Mass-flowering crops have a greater impact than semi-natural habitat on crop pollinators and pollen deposition

Shaw, Rosalind F.; Phillips, Benjamin B.; Doyle, Toby; Pell, Judith K.; Redhead, John W. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2233-3848; Savage, Joanna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5280-5148; Woodcock, Ben A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0300-9951; Bullock, James M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0529-4020; Osborne, Juliet L.. 2020 Mass-flowering crops have a greater impact than semi-natural habitat on crop pollinators and pollen deposition. Landscape Ecology, 35 (2). 513-527. 10.1007/s10980-019-00962-0

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10980-019-00962-0

Abstract/Summary

Context: Maximising insect pollination of mass-flowering crops is a widely-discussed approach to sustainable agriculture. Management actions can target landscape-scale semi-natural habitat, cropping patterns or field-scale features, but little is known about their relative effectiveness. Objective: To test how landscape composition (area of mass-flowering crops and semi-natural habitat) and field-scale habitat (margins and hedges) affect pollinator species richness, abundance, and pollen deposition within crop fields. Methods: We surveyed all flower visitors (Diptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera) in oilseed rape fields and related them to landscape composition and field features. Flower visitors were classified as bees, non-bee pollinators and brassica specialists. Total pollen deposition by individual taxa was estimated using single visit pollen deposition on stigmas combined with insect abundance. Results: The area of mass-flowering crop had a negative effect on the species richness and abundance of bees in fields, but not other flower visitors. The area of semi-natural habitat in the surrounding landscape had a positive effect on bees, but was not as important as the area of mass-flowering crop. Taxonomic richness and abundance varied significantly between years for non-bee pollinators. Greater cover of mass-flowering crops surrounding fields had a negative effect on pollen deposition, but only when non-bee pollinator numbers were reduced. Conclusions: Management choices that result in landscape homogenisation, such as large areas of mass-flowering crops, may reduce pollination services by reducing the numbers of bees visiting fields. Non-bee insect pollinators may buffer these landscape effects on pollen deposition, and management to support their populations should be considered.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1007/s10980-019-00962-0
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Biodiversity (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	0921-2973
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	wild pollinators, flies, Diptera, landscape, pollination services, bees, beetles, Brassica napus, field margins
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	21 Feb 2020 11:59 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/527014

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1007/s10980-019-00962-0

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Biodiversity (Science Area 2017-)

ISSN:

0921-2973

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.

Additional Keywords:

wild pollinators, flies, Diptera, landscape, pollination services, bees, beetles, Brassica napus, field margins