are entirely off the radar in terms of the conservation agenda for agricultural stability.
... In response to evidence of declines, pollinators and pollination have attracted public and policy attention globally 2,16 and substantial efforts are underway to respond, through national pollinator strategies and action plans 17 . The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) performed a global assessment of pollinators, pollination and food production from 2014 to 2016 1 . ...
... However, unlike the more recent IPBES global assessment on biodiversity and ecosystem services 21 , the pollination Articles NATUrE EcOlOGy & EvOlUTiON assessment did not directly compare and rank the relative importance of major drivers of pollinator decline or make any integrated assessment of the risks it generates for society, either at global or at regional levels. Consequently, although researchers have made broad, global recommendations about how to respond to pollinator decline 16 , addressing specific drivers and risks at national or regional scales appropriate for policy implementation has been more challenging 22 . ...
Pollinator decline has attracted global attention and substantial efforts are underway to respond through national pollinator strategies and action plans. These policy responses require clarity on what is driving pollinator decline and what risks it generates for society in different parts of the world. Using a formal expert elicitation process, we evaluated the relative regional and global importance of eight drivers of pollinator decline and ten consequent risks to human well-being. Our results indicate that global policy responses should focus on reducing pressure from changes in land cover and configuration, land management and pesticides, as these were considered very important drivers in most regions. We quantify how the importance of drivers and risks from pollinator decline, differ among regions. For example, losing access to managed pollinators was considered a serious risk only for people in North America, whereas yield instability in pollinator-dependent crops was classed as a serious or high risk in four regions but only a moderate risk in Europe and North America. Overall, perceived risks were substantially higher in the Global South. Despite extensive research on pollinator decline, our analysis reveals considerable scientific uncertainty about what this means for human society.
... A focus on bee conservation is justified because many species are declining (Potts et al., 2010), and bees have recognized roles in urban ecosystem functioning (Lowenstein et al., 2015). Bee decline has prompted national and international policy agendas for pollinator protection (Dicks et al., 2016;Hall & Steiner, 2019;Pollinator Health Task Force, 2016). However, if urban conservation is to mitigate bee losses and conserve pollination services, bee habitat requirements must be better understood and reconciled with urban development. ...
... Current recommendations for pollinator conservation call for governments to maintain and restore green infrastructure in agricultural and urban landscapes (Dicks et al., 2016;Potts et al., 2010). Despite this, policies rarely address habitat creation in a city (Hall & Steiner, 2019; Pollinator Health Task Force, 2016). ...
Pollinator welfare is a recognized research and policy target, and urban greenspaces have been identified as important habitats. Yet, landscape-scale habitat fragmentation and greenspace management practices may limit a city's conservation potential. We examined how landscape configuration, composition, and local patch quality influenced insect nesting success across inner-city Cleveland, Ohio (U.S.A.), a postindustrial legacy city containing a high abundance of vacant land (over 1600 ha). Here, 40 vacant lots were assigned 1 of 5 habitat treatments (T1, vacant lot; T2, grass lawn; T3, flowering lawn; T4, grass prairie; and T5, flowering prairie), and we evaluated how seeded vegetation, greenspace size, and landscape connectivity influenced cavity-nesting bee and wasp reproduction. Native bee and wasp larvae were more abundant in landscapes that contained a large patch (i.e., >6 ha) of contiguous greenspace, in habitats with low plant biomass, and in vacant lots seeded with a native wildflower seed mix or with fine-fescue grass, suggesting that fitness was influenced by urban landscape features and habitat management. Our results can guide urban planning by demonstrating that actions that maintain large contiguous greenspace in the landscape and establish native plants would support the conservation of bees and wasps. Moreover, our study highlights that the world's estimated 350 legacy cities are promising urban conservation targets due to their high abundance of vacant greenspace that could accommodate taxa's habitat needs in urban areas.
... The impacts of conventional agricultural expansion on biodiversity render the stability and resilience in food production difficult to reconcile within agricultural landscapes that incur minimal impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services (Bommarco et al., 2013). As such, ecological intensification can be understood as a mitigation strategy based on more benign use of pesticides and changes in land use, both of which can transform agriculture into a system that safeguards pollinators, pollination services, and food production (Dicks et al., 2016;IPBES, 2016). Therefore, agricultural practices that lead to the maintenance of local biodiversity make it possible to increase food supply (Bommarco et al., 2013;Garibaldi et al., 2019) without the need to unremittingly convert remaining natural areas into additional croplands. ...
Cropland intensification in tropical regions is usually associated with agricultural commodity expansion that penalizes the species diversity and environmental services of natural ecosystems. However, the extent to which cropland expansion affects the reproductive functional diversity of crop arrangements remains poorly investigated. Here we examine the agricultural development of a leading agricultural producer and megadiverse country (Brazil) over the last six decades to understand the effects of agricultural expansion on the reproductive functional diversity of crops, particularly those bearing specialized traits. We used the FAO database, which provides annualized information on crop production from 1961 to 2018. Cultivated species were classified according to their reproductive traits and levels of dependence on biotic pollination, used as indicators of functional diversity. Our results show that cropland areas in Brazil expanded by 201.3% from 1961 to 2018. In particular, pollinator-dependent crops expanded over this period by 305.2% compared to 125.3% in non-dependent crops. Expansion of monoculture farmland was remarkable, comprising 88% of the entire agricultural cropland acreage in 2018, 45% of which was represented by soybean. Additionally, cropland expansion was related to a reduction in functionally diverse crop species, which was most intense for those with specialized reproductive traits. These results indicate a threat to a diversified food production system and its resilience, given the impacts of cropland expansion on native biodiversity and the reduction in pollination services for many crops. We argue that agroecosystems in Brazil require sustainable, pollinator-friendly agricultural practices to maintain or enhance a nutritionally diversified food production system. Integrated practices that sustain agricultural cropland mosaics characterized by high reproductive functional diversity of the cultivated species can be a nature-based solution to protect natural pollinators and pollination services within a diversified food system.
... A mudança de uso do solo leva diretamente ao declínio de espécies e também potencializa outros fatores, como o aquecimento global e surgimento de novos patógenos. O uso profilático e indiscriminado de agrotóxicos, modificações genéticas nas lavouras e a expansão de campos para grandes monoculturas, também compõem a lista das causas de perdas de biodiversidade e, consequentemente, de polinizadores (Dicks et al., 2016;Faita et al., 2021). É muito importante a sensibilização sobre esse tema entre produtores agrícolas, pois o serviço de polinização gera oportunidades de promover uma agricultura mais sustentável e também mais rentável a longo prazo (De Groot et al., 2010;Bennet et al., 2015;Wolowski et al., 2018). ...
Grande parte das culturas agrícolas necessita dos serviços ecossistêmicos de polinização realizados por diversos organismos, em especial as abelhas. No presente estudo são estimados os valores referentes à Valoração dos Serviços de Polinização Animal (VESP) nos cultivos de municípios da Região Metropolitana de Curitiba (RMC), a partir de dados de produção obtidos pela Secretaria da Agricultura e Abastecimento do estado do Paraná (2016-2020) e do coeficiente de dependência de cada cultivo pela polinização animal. O VESP para a RMC foi estimado em média R$382,4 milhões por ano em valores de 2020, sendo deste valor a maior parte oriunda do cultivo da soja, que correspondeu a R$230 milhões. Quanto aos demais cultivos, tomate, maçã, pepino, morango, abóbora e feijão mostraram os maiores montantes de VESP em ordem decrescente,. Os municípios com maiores valores, excluindo-se a soja, foram Rio Negro com R$24 milhões/ano, Cerro Azul com R$21 milhões/ano e Lapa com R$20 milhões/ano. Os municípios de maior número de cultivos com dependência essencial de polinzadores (95%) são Cerro Azul que produz R$6 milhões/ano, Colombo com R$5 milhões/ano e Tijucas do Sul com R$5 milhões/ano também. O VESP da soja não é influenciado pela área natural de cada município, por outro lado o VESP dos demais cultivos é impactado pela área natural circundante. Os dados aqui obtidos demonstram a importância econômica regional do serviço de polinização, o qual deve ser considerado na elaboração de políticas públicas de produção de alimentos e de conservação da natureza.
... Ongoing reductions in the amount and quality of pollinator habitat worldwide underlie urgent efforts to improve habitats for pollinating insects, particularly bees (Dicks et al., 2015(Dicks et al., , 2016Kennedy et al., 2013;M'Gonigle et al., 2015;Williams et al., 2015). Especially worrisome are declines in the populations of key crop pollinators, such as the bumble bees, in many parts of the globe (Goulson et al., 2015;Tscharntke, 2021;Williams et al., 2009;Winfree et al., 2009). ...
