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Using ecological and field survey data to establish a national list of the wild bee pollinators of crops

Hutchinson, Louise A. ; Oliver, Tom H. ; Breeze, Tom D. ; Bailes, Emily J. ; Brünjes, Lisa ; Campbell, Alistair J. ; Erhardt, Andreas ; de Groot, G. Arjen ; Földesi, Rita and García, Daniel , et al. (2021) In Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 315.
Abstract

The importance of wild bees for crop pollination is well established, but less is known about which species contribute to service delivery to inform agricultural management, monitoring and conservation. Using sites in Great Britain as a case study, we use a novel qualitative approach combining ecological information and field survey data to establish a national list of crop pollinating bees for four economically important crops (apple, field bean, oilseed rape and strawberry). A traits data base was used to establish potential pollinators, and combined with field data to identify both dominant crop flower visiting bee species and other species that could be important crop pollinators, but which are not presently sampled in large numbers... (More)

The importance of wild bees for crop pollination is well established, but less is known about which species contribute to service delivery to inform agricultural management, monitoring and conservation. Using sites in Great Britain as a case study, we use a novel qualitative approach combining ecological information and field survey data to establish a national list of crop pollinating bees for four economically important crops (apple, field bean, oilseed rape and strawberry). A traits data base was used to establish potential pollinators, and combined with field data to identify both dominant crop flower visiting bee species and other species that could be important crop pollinators, but which are not presently sampled in large numbers on crops flowers. Whilst we found evidence that a small number of common, generalist species make a disproportionate contribution to flower visits, many more species were identified as potential pollinators, including rare and specialist species. Furthermore, we found evidence of substantial variation in the bee communities of different crops. Establishing a national list of crop pollinators is important for practitioners and policy makers, allowing targeted management approaches for improved ecosystem services, conservation and species monitoring. Data can be used to make recommendations about how pollinator diversity could be promoted in agricultural landscapes. Our results suggest agri-environment schemes need to support a higher diversity of species than at present, notably of solitary bees. Management would also benefit from targeting specific species to enhance crop pollination services to particular crops. Whilst our study is focused upon Great Britain, our methodology can easily be applied to other countries, crops and groups of pollinating insects.

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type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Agri-environment Schemes, Apple, Biodiversity, Crop pollination, Dominant pollinators, Ecosystem services, Field bean, Oilseed rape, Rare species, Strawberry
in
Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
volume
315
article number
107447
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85104105838
ISSN
0167-8809
DOI
10.1016/j.agee.2021.107447
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0e050261-ec68-4c3d-a6ae-fd24eb897f13
date added to LUP
2021-04-26 08:20:33
date last changed
2024-05-04 06:22:30
@article{0e050261-ec68-4c3d-a6ae-fd24eb897f13,
  abstract     = {{<p>The importance of wild bees for crop pollination is well established, but less is known about which species contribute to service delivery to inform agricultural management, monitoring and conservation. Using sites in Great Britain as a case study, we use a novel qualitative approach combining ecological information and field survey data to establish a national list of crop pollinating bees for four economically important crops (apple, field bean, oilseed rape and strawberry). A traits data base was used to establish potential pollinators, and combined with field data to identify both dominant crop flower visiting bee species and other species that could be important crop pollinators, but which are not presently sampled in large numbers on crops flowers. Whilst we found evidence that a small number of common, generalist species make a disproportionate contribution to flower visits, many more species were identified as potential pollinators, including rare and specialist species. Furthermore, we found evidence of substantial variation in the bee communities of different crops. Establishing a national list of crop pollinators is important for practitioners and policy makers, allowing targeted management approaches for improved ecosystem services, conservation and species monitoring. Data can be used to make recommendations about how pollinator diversity could be promoted in agricultural landscapes. Our results suggest agri-environment schemes need to support a higher diversity of species than at present, notably of solitary bees. Management would also benefit from targeting specific species to enhance crop pollination services to particular crops. Whilst our study is focused upon Great Britain, our methodology can easily be applied to other countries, crops and groups of pollinating insects.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hutchinson, Louise A. and Oliver, Tom H. and Breeze, Tom D. and Bailes, Emily J. and Brünjes, Lisa and Campbell, Alistair J. and Erhardt, Andreas and de Groot, G. Arjen and Földesi, Rita and García, Daniel and Goulson, Dave and Hainaut, Hélène and Hambäck, Peter A. and Holzschuh, Andrea and Jauker, Frank and Klatt, Björn K. and Klein, Alexandra Maria and Kleijn, David and Kovács-Hostyánszki, Anikó and Krimmer, Elena and McKerchar, Megan and Miñarro, Marcos and Phillips, Benjamin B. and Potts, Simon G. and Pufal, Gesine and Radzevičiūtė, Rita and Roberts, Stuart P.M. and Samnegård, Ulrika and Schulze, Jürg and Shaw, Rosalind F. and Tscharntke, Teja and Vereecken, Nicolas J. and Westbury, Duncan B. and Westphal, Catrin and Wietzke, Alexander and Woodcock, Ben A. and Garratt, Michael P.D.}},
  issn         = {{0167-8809}},
  keywords     = {{Agri-environment Schemes; Apple; Biodiversity; Crop pollination; Dominant pollinators; Ecosystem services; Field bean; Oilseed rape; Rare species; Strawberry}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment}},
  title        = {{Using ecological and field survey data to establish a national list of the wild bee pollinators of crops}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2021.107447}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.agee.2021.107447}},
  volume       = {{315}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}