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Plant-pollinator networks in semi-natural grasslands are resistant to the loss of pollinators during blooming of mass-flowering crops

Magrach, Ainhoa ; Holzschuh, Andrea ; Bartomeus, Ignasi ; Riedinger, Verena ; Roberts, Stuart P. M. ; Rundlöf, Maj LU orcid ; Vujić, Ante ; Wickens, Jennifer B. ; Wickens, Victoria J. and Bommarco, Riccardo LU , et al. (2018) In Ecography 41(1). p.62-74
Abstract

Mass-flowering crops lead to spatial redistributions of pollinators and to transient shortages within nearby semi-natural grasslands, but the impacts on plant-pollinator interactions remain largely unexplored. Here, we characterised which pollinator species are attracted by oilseed rape and how this affected the structure of plant-pollinator networks in nearby grasslands. We surveyed 177 networks from three countries (Germany, Sweden and United Kingdom) in 24 landscapes with high crop cover, and compared them to 24 landscapes with low or no oilseed rape during and after crop blooming. On average 55% of grassland pollinator species were found on the crop, which attracted 8-35% of individuals away from grasslands. However, networks in the... (More)

Mass-flowering crops lead to spatial redistributions of pollinators and to transient shortages within nearby semi-natural grasslands, but the impacts on plant-pollinator interactions remain largely unexplored. Here, we characterised which pollinator species are attracted by oilseed rape and how this affected the structure of plant-pollinator networks in nearby grasslands. We surveyed 177 networks from three countries (Germany, Sweden and United Kingdom) in 24 landscapes with high crop cover, and compared them to 24 landscapes with low or no oilseed rape during and after crop blooming. On average 55% of grassland pollinator species were found on the crop, which attracted 8-35% of individuals away from grasslands. However, networks in the grasslands were resistant to these reductions, since mainly abundant and highly mobile species were attracted. Nonetheless, simulations indicated that network structural changes could be triggered if > 50% of individuals were attracted to the crop (a value well-above that found in our study system), which could affect community stability and resilience to further disturbance.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Ecography
volume
41
issue
1
pages
62 - 74
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85017395073
ISSN
0906-7590
DOI
10.1111/ecog.02847
project
Enhancing biodiversity-based ecosystem services to crops though optimized densities of green infrastructure in agricultural landscapes
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
09e2d8d1-a4b5-4bcd-b5b2-3c6b27c13bd5
date added to LUP
2017-05-05 14:29:02
date last changed
2022-03-16 22:09:36
@article{09e2d8d1-a4b5-4bcd-b5b2-3c6b27c13bd5,
  abstract     = {{<p>Mass-flowering crops lead to spatial redistributions of pollinators and to transient shortages within nearby semi-natural grasslands, but the impacts on plant-pollinator interactions remain largely unexplored. Here, we characterised which pollinator species are attracted by oilseed rape and how this affected the structure of plant-pollinator networks in nearby grasslands. We surveyed 177 networks from three countries (Germany, Sweden and United Kingdom) in 24 landscapes with high crop cover, and compared them to 24 landscapes with low or no oilseed rape during and after crop blooming. On average 55% of grassland pollinator species were found on the crop, which attracted 8-35% of individuals away from grasslands. However, networks in the grasslands were resistant to these reductions, since mainly abundant and highly mobile species were attracted. Nonetheless, simulations indicated that network structural changes could be triggered if &gt; 50% of individuals were attracted to the crop (a value well-above that found in our study system), which could affect community stability and resilience to further disturbance.</p>}},
  author       = {{Magrach, Ainhoa and Holzschuh, Andrea and Bartomeus, Ignasi and Riedinger, Verena and Roberts, Stuart P. M. and Rundlöf, Maj and Vujić, Ante and Wickens, Jennifer B. and Wickens, Victoria J. and Bommarco, Riccardo and González-Varo, Juan P. and Potts, Simon G. and Smith, Henrik G. and Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf and Vilà, Montserrat}},
  issn         = {{0906-7590}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{62--74}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Ecography}},
  title        = {{Plant-pollinator networks in semi-natural grasslands are resistant to the loss of pollinators during blooming of mass-flowering crops}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ecog.02847}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/ecog.02847}},
  volume       = {{41}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}