Regionally specific flower preference data are needed to optimize conservation habitat plantings for at‐risk pollinators such as bumble bees (Bombus spp.). Current tools for selecting flowers for plantings rely on raw bee flower visits, which can be biased toward abundant flowers. To assist in planning habitat enhancements for bumble bees, we quantified genus‐ and species‐level floral preferences using a selection index that accounts for floral availability. Through 477 h of observation in Ohio, USA during the summers of 2017 and 2018, we recorded 22,999 observations of eight Bombus species visiting 96 flowering plant taxa. As a genus, Bombus selected flowers nonrandomly; the most strongly preferred plants included Asclepias spp., Cirsium spp., Convolvulaceae, Dipsacus spp., Echinacea purpurea, Monarda fistulosa, Penstemon digitalis, and Silphium spp. Only a few Fabaceae were highly selected (Baptisia spp., Trifolium pratense, and Vicia spp.), while some were preferred only during their peak bloom (Securigera varia), and others were not preferred by bumble bees (T. hybridum and Melilotus spp.). Diets differed among habitats, and in restored meadows, bumble bees selected for native planted species such as Monarda fistulosa, Asclepias syriaca, Echinacea purpurea, Penstemon digitalis, and Silphium spp. Diets and preferences shifted over the season, largely driven by changes in plant phenologies (e.g., in June, Penstemon was strongly selected, in July, Asclepias, and in August, Verbena). For the three most common Bombus (B. impatiens, B. griseocollis, and B. bimaculatus), rarefaction analysis indicates that we were able to detect almost all plants in their summer diets. However, for five less common species, even our extensive sampling was insufficient to fully characterize their diets. The common Bombus species differed in their feeding niches, perhaps reducing interspecific competition. In contrast, we found high diet overlap between three rarer species—B. vagans, B. fervidus, and B. pensylvanicus, suggesting that these at‐risk species might benefit from different floral communities than would the common species. Five of eight species (including one that is currently under review for federal listing) most strongly preferred one or another non‐native plant, presenting managers with a conservation conundrum concerning how to balance the needs of bees with the preservation of native plants.
... Due to extensive and constantly growing monitoring networks such as the European butterfly monitoring scheme (eBMS) , butterflies are one of the best-studied insect groups. Similar schemes for other insects are lacking even though the importance of such programs is widely acknowledged by science (e.g., Magurran et al. 2010;Dicks et al. 2016;Breeze et al. 2021). Recent developments such as the EU pollinator initiative, which proposed a monitoring mechanism as part of the EU Biodiversity Strategy ) and the development of the European soil monitoring (Montanarella and Panagos 2021) show the growing political interest in the monitoring of insect biodiversity. ...
The observed insect decline, which threatens agricultural productivity and ecosystem stability, calls for comprehensive international insect monitoring. Monitoring implementation demands standardisation and the integration of new and innovative methods. Therefore, we compared two quantitative butterfly survey methods-the commonly applied transect counts (or 'Pollard walks') and more extensive area-time counts. We evaluated the influence of the two methods on the estimation of biodiversity variables such as species richness and species abundance to examine whether they could be applied alternatively for the calculation of butterfly trend indicators. During 576 surveys we conducted 5-minute transect counts and 25-minute area-time counts simultaneously at 144 different sites in Western Austria. The estimated relative butterfly abundance of the two methods for 119 observed species showed a strong linear relationship. While we found 2.4 times more species per site with the more extensive area-time counts than with the transect counts, we also observed a strong correlation between estimates of local abundance (Pearson's r = 0.85) and observed species richness (Pearson's r = 0.81) based on the two methods. Area-time counts provide thorough assessments on a given location, enabling a close connection to specific habitat types and facilitating comparability with other plot-based biodiversity assessments. They are more suitable than transect counts when aiming to analyse the drivers of temporal and spatial variability in butterfly occurrence. Furthermore, area-time counts can be used synergistically for the calculation of international butterfly abundance trends (e.g., European butterfly indicators), as we found strong linear relationships for all applied indicators with both methods.
... After participating in the program, one quarter of participants incorporated native plants in their yard and 13% stated it was to improve biodiversity [37]. Another mechanism would include passing policies aimed at improving conservation efforts for pollinators, which is greatly needed [38,39], including in urban areas [40]. It is critical that these policies be enforced [41] and integrate the "perspective of farmers and local communities on the need to conserve pollinators, alongside scientific understanding" [42]. ...
In urban areas, private yards can make up large portions of the available “green space” which can be used to provide resources for many species, including birds, and pollinators. If residents are persuaded or willing to plant certain native plants, the aggregate effect of these plantings could be hugely beneficial for key pollinator species. The objectives of this study are to uncover impediments to adding different types of pollinator-beneficial plants to private yards, as well as ascertain which incentives to plant these native plants might be most persuasive, and finally determine if there are procedural knowledge gaps in how to plant, care for, or where to purchase three pollinator-beneficial plants. In this study, we randomly selected properties in two counties in southwestern Ohio along two gradients: parcel size and parcel valuation (as a proxy for income). Two hundred surveys were distributed and 113 were returned (57% response rate). We find that, in aggregate, respondents do not have a strong intent to plant these native plants, especially Asclepias syriaca (a milkweed that serves as host plant to the iconic monarch butterfly; Danaus plexippus) and, surprisingly, the intent to plant these does not differ statistically even when help with costs, labor, or the provision of online resources are offered. We also find that the reported knowledge of where to purchase wildflowers is significantly higher than how to care for them and how to plant them. Lastly, respondents are much more confident in how to take care of trees compared to the three pollinator-beneficial plants shown in the survey. We discuss the implications of these findings for outreach and extension purposes.
... Diverse research investigating the optimal policies to benefit pollination have shown remarkable consensus around a short list of highly effective strategies: increase flower abundance and diversity on farms, reduce pesticide use, and preserve or restore nearby natural habitat. 28,[68][69][70][71] This encouraging scientific agreement has already spurred action worldwide, with many countries creating and implementing their own national pollinator protection strategies. Despite this promising momentum, immense challenges remain for the restoration of pollinator populations globally. ...
Background:
Animal pollination supports agricultural production for many healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes, that provide key nutrients and protect against noncommunicable disease. Today, most crops receive suboptimal pollination because of limited abundance and diversity of pollinating insects. Animal pollinators are currently suffering owing to a host of direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures: land-use change, intensive farming techniques, harmful pesticides, nutritional stress, and climate change, among others.
Objectives:
We aimed to model the impacts on current global human health from insufficient pollination via diet.
Methods:
We used a climate zonation approach to estimate current yield gaps for animal-pollinated foods and estimated the proportion of the gap attributable to insufficient pollinators based on existing research. We then simulated closing the "pollinator yield gaps" by eliminating the portion of total yield gaps attributable to insufficient pollination. Next, we used an agriculture-economic model to estimate the impacts of closing the pollinator yield gap on food production, interregional trade, and consumption. Finally, we used a comparative risk assessment to estimate the related changes in dietary risks and mortality by country and globally. In addition, we estimated the lost economic value of crop production for three diverse case-study countries: Honduras, Nepal, and Nigeria.
Results:
Globally, we calculated that 3%-5% of fruit, vegetable, and nut production is lost due to inadequate pollination, leading to an estimated 427,000 (95% uncertainty interval: 86,000, 691,000) excess deaths annually from lost healthy food consumption and associated diseases. Modeled impacts were unevenly distributed: Lost food production was concentrated in lower-income countries, whereas impacts on food consumption and mortality attributable to insufficient pollination were greater in middle- and high-income countries with higher rates of noncommunicable disease. Furthermore, in our three case-study countries, we calculated the economic value of crop production to be 12%-31% lower than if pollinators were abundant (due to crop production losses of 3%-19%), mainly due to lost fruit and vegetable production.
Discussion:
According to our analysis, insufficient populations of pollinators were responsible for large present-day burdens of disease through lost healthy food consumption. In addition, we calculated that low-income countries lost significant income and crop yields from pollinator deficits. These results underscore the urgent need to promote pollinator-friendly practices for both human health and agricultural livelihoods. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10947.
... La plupart de ces initiatives et de ces plans, y compris celui proposé par SAPOLL, insistent sur l'importance du suivi des populations d'abeilles (i.e. monitoring) et soulignent la nécessité de le réaliser de manière standardisée et étendue (Dicks et al., 2016. En d'autres termes, ces monitorings devraient présenter : (1) une résolution géographique élevée permettant la localisation des sites et espèces d'intérêt ; (2) un protocole de collecte commun, sans quoi les données ne pourraient pas être comparées entre elles, dans l'espace et dans le temps. ...
The industrial backbone of the Belgian province of Hainaut is well known for its high level of anthropization. The objectives of this study were to conduct an inventory of wild bee species living in these artificial landscapes and to locate biodiversity hotspots among different types of environments such as parks, quarries, brownfields, meadows, and spoil heaps. Ultimately, these results should facilitate the development of conservation policies.
Three years of sampling at 112 sites are summarised in this article. A total of 9410 specimens were captured and 180 bee species were found, about 45% of the national diversity. Among them, 24 species are threatened at the Belgian level and one species, Lasioglossum politum, was considered extinct in Belgium. Its resurgence could be linked to rising temperatures.
Furthermore, our results emphasize the fact that thermophilic anthropogenic habitats such as spoil heaps and quarries are important for many endangered species that are confined to specific nesting substrates. On the other hand, while parks had a diverse assemblage of wild bees, few were nationally threatened. As a result, we call on public policies to refocus their strategy away from urban parks and to allocate more resources to spoil heaps and quarries conservation.
