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Landscape composition can influence reproductive success of plants in semi-natural grasslands depending on their pollinator dependence

Krausl, Theresia LU orcid ; Hederström, Veronica LU ; Quan, YuanYuan LU orcid and Clough, Yann LU orcid (2025) In Biological Conservation 308.
Abstract
In a world where insect pollinator declines are a reality, understanding their effects on the reproduction and persistence of wild plant species is vital to contribute to decisions for appropriate conservation strategies. This is especially true in areas which host a high species diversity, like European semi-natural grasslands. In fragmented habitats in particular, pollinator availability can be influenced by surrounding land use, leading to potential cascading effects of land use on plant reproductive success, which is a key factor in wild plant population dynamics. Here, we assess how the proportion of four land-use types (arable land, forest, leys and permanent grasslands) in the surrounding landscape affects pollinator availability... (More)
In a world where insect pollinator declines are a reality, understanding their effects on the reproduction and persistence of wild plant species is vital to contribute to decisions for appropriate conservation strategies. This is especially true in areas which host a high species diversity, like European semi-natural grasslands. In fragmented habitats in particular, pollinator availability can be influenced by surrounding land use, leading to potential cascading effects of land use on plant reproductive success, which is a key factor in wild plant population dynamics. Here, we assess how the proportion of four land-use types (arable land, forest, leys and permanent grasslands) in the surrounding landscape affects pollinator availability and seed set in semi-natural pastures for three plant species varying in pollinator dependence. We found that landscape composition can be connected to the reproductive output of two pollinator-dependent plant species (Lotus corniculatus and Achillea millefolium), and partly to the availability of their pollinators (bumblebees and flies), while a wind-pollinated species (Plantago lanceolata) was less affected. Furthermore, we found that the relationship between pollinator availability and reproductive success can be non-linear, indicating an optimum beyond which plants can be subjected to over-pollination. Pollinator availability and reproductive success were affected in different ways by land-use depending on the plant species. Our results suggest that maintaining and restoring habitat diversity so that landscapes include structural elements like forests as well as extensive land-use types tied to open land will help to support the persistence of the variety of plants that occur in semi-natural grasslands.
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
pollination, land-use change, landscape composition, pollinator declines, ecosystem services, seed set
in
Biological Conservation
volume
308
article number
111220
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:105005338307
ISSN
1873-2917
DOI
10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111220
project
Driven by mutualists: how declines in pollinators impact plant communities and ecosystem functioning (ERC CoG)
Effects of pollinator decline on ecosystem functioning
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
8c2317bd-5bc7-4d8b-83dc-2635f16a01ba
date added to LUP
2025-05-20 08:34:31
date last changed
2025-05-27 04:04:14
@article{8c2317bd-5bc7-4d8b-83dc-2635f16a01ba,
  abstract     = {{In a world where insect pollinator declines are a reality, understanding their effects on the reproduction and persistence of wild plant species is vital to contribute to decisions for appropriate conservation strategies. This is especially true in areas which host a high species diversity, like European semi-natural grasslands. In fragmented habitats in particular, pollinator availability can be influenced by surrounding land use, leading to potential cascading effects of land use on plant reproductive success, which is a key factor in wild plant population dynamics. Here, we assess how the proportion of four land-use types (arable land, forest, leys and permanent grasslands) in the surrounding landscape affects pollinator availability and seed set in semi-natural pastures for three plant species varying in pollinator dependence. We found that landscape composition can be connected to the reproductive output of two pollinator-dependent plant species (<i>Lotus corniculatus</i> and <i>Achillea millefolium</i>), and partly to the availability of their pollinators (bumblebees and flies), while a wind-pollinated species (<i>Plantago lanceolata</i>) was less affected. Furthermore, we found that the relationship between pollinator availability and reproductive success can be non-linear, indicating an optimum beyond which plants can be subjected to over-pollination. Pollinator availability and reproductive success were affected in different ways by land-use depending on the plant species. Our results suggest that maintaining and restoring habitat diversity so that landscapes include structural elements like forests as well as extensive land-use types tied to open land will help to support the persistence of the variety of plants that occur in semi-natural grasslands.<br/>}},
  author       = {{Krausl, Theresia and Hederström, Veronica and Quan, YuanYuan and Clough, Yann}},
  issn         = {{1873-2917}},
  keywords     = {{pollination; land-use change; landscape composition; pollinator declines; ecosystem services; seed set}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Biological Conservation}},
  title        = {{Landscape composition can influence reproductive success of plants in semi-natural grasslands depending on their pollinator dependence}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111220}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111220}},
  volume       = {{308}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}