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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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From:
Peter Loring Borst <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 3 May 2015 08:03:04 -0400
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A lot of work has been done on the restoration of the conditions supportive of native pollinators. Much of it centers on hedge rows and patches of unmanaged land. The region where I live is perhaps the best example of such an environment, where there are unmanaged woodlots (my back yard), low intensity farming, residences, etc. Whether such a concept could be incorporated into large scale farming depends on incentives. Perhaps tax breaks or grants could lead to the setting aside of farm lands to harbor native pollinators.

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Agriculture now constitutes 40–50% of terrestrial land use globally. By enhancing habitat suitability and connectivity, restoration within agricultural landscapes could have a major influence on biodiversity conservation  

We found that hedgerows not only significantly enhanced occurrences of native bee and syrphid fly species, but that as hedgerows matured, they had a greater positive effect on species that were more specialized in floral and nesting resources and smaller (less mobile).  

Unlike previous studies that suggest habitat restoration in agricultural landscapes only benefits mobile, generalist species, our results suggest that small-scale habitat restoration can promote species whose traits likely render them particularly vulnerable to habitat degradation. 

Thus, even within highly intensive agricultural landscapes, small-scale habitat restoration can be a conservation management tool. However, tailoring habitat enhancements to promote certain species or guilds may be critical for their success as a conservation intervention in agricultural landscapes.

Restoring habitat for flower visitors in agricultural landscapes might also promote important ecosystem functions and services on adjacent farm fields like pollination and pest control. While some direct evidence supports a positive role of native plant restoration in promoting pest control and crop pollination in adjacent fields, it remains to be determined whether this differential effect of restoration on response traits of flower visitor communities would translate into measurable improvements in ecosystem services.

Kremen, C., & M'Gonigle, L. K. (2015). Small‐scale restoration in intensive agricultural landscapes supports more specialized and less mobile pollinator species. Journal of Applied Ecology.

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