... An understanding of this information will facilitate decision-making to support rational biodiversity protection. This is especially critical because the conservation possibilities for hummingbirds and other pollinator communities will drastically decrease over time (see Dicks et al. 2016;Potts et al. 2016). ...
Identifying species' extinction risks and understanding their ecological associations are considered critical steps for achieving long-term conservation of biodiversity in the face of global changes. We evaluated the potential impact of global climate change (GCC) on the co-distribution patterns of 12 Mexican endemic hummingbirds and 118 plants they used as nectar resources. Using ecological niche modeling, we estimated the species' potential distribution areas and their degree of range overlap at present and under future scenarios (2040's-2080's). We then performed temporal beta diversity analyses (based on Sorensen's index) to assess changes in community assembly over time. To determine the potential impacts of GCC on the organization of hummingbird-plant relationships , we calculated niche overlap and network size metrics. Our results showed that even if we assume that species can disperse to novel habitat areas, at least 46.2% of hummingbirds and 45.8% of plant species will face range reductions due to changes in their climate-suitability areas, which will in turn result in an increased mismatch of their co-distribution patterns. Additionally, temporal beta analyses suggested species turnover between the present and future, as well as changes in niche size and overlap for hummingbird-plant co-occurrence networks. These changes could lead to the formation of novel assemblages through species reshuffling, with a tendency to the specialization of networks. These results emphasize that we should not expect uniform or matched responses among species and regions into the future. Therefore, analyses of species' co-occurrence are needed to accomplish the long-term protection of important ecosystem services such as pollination.
... Pollinator conservation is a priority for many land managers (Black et al. 2011, Otto et al. 2018, Wojcik et al. 2018). Actions to preserve or restore pollinator populations are often generalized because detailed information on both past and current pollinator communities is lacking (Dicks et al. 2016, Woodard et al. 2020. Comparing historic bee specimen records and their floral associations to present-day data can help land managers identify shifts in bee and flower communities and target resources likely to benefit bee species that have become rare or may be in danger of extirpation. ...
To examine changes in bee communities and bee-flower relations in the Prairie Pothole Region of the Northern Great Plains, we compared bee specimens and their floral associations collected in eastern North Dakota during 2010-2012 to bee specimens and their floral associations collected from the same region during 1910-1920 by pioneering naturalist Orin Alva Stevens. We also examined citizen science photographic records from 2012-2021. Using rarefaction, we found similar estimated bee species richness between the 1910s (135.98 ± 9.82) and the 2010s (125.42 ± 8.14). Bumble bees were less frequently present in collecting events in the 2010s, with one bumble bee species, Bombus terricola, declining from 7% presence in collecting events in the 1910s to 0.4% in the 2010s. Hylaeus annulatus, Andrena miranda, and Hesperapis carinata were each in the top 25% of species most frequently present in collecting events in the 1910s but were absent in the 2010s. Citizen science images documented range expansions for Bombus impatiens and the non-native Anthidium manicatum. Based on the floral association data, we recommend that pollinator plantings include (1) flowers that were formerly common in bee association records but that had decreased presence or were absent from modern collections and (2) flowers visited by possibly declining bee species, as indicated by historic flower associations for bee species that were absent or less frequently present in modern collecting events. The persistence of many bee species, including those of conservation concern, in agriculturally dominated landscapes points to the importance of restoring key floral resources to wide-ranging habitats.
... The subsequent reduction in flower diversity and abundance and the homogenization of landscapes are considered key threats to insect pollinators such as bees, flies, and butterflies, putting crop pollination and food production at risk (e.g., Hemberger et al., 2021;Powney et al., 2019;Vanbergen & The Insect Pollinators Initiative, 2013). Pollinator-friendly practices have been implemented to improve habitat quality and nutrient provision for bees and protect the ecosystem service of pollination (Dicks et al., 2016). In Europe, land managers are encouraged to develop such environmentally friendly practices for wildlife conservation (Batáry et al., 2015) through financially incentivized Agri-Environment Schemes (AES). ...
Abstract Ecological restoration programs are established to reverse land degradation, mitigate biodiversity loss, and reinstate ecosystem services. Following recent agricultural intensification that led to a decrease in flower diversity and density in rural areas and subsequently to the decline of many insects, conservation measures targeted at pollinators have been established, including sown wildflower strips (WFS) along field margins. Historically successful in establishing a high density of generalist bees and increasing pollinator diversity, the impact of enhanced flower provision on wider ecological interactions and the structure of pollinator networks has been rarely investigated. Here, we tested the effects of increasing flower species richness and flower density in agricultural landscapes on bee‐plant interaction networks. We measured plant species richness and flower density and surveyed honeybee and bumblebee visits on flowers across a range of field margins on 10 UK farms that applied different pollinator conservation measures. We found that both flower species richness and flower density significantly increased bee abundance, in early and late summer, respectively. At the network level, we found that higher flower species richness did not significantly alter bee species' generality indices, but significantly reduced network connectance and marginally reduced niche overlap across honeybees and bumblebee species, a proxy for insect competition. While higher connectance and niche overlap is believed to strengthen network robustness and often is the aim for the restoration of pollinator networks, we argue that carefully designed WFS may benefit bees by partitioning their foraging niche, limiting competition for resources and the potential for disease transmission via shared floral use. We also discuss the need to extend WFS and their positive effects into spring when wild bee populations are established.
... The loss of these pollinators threatens our health and wellbeing (IPBES, 2016;Potts et al., 2010). While high-level policies to support pollinators have been developed (Dicks et al., 2016;IEEP, 2017), it is unclear whether and how the conservation actions within these policies consider behaviour change. Retrofitting the BCW to such policies can provide insight into the extent to which behaviour may (or may not) have been considered. ...
Biodiversity loss and climate change are urgent, interlinked crises, driven by human activity. The solutions to these crises therefore lie in changing people's behaviours, at both individual and societal scales. In this chapter, we introduce the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW), a comprehensive framework for systematically designing, evaluating, and characterising behaviour change interventions. Applying the BCW to create behaviour change interventions for biodiversity conservation is discussed. A case study of national pollinator initiatives in the European Union is provided, to demonstrate how the BCW can be used to evaluate and characterise content within existing interventions and policies. Practical implications for applying behaviour change theory to the biodiversity crisis are outlined. To bend the curve of biodiversity loss and tackle other environmental challenges, those working in nature conservation, climate change, and other areas of pro-environmental behaviour are encouraged to apply the BCW to develop effective, theory-based interventions to change human behaviour.
... We are increasingly aware of the significant contribution that pollinators make to global food production, particularly of nutritionally important crops (Smith et al. 2015). In addition, as evidence of yield deficits emerge (Garibaldi et al. 2016), there is a need to ensure pollination services are supported through policy and practice (Dicks et al. 2016, Potts et al. 2016. Avoiding mismatches between the supply of, and demand for, this valuable ecosystem service is vital for future sustainable food production. ...
... In the last two decades, an increasing number of studies have reported local and global declines in the diversity and abundance of wild bees ( Biesmeijer et al., 2006 ;Burkle et al., 2013 ;Colla and Packer, 2008 ;Dicks et al., 2016 ;Koh et al., 2016 ;Potts et al., 2010 ;Senapathi et al., 2015 ;Zattara and Aizen, 2021 ). The drivers of these declines are various, synergistic, and can differ between continents and regions ( Dicks et al., 2021 ). ...
Worldwide, the use of managed bees for crop pollination and honey production has increased dramatically. Concerns about the pressures of these increases on native ecosystems has resulted in a recent expansion in the literature on this subject. To collate and update current knowledge, we performed a systematic review of the literature on the effects of managed and introduced bees on native ecosystems, focusing on the effects on wild bees. To enable comparison over time, we used the same search terms and focused on the same impacts as earlier reviews. This review covers: (a) interference and resource competition between introduced or managed bees and native bees; (b) effects of introduced or managed bees on pollination of native plants and weeds; and (c) transmission and infectivity of pathogens; and classifies effects into positive, negative, or neutral. Compared to a 2017 review, we found that the number of papers on this issue has increased by 47%. The highest increase was seen in papers on pathogen spill-over, but in the last five years considerable additional information about competition between managed and wild bees has also become available. Records of negative effects have increased from 53% of papers reporting negative effects in 2017 to 66% at present. The majority of these studies investigated effects on visitation and foraging behaviour. While only a few studies experimentally assessed impacts on wild bee reproductive output, 78% of these demonstrated negative effects. Plant composition and pollination was negatively affected in 7% of studies, and 79% of studies on pathogens reported potential negative effects of managed or introduced bees on wild bees. Taken together, the evidence increasingly suggests that managed and introduced bees negatively affect wild bees, and this knowledge should inform actions to prevent further harm to native ecosystems.
... Calls have been made for transdisciplinary approaches to pollinator research (Bartomeus and Dicks 2019), and ecologists are increasingly seeking to influence policy around pollinator management (e.g. Dicks et al. 2016;Potts et al. 2016;Bartomeus and Dicks 2019;Kleijn et al. 2019), but a wider base from which to define research approaches is required. A truly interdisciplinary approach to understanding sustainability in beekeeping, co-produced with beekeepers holding a variety of perspectives, and designed and implemented in collaboration with trained social scientists, is fundamental to understand sustainability in beekeeping. ...
Beekeepers are central to pollinator health. For policymakers and beekeeping organisations to develop widely accepted strategies to sustain honeybee populations alongside wild pollinators, a structured understanding of beekeeper motivations is essential. UK beekeepers are increasing in number, with diverse management styles despite calls for coordinated practice to manage honeybee health. Our Q methodology study in Cornwall, UK, indicated five beekeeping perspectives; conventional hobbyists, natural beekeepers, black bee farmers, new-conventional hobbyists and pragmatic bee farmers. Motivations can be shared across perspectives but trade-offs (notably between economic, social responsibility and ideological motivations) result in differing practices, some of which counter ‘official’ UK advice and may have implications for pollinator health and competition. Honeybee conservation emerged as a key motivator behind non-conventional practices, but wild pollinator conservation was not prioritised by most beekeepers in practice. Q methodology has the potential to facilitate non-hierarchical collaboration and conceptualisation of sustainable beekeeping, moving towards co-production of knowledge to influence policy.
... The configuration and heterogeneity of the landscape in which the bee colonies are located, along with the characteristics of agricultural management, have direct and indirect implications on the survival of bees (e.g., Dicks et al. 2016;Dolezal et al. 2019;St. Clair 2020). ...
Honeybees settled in agricultural ecosystems may encounter glyphosate residues on flowers of cultivated and native plants growing in semi-natural habitats. This work analyzes the relationship between the presence of pesticides in honey and some features of the landscape that surrounds the apiaries. A total of 30 honey samples were analyzed, and the presence of glyphosate and of its metabolite Aminophosphoric Acid (AMPA) was registered with a positivity of 50% and 30%, respectively. The presence of both glyphosate and AMPA in honey, even at very low levels, identifies an important pathway whereby pesticides migrate from the site of application to the hive and into the honey. Our results suggest that the increasing amount of croplands along with the intensification of industrial agriculture is not sufficient to explain the relationship with glypho-sate and AMPA residues in honey. These trends suggest that more detailed studies within particular regions of the landscape could be useful to better understand the relationship of agricultural practices and the presence of pesticides in honey. Glyphosate / AMPA / Landscape configuration / Crop matrix
... Beyond theoretical implications, these types of studies provide mechanistic insights to guide evidence-based conservation policy relating to the type of landscape-level resource management required for conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. As biodiversity is rapidly declining worldwide-threatening associated benefits and services-such studies need to be given priority (Dicks et al., 2016). Looking forwards, however, the success of landscape ecologists in enhancing ecosystem service delivery through landscape design (Grass et al., 2020;Landis, 2017), requires engagement with stakeholders and policy makers to identify cost-benefits associated with sustainable intensification, and also in balancing sustainability and conservation with other related financial and social needs (Geertsema et al., 2016;Grass et al., 2021). ...
Despite a developing understanding of how landscape level processes moderate biodiversity patterns and ecosystem functioning, key questions remain unresolved, therefore limiting our ability to manage for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem functioning at the most appropriate scales. These questions have remained unanswered because studies in agricultural landscapes generally over-emphasize alpha diversity within managed land uses, and are focused at scales that are irrelevant to species studied. We argue that the key to resolving unanswered questions in landscape-moderated effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning lies in establishing the distribution of available species and functions across the landscape and between land uses, and in understanding how this distribution of species varies with changing landscape context. We emphasize the need for studies that empirically test the mechanisms underpinning landscape-moderated effects on biodiversity and ecosystem function and link these with ecosystem service delivery. We facilitate this approach by outlining the empirical investigations that will lead to a better understanding of biodiversity patterns and ecosystem functioning at the landscape scale, and we highlight statistical approaches to support these different approaches to sampling. Our paper is divided in four sections: (A) we identify where and why gaps exist in our mechanistic understanding of landscape level processes, by reviewing current hypotheses; (B) we outline why, and how, landscape level research would benefit from shifting the focus to the distribution and partitioning of species and functions within a landscape; (C) we outline why, and how, larger scale processes, such as dispersal and meta-population dynamics need to be addressed in a more interactive fashion; and finally, (D) we round out by highlighting the experimental settings where landscape effects most urgently need testing.
... Importance of systematic appraisal of the local community knowledge about the status or conservation threats to biodiversity has been widely recognized (Sutherland et al. 2004;Brook and McLachlan 2008;Chowdhury and Koike 2010;Singh et al. 2013;Braga and Schiavetti 2013;Roue et al. 2017). Use of multiple evidence that recognizes the community's knowledge in shaping conservation programs has therefore been strongly advocated (Hunter and Brehm 2003;Sutherland 2013;Segger and Phillips 2015;Dicks et al. 2016;Smith et al. 2017). Nagoya Protocol (2014) too emphasizes the role of local and indigenous knowledge for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. ...
Systematic appraisal of community’s knowledge as evidence for biodiversity conservation has been widely recognized. For conserving the rich biodiversity in the rural landscape outside the protected areas, it is important to document the knowledge and perception of the farming community. Although such appraisal is available for different taxa, no such systematic study is available for herpetofauna- one of the most vulnerable faunal groups. Our study attempts to document the impact of agricultural intensification on herpetofauna in an agricultural landscape through knowledge and perception appraisal of the farming community. A semi-structured questionnaire survey and validation was conducted in areas of low, medium, and high agricultural intensification. In all areas, farmers indicated an overall decrease in herpetofauna abundance. Farmers at the mid and high agricultural intensification zones reported a more significant decrease in herpetofauna sightings specifically for amphibians and snakes compared to those under low intensification regions. Farmers at low intensification area recognized significantly more herpetofauna. Farmers attributed five major threats to herpetofauna and ranked pesticide as the most significant reason, especially those in higher intensification. The majority were aware of the importance of herpetofauna as a biological pest control agent. Level of education or farming experience did not seem to have any influence on the farmers’ knowledge. Our findings integrated with other quantitative studies will facilitate future community-driven conservation in the studied agricultural landscapes.
... México siendo un país mega-diverso biológicamente requiere desarrollar un plan nacional para la conservación de los polinizadores. En otros países tales estrategias se consideran de interés y seguridad nacional (Dicks et al. 2010;Brown et al. 2016;Dicks et al. 2016;IPBES 2016). La meliponicultura al igual que otras actividades que dependen de las abejas se puede beneficiar sustancialmente de la implementación de diferentes acciones en beneficio de los polinizadores. ...
Stingless beekeeping had long been neglected overall, and in areas like Yucatán, traditional
meliponiculture has been on the verge of extinction. However, since the start of the twentyfirst century, stingless bees and meliponiculture have gained much more positive public profile. Presently, Meliponiculture has gained widespread popularity and is now seen as an economic enterprise beyond hunting from the forests or the possession
of a few colonies as a hobby. Nonetheless, many threats have resulted from this approach. In this chapter, a summary on history and importance of stingless beekeeping in the Maya region is presented together with an account on the current situation and an opinion on future threats and potential for the activity
... We are increasingly aware of the significant contribution pollinators make to global food production, particularly of nutritionally important crops (Smith et al., 2015). In addition, as evidence of yield deficits emerge (Garibaldi et al., 2016), there is a need to ensure pollination services are supported through policy and practice (Dicks et al., 2016;Garibaldi et al., 2019). Avoiding ...
Pollinators face multiple pressures and there is evidence of populations in decline. As demand for insect‐pollinated crops increases, crop production is threatened by shortfalls in pollination services. Understanding the extent of current yield deficits due to pollination and identifying opportunities to protect or improve crop yield and quality through pollination management is therefore of international importance. To explore the extent of ‘pollination deficits’, where maximum yield is not being achieved due to insufficient pollination, we use an extensive dataset on a globally important crop, apples. We quantified how these deficits vary between orchards and countries as well as compare ‘pollinator dependence’ across different apple varieties. We found evidence of pollination deficits and in some cases, risks of over‐pollination were even apparent where fruit quality could be reduced by too much pollination. In almost all regions studied we found some orchards performing significantly better than others, in terms of avoiding a pollination deficit and crop yield shortfalls due to sub‐optimal pollination. This represents an opportunity to improve production through better pollinator and crop management. Our findings also demonstrate that pollinator dependence varies considerably between apple varieties in terms of fruit number and fruit quality. We propose that assessments of pollination service and deficits in crops can be used to quantify supply and demand for pollinators and help target local management to address deficits although crop variety has a strong influence on the role of pollinators.
... Moreover, farmers historically (and erroneously) have been treated as a homogenous group in terms of their beliefs. But rather, farmer beliefs, demographics, and economics vary, and these factors all mediate the adoption of pollinator supportive production practices (Kaine and Bewsell, 2008;Wilson et al., 2009;Dicks et al., 2016). ...
While research suggests that pollinator decline is linked with agricultural practices, it is unclear whether farmers share this view and adapt management to promote pollinators based on their understanding of these threats. To address these issues, we surveyed farmers of pollinator-dependent cucurbit crops across four states in the Midwest, USA. We grouped farmers by their perceptions of pollinator declines and routes of pesticide exposure and used statistical models to evaluate if farmers manage pests and pollinators based on these perceptions. Out of 93 completed surveys, 39% of farmers believed pollinators were in decline. When grouped, 17% of farmers were classified as proponents, ranking (on a 1–5 Likert scale) the factors mediating pesticide exposure and pollinator declines as important or highly important. For comparison, 44 and 39% of farmers were classified as neutral or skeptical, respectively, of these same factors. Compared to the neutral and skeptic groups, proponents were on average younger, had fewer years farming but more years in family farming, and were more dependent on income from outside the farming system. Proponents also on average reported smaller farms, higher pest richness, more land in cucurbit production, and greater richness of crops that are not pollinator dependent, when compared to the neutrals and skeptics. We did not find pest and pollinator management to be related to farmer perceptions of pollinator decline or routes of pesticide exposure, but farmers classified as pollinator “proponents” were more likely to indicate participation in future pollinator habitat restoration programs. Rather, management strategies were better explained by on-farm environmental conditions (e.g., pest richness, farm size, number of pollinator dependent crops) and economic factors (e.g., sources of income). Generally, our research shows that farmers who perceive pollinator threats may not be using pollinator supportive practices. Thus, while some farmers believe in pollinator declines, there remains a need to connect this knowledge with on-farm practices.
... Previous authors have similarly suggested that forage availability within flight range of the nest site and across the season may be more important than the spatial continuity of forage resources or the spatial extent of individual patches (e.g. Jha and Kremen 2013;Dicks et al. 2015Dicks et al. , 2016Herascu 2017). ...
Context
There have been dramatic global declines in pollinating insects. A common land management intervention to support wild pollinators is to plant non-crop flowering plants (‘pollinator planting’). However, there are limited data on which species or spatial arrangement of planting provide maximum benefit to wild pollinators.
Objectives
Here we investigate which flowering species and locations are visited by free-foraging Bombus terrestris (buff-tailed bumblebees) in species-rich semi-natural grassland and woodland.
Methods
Two study nests of buff-tailed bumblebees were established in Wytham Woods, UK. Pollen analogue pigments were sprayed on open flowers in the study area over a period of two months, with unique colours used to identify separate sections of the study area. Pollen load analysis was used to identify forage species and foraging locations.
Results
Bumblebees showed low flower constancy, visiting five flower species per trip on average, and as a group the sampled bumblebees visited 36 of the 49 plant species identified in study area surveys. Many individuals foraged in multiple, spatially-discrete locations during single trips.
Conclusions
The positive relationship between floral diversity and pollen load species diversity, and the positive relationship between site floral diversity and frequency of visitation, suggest behavioural strategies that maximize the diversity of flower species visited, in line with the energetic costs and benefits hypothesis . This supports recommendations for pollinator plantings with high species diversity, potentially spread across many small forage areas across the landscape.
... Bees in Europe and North America are one of the declining insect groups (Zattara and Aizen, 2021). Habitat loss, fragmentation and pesticides are among the reasons discussed to be responsible for this decline, which mostly emerge from intensified agriculture resulting in habitat changes reducing flower resources required for food and nest construction (Dicks et al., 2016;Dicks et al., 2020;Goulson et al., 2015). ...
Flower strips are a frequently adopted measure to conserve insects, especially pollinators, and are subsidized as Agri-Environmental Scheme in many regions. They provide a high quantity of flowers, but their flower species composition and phenological development is mostly uniform. This may result in only a fraction of pollinator species being enhanced. Flower-rich semi-natural habitat patches along slopes, fences or ditches, may provide resources for additional species, but they are not politically promoted. In this study, we compare pollinator communities in sown perennial flower strips with existing flower-rich herbaceous semi-natural habitat patches, both located at the edge of conventional apple orchards in Southern Germany. The flower strips attracted a higher pollinator abundance and species richness than the existing habitat patches. However, the bee species composition differed between the two habitat types. The existing habitat patches attracted bee species with different pollen specialization than the sown flower strips. Pollinator abundance and species richness varied between the different existing habitat patches indicating a high heterogeneity of these existing habitats, whereas the flower strips showed consistently high pollinator abundance and richness. We conclude that existing herbaceous habitat patches are attractive for pollinators and should be promoted by policy actions. Flower-rich semi-natural habitat patches develop without sowing next to typical agricultural landscape elements like slopes, fences and ditches with moderate mowing or herbicide application. They generally do not compete with agricultural land use and thus have a high potential to promote pollinator conservation.
... There are also many other potential ways to evaluate the pollinator protection plans. For example, a team of scientists released ten policy items that would promote pollinating insect conservation (Dicks et al. 2016). It is possible that the state pollinator plans would score higher or differently if assessed using those criteria instead. ...
After the US federal government created a national pollinator protection plan in 2015, many states followed with their own. Since their goal is to promote pollinating insect conservation, we wanted to know whether the state plans are using best practices for evidence-based science policy. In early 2019 we found and downloaded every existing, publicly available US state pollinator protection plan. We then used content analysis to assess the goals, scope, and implementation of state-level pollinator protection plans across the US. This analysis was conducted using three distinct frameworks for evidence-based policymaking: US Department of Interior Adaptive Resources Management (ARM), US Environmental Protection Agency management pollinator protection plan (MP3) guidance, and Pew Trusts Pew-MacAthur Results First Project elements of evidence-based state policymaking (PEW) framework. Then we scored them using the framework criteria, to assess whether the plans were using known best practices for evidence based policymaking. Of the 31 states with a state pollinator plan, Connecticut was the state with the lowest total score across the three evaluation frameworks. The state with the highest overall scores, across the three frameworks, was Missouri. Most states did not score highly on the majority of the frameworks. Overall, many state plans were lacking policy elements that address monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment. These missing elements impact the ability of states to achieve their conservation goals. Our results indicate that states can improve their pollinator conservation policies to better match evidence-based science policy guidance, regardless of which framework is used.
... Assessments on the value of pollinators (An & Chen, 2011;Gallai et al., 2009) can trigger motivation to preserve pollinators. The importance of policies (Christmann, 2019c;Cole et al., 2020;Dicks et al., 2016b;EU, 2020;Gemill-Herren et al., 2021) and a structured policy dialogue including worst-case scenario, low-cost crosssector policy instruments and cross-cutting benefits have been highlighted (Christmann, 2020). ...
Reward-based wildflower strips are the most common approach for pollinator protection in high-income countries. Low- and middle-income countries cannot afford this practice. A promising pilot study in Uzbekistan introduced an alternative approach, Farming with Alternative Pollinators, focusing on farmers as target group, marketable habitat enhancement plants and a method-inherent incentive: higher income per surface achieved already in the first year. We hypothesised that higher income would be a replicable enabling factor across continents, but a knowledge-raising campaign would be necessary in many low and middle-income countries. We assessed the replicability of the incentive with a small number of farmers 2015-2016 in Morocco but focused on assessing if farmers have sufficient knowledge to recognize wild pollinators and use this approach. We conducted 766 interviews using a standardized questionnaire with randomly selected smallholder farmers in three culturally different farming societies of low- and middle-income countries (Morocco, Turkey and Benin). Farming with Alternative Pollinators induced higher income (75% (2015), 177% (2016)) also in Morocco. The trial and the survey show the indispensability of a knowledge-raising campaign as second enabling factor. However, based on capacity building, Farming with Alternative Pollinators could have indeed high potential to promote pollinator protection in low- and middle-income countries.
Artículo publicado en la Revista de la Universidad de México:
https://www.revistadelauniversidad.mx/articles/beca2241-e2d3-4daf-99a2-d7860d5fe95a/los-polinizadores-de-mexico
Planting wildflower seed mixes has become popular with individuals and community groups aiming to promote wildlife and enhance local biodiversity. Recently, however, these seed mixes have been criticized with respect to the origin of the seeds and the species they contain. There is a growing awareness that the unintended planting of exotic species may disrupt native ecological networks, introduce aggressive weeds, or facilitate the establishment of invasive species in new localities. In this study, we purchased two packets of twelve brands of wildflower seeds available in Ireland from stores or online suppliers. In total, the 24 packets contained 69,409 seeds weighing 304 g, and represented 92 plant species in 23 families. Only 25% of the seed packets purchased in Ireland originated from Ireland, and only 43% of the plant species we identified are considered native to Ireland. To reinforce this point, the most frequent species, Phacelia tanacetifolia, which occurred in nine of the twelve brands, is not a native Irish plant species. Multivariate analysis identified no obvious grouping of seed mixes based on their intended target group (e.g., bees, butterflies, wildlife), which might be expected had manufacturers followed scientific guidance describing which plants are preferred by which pollinator group. The creation of patches of diverse floral habitats in gardens and urban settings can significantly benefit wildlife and human wellbeing. Our results, however, reinforce the need for caution before using wildflower mixes in attempts to restore or recreate natural or semi-natural plant communities.
Because of their importance as pollinators of wild and cultivated plants, little concern has been paid to alien bees when entering a new ecosystem. Hence, approximately 80 alien bee species worldwide have spread outside their native ranges. Here, we explored the main impacts of alien bees on native bees through competition for food or nesting resources, interference, pathogen spillover, and genetic contamination. Implications for native bee conservation are also discussed. In addition, in this chapter, we developed a particular focus on the first alien bee that colonised Europe, Megachile sculpturalis. We emphasised the main knowledge gaps and important trends for future research. Finally, avenues for managing alien bee species and preventing their introduction are provided.
Bees provide an important ecosystem service by contributing to the pollination of crop and wild plant species. Multiple bee species, however, are in decline due to factors such as habitat loss and fragmentation, inadequate food availability, improper management practices, climate change, and pressures from pathogens and pests, including exotic species. Concerns about pollinator declines and implications for ecosystem services have led to efforts to create and restore pollinator habitat, refine pest management practices, improve detection of pests and exotic species that threaten native bees, and monitor populations to identify and protect vulnerable bee species and communities. A variety of methods are used to monitor bee populations, some of which use visual stimuli that mimic natural cues used to locate floral resources. Bees also find their way into traps that use both visual and olfactory cues to attract pest insects. On one hand, researchers work to improve pest monitoring tools to increase target captures and reduce bee bycatch. On the other, analysis of bee bycatch can help assess biodiversity, determine population fluctuations and range expansions or contractions, support monitoring efforts, and identify patterns and processes of broader ecological interest. These different fields of research should not be seen as conflicting goals, but rather an opportunity for greater complementarity and collaboration. This article reviews the biological and ecological bases for bee attraction to traps, summarizes recent trends in bycatch research, highlights future research priorities, and identifies opportunities for collaborative data sharing to maximize existing resources.
Stingless bees are one of the most significant pollinators within tropical dry forests, and both are threatened by the impact of human activity on the environment. The loss of habitat of this pollinator is due to activities like deforestation of large areas for the purpose of intensive agriculture, agricultural burning, urbanization processes, and the use of agrochemicals and pesticides. The breeding of stingless bees or meliponiculture may serve as a promising tool to contribute to the conservation of these forests. Numerous indigenous groups have managed this group of bees since pre-Columbian times. The Mayan civilization reached the summit of these management techniques. After various centuries of decline and abandonment, this practice is experiencing a significant surge due to the great potential it presents, since it generates mutually reinforcing economic, social, and ecological incentives. This paper aims to provide a global perspective of the relationship between the breeding of stingless bees and the conservation of tropical dry forests. Presently, there are numerous initiatives regarding the use of meliponiculture as a key element for the sustainable development of rural communities and the conservation of both stingless bees and tropical dry forests. It is significant to integrate the efforts aimed at preserving dry forest ecosystems and the research regarding the different aspects of the management and breeding of these stingless bees, which are at the foundation of identifying and implementing action plans regarding the management of these natural resources.
The benefits of animal pollination to crop yield are well known. In contrast, the effects of animal pollination on the spatial or temporal stability (the opposite of variability) of crop yield remain poorly understood. We use meta‐analysis to combine variability information from 215 experimental comparisons between animal‐pollinated and wind‐ or self‐pollinated control plants in apple, oilseed rape and faba bean. Animal pollination increased yield stability (by an average of 32% per unit of yield) at between‐flower, ‐plant, ‐plot and ‐field scales. Evidence suggests this occurs because yield benefits of animal pollination become progressively constrained closer to the maximum potential yield in a given context, causing clustering. The increase in yield stability with animal pollination is greatest when yield benefits of animal pollination are greatest, indicating that managing crop pollination to increase yield also increases yield stability. These additional pollination benefits have not yet been included in economic assessments but provide further justification for policies to protect pollinators.
The application of ionomics and ecological stoichiometry benefits conservation biology with necessary ecological and evolutionary relevance, allowing unresolved problems to be addressed. The use of ionomics and ecological stoichiometry enables consideration that changes in the environmental nutritional supply affect the ecophysiology, behavior, health and fitness of individuals, influencing their ecological interactions and population functioning. The resulting knowledge can help promote better conservation and restoration strategies. Ultimately, ionomics and ecological stoichiometry facilitate improved forecasting and mitigation of the negative effects of current global change. Here, we present the theoretical background followed by the application of ionomics and ecological stoichiometry in biological conservation. We also propose avenues for future research. For example, larval and adult pollinating insects belong to different feeding guilds, and larvae rely on various stoichiometrically (im)balanced foods (showing herbivory, pollinivory, detritivory or even carnivory). Therefore, the ecology and diversity of pollinators may be shaped by the nutritional quality of larval food, which is required for physiological development into fully functional adults. Although a stoichiometric balance during larval development is crucial for pollinator health and fitness, pollinator conservation is focused on the nutritional needs of adults. Another example is atmospheric CO2 increases leading to nutrient dilution in plant tissues, aggravating nutritional imbalances in consumers and challenging Earth's herbivore populations. CO2-driven nutrient dilution may affect food webs, ecosystems and human wellbeing. However, our understanding of this phenomenon is minimal. These and other unresolved conservation biology problems may be studied and solved using ionomics and ecological stoichiometry.
Aim
Aggregated species occurrence data are increasingly accessible through public databases for the analysis of temporal trends in the geographic distributions of species. However, biases in these data present challenges for statistical inference. We assessed potential biases in data available through GBIF on the occurrences of four flower‐visiting taxa: bees (Anthophila), hoverflies (Syrphidae), leaf‐nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) and hummingbirds (Trochilidae). We also assessed whether and to what extent data mobilization efforts improved our ability to estimate trends in species' distributions.
Location
The Neotropics.
Methods
We used five data‐driven heuristics to screen the data for potential geographic, temporal and taxonomic biases. We began with a continental‐scale assessment of the data for all four taxa. We then identified two recent data mobilization efforts (2021) that drastically increased the quantity of records of bees collected in Chile available through GBIF. We compared the dataset before and after the addition of these new records in terms of their biases and estimated trends in species' distributions.
Results
We found evidence of potential sampling biases for all taxa. The addition of newly‐mobilized records of bees in Chile decreased some biases but introduced others. Despite increasing the quantity of data for bees in Chile sixfold, estimates of trends in species' distributions derived using the postmobilization dataset were broadly similar to what would have been estimated before their introduction, albeit more precise.
Main conclusions
Our results highlight the challenges associated with drawing robust inferences about trends in species' distributions using publicly available data. Mobilizing historic records will not always enable trend estimation because more data do not necessarily equal less bias. Analysts should carefully assess their data before conducting analyses: this might enable the estimation of more robust trends and help to identify strategies for effective data mobilization. Our study also reinforces the need for targeted monitoring of pollinators worldwide.
Apis dorsata F. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), the giant honey bee of southern Asia, is an important pollinator of crops and non-cultivated angiosperms, and a producer of honey and beeswax. Its populations are in decline in many areas. Colonies migrate seasonally between highland and lowland nesting sites, taking advantage of available food sources. In 2009, a stopover site was discovered in Thailand where numerous migrating colonies bivouacked near one another. Bivouacs used the site again in 2010. I went to the site in 2016 to test the hypothesis that bees use the site regularly as part of an annual migration. I witnessed many bivouacs, spanning almost precisely the same time period and occupying the same area as in 2010. Here I describe their migratory dances in preparation for departure and their subsequent flights as well as periodic mass flight and defensive behavior. Analysis of photographs indicated that the bivouacking bees aged slowly and may thus live long enough to be capable of intergenerational transmission of migratory route knowledge. I describe attributes of the stopover site, e.g., abundant food and water availability, its location along a major river, and other possible navigational cues. Although the site is the only one of its kind so far known to researchers, such stopover sites probably exist wherever giant honey bees undertake long seasonal migrations. I recommend searching for bivouacking sites, particularly along rivers, wherever giant honey bees migrate. Stopover sites are undoubtedly essential to the life history and health of migratory bee populations, and thus warrant conservation policies.
While the cultivated area of pollinator-dependent crops is increasing, pollinator availability is decreasing, leading to problems in many agroecosystems. For this reason, pollinator-dependent crop growers often rent beehives to support their pollination requirements to sustain fruit productivity. However, the efficiency of those pollination systems has not been extensively studied. Here, we compared the effect of “precision” pollination (i.e., application of pesticides coordinated with growers, audit of hives, dietary supplementation and individual distribution of hives) with conventional practices (i.e., pesticides applications without coordination with growers and no audit of hives, low maintenance of hives and hives distributed in large groups) on the mean level of pollination and fruit production and quality in blueberry crops. In nine blueberry fields, we measured bee visitation rate to flowers, fruit set, fruit firmness and fruit weight. On average, precision-pollinated plots had 70% more bee visits to flowers and produced 13% more fruits that were 12% heavier and 12% firmer than those obtained through conventional practices. These results showed that pollination efficiency could be improved if key management related to bee strength, distribution and health care are taken into account. Due to these results, we encourage growers and beekeepers to include precision pollination practices to both increase the productivity of blueberry fields and the wellbeing of honey bees within agroecosystems.
Non-bee insects have been identified as important crop pollinators globally. However, strategies to protect pollinators and enhance crop pollination usually focus on supporting bees. This study examined the effects of landscape structure, location within field, and floral resources on pollinators’ visits on mass-flowering caraway (Carum carvi L.) in boreal farmland, and the effects of the visits on caraway yield. Pollinator visits on caraway flowers were monitored and caraway yield measured in 30 fields at landscapes ranging from field-dominated to forest-dominated landscapes. Hoverflies were the most abundant flower-visitors of caraway, followed by honeybees. Hoverflies and other flies made more flower visits on caraway than all bee species combined. Pollinator groups differed in their responses to landscape and local factors. Flies were most abundant near field edges and in landscapes with high forest cover. Non-syrphid flies and solitary bees responded positively to the cover of flowering herbs in the adjacent field margins. Flower visits by honeybees, instead, were positively related to the flowering crop cover in the study fields. Caraway seed yield increased with increasing number of flower visits by honeybees, hoverflies and all pollinators together. Pollinator exclusion reduced caraway fruit set (i.e. the number of fruits per flower) by 13% and seed yield by 40%. Our study is the first to report the high importance of flies to crop pollination in boreal farmland, where caraway is an important export crop. The results highlight the need of taking flies and their habitat requirements into account when developing strategies to enhance crop pollination.
Insect pollinators and insect herbivores affect plant reproduction and fitness. Floral displays are used to attract and manipulate pollinators' behavior to support plant sexual reproduction while rewarding the visitors with access to nectar and pollen. The plant-pollinator interactions use various semiochemicals as important communication channels for successful species interaction networks. Floral display and scents can also attract insect herbivores (in which case they act as kairomones). Consequently, semiochemical-color-based traps used for monitoring pest insects in crop fields often accidentally capture pollinators, and these interactions simultaneously affect pest monitoring, pollinator assemblages, and crop production in agroecosystems. An integrated interdisciplinary approach that would use inter-and intraspecific signals employed by foraging insects for predator's avoidance with the goal of deterring pollinators and beneficial insects from entering pesticide-treated fields is proposed. Specifically, it should be possible to reduce the bycatch of pollinators by pest monitoring traps if these trap lures also include the alarm pheromones of insect pollinators such as bees. In addition, other tactics for pollinator protection could include first the application of nonlethal repel-lants to fields that have recently been treated with synthetic chemical pesticides to deter pollinators' visitation. A second action would be to incorporate the results of comparative risk evaluations (pollinators vs pests) for botanical pesticides, as well as for synthetic pesticides. Finally, we urge that wild pollinator species be included in pesticide risk assessments, especially for new classes of insecticides. Collectively, these actions should integrate pest and pollinator management strategies.
Pollinators are globally recognized for their role in ecosystem function and reports of pollinator declines are a source of public and academic concern. However, pollinator decline is often erroneously interpreted as if crop pollination services are under threat, which can lead to misguided efforts to protect introduced and/or widespread crop pollinating species that are not in decline, without addressing the needs of other imperilled species. The honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) in particular has widespread recognition for its role as an integral agricultural pollinator and is the focus of many pollinator campaigns. However, we argue outside of their native range that honey bees are inappropriate as umbrella or flagship species for the conservation of pollinators.
The voluntary non-monetary approach to conservation refers to actions that citizens or organizations could voluntarily implement in their area of influence without the incentive of monetary compensations. To be effectively implemented by untrained actors, actions should be clearly defined, straightforward to implement and not require specific scientific knowledge. The costs of actions should also be sufficiently affordable to be widely applied without monetary incentives. A voluntary non-monetary approach has so far not been clearly described as a distinct group of tools for nature conservation. Here we review the scarce scientific literature on the topic. To illustrate the applicability of a voluntary non-monetary approach to conservation, we then investigate its potential for farmland conservation. We considered a list of 119 actions available from “conservation-evidence”, a source of systematically collected evidence on effectiveness of conservation actions. Among 119 actions, 95 could be scored for feasibility of implementation, costs, and existence of evidence in UK, Spain and Finland. Sixteen to seventeen actions were potentially suitable for implementation by a voluntary non-monetary approach. This implies that the voluntary non-monetary approach could be widely applicable across many countries and environments. It is our hope that this study will represent a clarion call for conservation scientists to clearly recognize the voluntary non-monetary approach, its characteristics, and its potential for addressing conservation issues on private land. Adoption of such voluntary measures may be more dependent on encouragement (‘nudging’) than on the usual coercive or financial emphasis (‘shoving’).
Our review looks at pollinator conservation and highlights the differences in approach between managing for pollination services and preserving pollinator diversity. We argue that ecosystem service management does not equal biodiversity conservation, and that maintaining species diversity is crucial in providing ecosystem resilience in the face of future environmental change. Management and policy measures therefore need to focus on species not just in human dominated landscapes but need to benefit wider diversity of species including those in specialised habitats. We argue that only by adopting a holistic ecosystem approach we can ensure the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the long-term.
Ecological intensification has been promoted as a means to achieve environmentally sustainable increases in crop yields by enhancing ecosystem functions that regulate and support production. There is, however, little direct evidence of yield benefits from ecological intensification on commercial farms growing globally important foodstuffs (grains, oilseeds and pulses). We replicated two treatments removing 3 or 8% of land at the field edge from production to create wildlife habitat in 50–60 ha patches over a 900 ha commercial arable farm in central England, and compared these to a business as usual control (no land removed). In the control fields, crop yields were reduced by as much as 38% at the field edge. Habitat creation in these lower yielding areas led to increased yield in the cropped areas of the fields, and this positive effect became more pronounced over 6 years. As a consequence, yields at the field scale were maintained—and, indeed, enhanced for some crops—despite the loss of cropland for habitat creation. These results suggested that over a 5-year crop rotation, there would be no adverse impact on overall yield in terms of monetary value or nutritional energy. This study provides a clear demonstration that wildlife-friendly management which supports ecosystem services is compatible with, and can even increase, crop yields.
There is compelling evidence that more diverse ecosystems deliver greater benefits to people, and these ecosystem services have become a key argument for biodiversity conservation. However, it is unclear how much biodiversity is needed to deliver ecosystem services in a cost-effective way. Here we show that, while the contribution of wild bees to crop production is significant, service delivery is restricted to a limited subset of all known bee species. Across crops, years and biogeographical regions, crop-visiting wild bee communities are dominated by a small number of common species, and threatened species are rarely observed on crops. Dominant crop pollinators persist under agricultural expansion and many are easily enhanced by simple conservation measures, suggesting that cost-effective management strategies to promote crop pollination should target a different set of species than management strategies to promote threatened bees. Conserving the biological diversity of bees therefore requires more than just ecosystem-service-based arguments.
Over half of the European landscape is under agricultural management and has been for millennia. Many species and ecosystems of conservation concern in Europe depend on agricultural management and are showing ongoing declines. Agri-environment schemes (AES) are designed partly to address this. They are a major source of nature conservation funding within the European Union (EU) and the highest conservation expenditure in Europe. We reviewed the structure of current AES across Europe. Since a 2003 review questioned the overall effectiveness of AES for biodiversity, there has been a plethora of case studies and meta-analyses examining their effectiveness. Most syntheses demonstrate general increases in farmland biodiversity in response to AES, with the size of the effect depending on the structure and management of the surrounding landscape. This is important in the light of successive EU enlargement and ongoing reforms of AES. We examined the change in effect size over time by merging the data sets of 3 recent meta-analyses and found that schemes implemented after revision of the EU's agri-environmental programs in 2007 were not more effective than schemes implemented before revision. Furthermore, schemes aimed at areas out of production (such as field margins and hedgerows) are more effective at enhancing species richness than those aimed at productive areas (such as arable crops or grasslands). Outstanding research questions include whether AES enhance ecosystem services, whether they are more effective in agriculturally marginal areas than in intensively farmed areas, whether they are more or less cost-effective for farmland biodiversity than protected areas, and how much their effectiveness is influenced by farmer training and advice? The general lesson from the European experience is that AES can be effective for conserving wildlife on farmland, but they are expensive and need to be carefully designed and targeted.
This Special Issue on Diversified Farming Systems is motivated by a desire to understand how agriculture designed according to whole systems, agroecological principles can contribute to creating a more sustainable, socially just, and secure global food system. We first define Diversified Farming Systems (DFS) as farming practices and landscapes that intentionally include functional biodiversity at multiple spatial and/or temporal scales in order to maintain ecosystem services that provide critical inputs to agriculture, such as soil fertility, pest and disease control, water use efficiency, and pollination. We explore to what extent DFS overlap or are differentiated from existing concepts such as sustainable, multifunctional, organic or ecoagriculture. DFS are components of social-ecological systems that depend on certain combinations of traditional and contemporary knowledge, cultures, practices, and governance structures. Further, as ecosystem services are generated and regenerated within a DFS, the resulting social benefits in turn support the maintenance of the DFS, enhancing its ability to provision these services sustainably. We explore how social institutions, particularly alternative agri-food networks and agrarian movements, may serve to promote DFS approaches, but note that such networks and movements have other primary goals and are not always explicitly connected to the environmental and agroecological concerns embodied within the DFS concept. We examine global trends in agriculture to investigate to what extent industrialized forms of agriculture are replacing former DFS, assess the current and potential contributions of DFS to food security, food sovereignty and the global food supply, and determine where and under what circumstances DFS are expanding rather than contracting.
Bees are subject to numerous pressures in the modern world. The abundance and diversity of flowers has declined, bees are chronically exposed to cocktails of agrochemicals, and they are simultaneously exposed to novel parasites accidentally spread by humans. Climate change is likely to exacerbate these problems in the future. Stressors do not act in isolation; for example pesticide exposure can impair both detoxification mechanisms and immune responses, rendering bees more susceptible to parasites. It seems certain that chronic exposure to multiple, interacting stressors is driving honey bee colony losses and declines of wild pollinators, but such interactions are not addressed by current regulatory procedures and studying these interactions experimentally poses a major challenge. In the meantime, taking steps to reduce stress on bees would seem prudent; incorporating flower-rich habitat into farmland, reducing pesticide use through adopting more sustainable farming methods, and enforcing effective quarantine measures on bee movements are all practical measures that should be adopted. Effective monitoring of wild pollinator populations is urgently needed to inform management strategies into the future.
Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Over a million commercially produced bumblebee colonies are imported annually on a global scale for the pollination of greenhouse crops. After importation, they interact with other pollinators, with an associated risk of any parasites they carry infecting and harming native bees. National and supranational regulations are designed to prevent this, and commercially produced bumblebee colonies are accordingly now often sold and imported as being parasite-free.
Here, we used molecular methods to examine the occurrence of parasites in bumblebee colonies that were commercially produced in 2011 and 2012 by three producers. We then used controlled experiments to determine whether any parasites present were infectious.
We found that 77% of the commercially produced bumblebee colonies from the three producers, which were imported on the basis of being free of parasites, in fact carried microbial parasites, with five different parasites being detected across the total sample of bumblebees and a further three in the pollen supplied with the colonies as food.
Our controlled experiments demonstrated that at least three of these parasites were infectious to bumblebees with significant negative effects on their health. Furthermore, we also found that at least four of the parasites carried by commercially produced bumblebees were infectious to honeybees, indicating that they pose a risk to other pollinators as well.
Synthesis and applications. The results demonstrate that commercially produced bumblebee colonies carry multiple, infectious parasites that pose a significant risk to other native and managed pollinators. More effective disease detection and management strategies are urgently needed to reduce the pathogen spillover threat from commercially produced bumblebees.
This text combines two basically different views on pest control namely the scientific researcher's view on pest control and the pesticide regulator's views on pesticide control aiming at a common and pragmatic ecological approach. A set of practicable ’tools’ are discussed that can be used to monitor and reduce environmental impact on agro-ecosystems where the ultimate goal is to move towards a more environmentally sustainable agriculture. General principles governing farming systems and pest control strategies are illustrated with pesticide use and pesticide risk reduction measures in coffee and rice cultivations. Adaptive pest control based on Integrated Pest Management with a rational use of pesticides as a last resort is suggested to be the most viable way forward.
The 2008 food crisis has challenged the political legitimacy and economic efficiency of the liberalization of international agricultural trade. An alternative vision defended by the food sovereignty movement is that long-term food security cannot rely on dependency on food imports, but must be built on the development of domestic production with enough barrier protection to shelter it from world price fluctuations and unfair trading. The purpose of this paper is to look into whether the West African nations can achieve food sovereignty given their various trade commitments and other external constraints. The particularity of our approach is to combine a historical economic analysis with a political approach to food sovereignty and trade commitments. Our results suggest that external brakes on the development of food sovereignty policies are marginal, as the countries still have unused room for manoeuvre to protect their smallholder agriculture under the terms of draft World Trade Organization agreements and Economic Partnership Agreements and under the international financial institutions’ recommendations. Rather, the international environment seems to be instrumented by West African states that do not manage to secure a national political consensus to drive structural reforms deemed vital and further the food security of the urban populations over the marginalized rural populations. Recently, the regional integration process has made headway with a common agricultural support and protection policy project that could herald an internal political balance more conducive to food-producing agriculture.
Over the years hundreds of different chemicals have been introduced as active substances in pesticide products on the international market. Several have become obsolete due to unacceptable health and environmental hazards or problems with resistance. Navigating the wide selection of pesticides is not a simple task and some non-governmental organizations provide information about the most unwanted in the form of 'blacklists'. For decades the principle of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has been recommended for plant protection, but it is not a trivial task to determine what pesticides could be included in IPM programmes to avoid biological disruption. It is believed that the IOMC – the Inter-organization Programme for Sound Management of Chemicals – is the appropriate forum for provision of additional guidance and leadership with regard to choice of appropriate pesticides. A list of minimum-impact pesticides should be made easily accessible in several languages and a mechanism for updating this list should be developed. In addition, a multi-stakeholder re-evaluation of the International Code of Conduct should be initiated and it may be appropriate to propose a strengthening of the IPM focus of the Code and to include explicitly 'Responsible Care' and 'Product Stewardship' as integral parts of the pesticide industry's voluntary role. Countries without modern comprehensive pesticide legislation are those that would benefit the most from implementing the International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides. However, pesticide control issues currently may not be high on the political agenda. To pave the way for legislation or a generally accepted implementation of the Code it should be made easily available to a wide range of stakeholders in the Developing World.
Rising demands for agricultural products will increase pressure to further intensify crop production, while negative environmental impacts have to be minimized. Ecological intensification entails the environmentally friendly replacement of anthropogenic inputs and/or enhancement of crop productivity, by including regulating and supporting ecosystem services management in agricultural practices. Effective ecological intensification requires an understanding of the relations between land use at different scales and the community composition of ecosystem service-providing organisms above and below ground, and the flow, stability, contribution to yield, and management costs of the multiple services delivered by these organisms. Research efforts and investments are particularly needed to reduce existing yield gaps by integrating context-appropriate bundles of ecosystem services into crop production systems.
- D Goulson
- E Nicholls
- C Botías
- E L Rotheray
D. Goulson, E. Nicholls, C. Botías, E. L. Rotheray, Science 347,
1255957 (2015).
Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides
European Commission, "Directive 2009/128/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009
establishing a framework for Community action to achieve
the sustainable use of pesticides" (Official Journal of the
European Union, Brussels, 2009).
- G Ekström
- B Ekbom
G. Ekström, B. Ekbom, Criti. Rev. Plant Sci. 30, 74 (2011).
- P Ra Y S T O C K
P. G ra y s t o c k et al., J. Appl. Ecol. 50, 1207 (2013).
- R Bommarco
- D Kleijn
- S G Potts
R. Bommarco, D. Kleijn, S. G. Potts, Trends Ecol. Evol. 28, 230
(2013).
- P Batáry
- L V Dicks
- D Kleijn
- W J Sutherland
P. Batáry, L. V. Dicks, D. Kleijn, W. J. Sutherland, Conserv. Biol.
29, 1006 (2015).
- C Laroche Dupraz
- A Postolle
C. Laroche Dupraz, A. Postolle, Food Policy 38, 115 (2013).
- D Kleijn
D. Kleijn et al., Nat. Commun. 6, 7414 (2015).
Green infrastructure (GI)Enhancing Europe's natural capital
European Commission, "Green infrastructure (GI)Enhancing Europe's natural capital" (COM/2013/0249 final,
EC, Brussels, 2013).
- A Santangeli
A. Santangeli et al., Biol. Conserv. 197, 209 (2016).
- D Senapathi
D. Senapathi et al., Curr. Opin. Insect Sci. 12, 93 (2015).
Ten policies for pollinators Editor's Summary This copy is for your personal
- Rosemary Hill
- V Ariadna
- Carmen Lopes
- Hisatomo Pires
- María Taki
- Del Coro
- Saul A Arizmendi
- Leonardo Cunningham
- Lynn V Galetto
- Blandina Dicks
- Riccardo Viana
- Berry Bommarco
- Brosi
Rosemary Hill, Ariadna V. Lopes, Carmen Pires, Hisatomo Taki and
María del Coro Arizmendi, Saul A. Cunningham, Leonardo Galetto,
Lynn V. Dicks, Blandina Viana, Riccardo Bommarco, Berry Brosi,
Ten policies for pollinators
Editor's Summary
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only.
- G Ekström
- B Ekbom
G. Ekström, B. Ekbom, Outlook Pest Manag. 21, 125 (2010).
- R F Pywell
R. F. Pywell et al., Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. B 282, 20151740
(2015).
Design and testing of a National Pollinator and Pollination Monitoring Framework. Final summary report to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Scottish Government, and Welsh Government: Project WC1101 (Defra
- C Carvell
- Carvell C.
Écologie du Développement Durable et de l'Énergie, Plan national d'actions “France Terre de pollinisateurs”; pour la préservation des abeilles et des insectes pollinisateurs sauvages
- Ministére
- Ministére de l'Écologie du Développement Durable et de l'Énergie
Green infrastructure (GI)-Enhancing Europe's natural capital (COM/2013/0249 final
- European Commission
establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides
- European Commission
Report of the ad hoc technical expert group on risk assessment and risk management
- CBD