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Riccardo Bommarco - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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water stress and Insect herbivory interactively reduce crop yield while the Insect Pollination benefit is conserved
Global Change Biology, 2021Co-Authors: Chloe A Raderschall, Giulia Vico, Ola Lundin, Astrid Taylor, Riccardo BommarcoAbstract:Climate change is predicted to hamper crop production due to precipitation deficits and warmer temperatures inducing both water stress and increasing herbivory due to more abundant Insect pests. Consequently, crop yields will be impacted simultaneously by abiotic and biotic stressors. Extensive yield losses due to such climate change stressors might, however, be mitigated by ecosystem services such as Insect Pollination. We examined the single and combined effects of water stress, Insect herbivory and Insect Pollination on faba bean yield components and above- and belowground plant biomass under realistic field conditions. We used rainout shelters to simulate a scenario in line with climate change projections, with adequate water supply at sowing followed by a long period without precipitation. This induced a gradually increasing water stress, culminating around crop flowering and yield formation. We found that gradually increasing water stress combined with Insect herbivory by aphids interactively shaped yield in faba beans. Individually, aphid herbivory reduced yield by 79% and water stress reduced yield by 52%. However, the combined effect of water stress and aphid herbivory reduced yield less (84%) than the sum of the individual stressor effects. In contrast, Insect Pollination increased yield by 68% independently of water availability and Insect herbivory. Our results suggest that yield losses can be greatly reduced when both water stress and Insect herbivory are reduced simultaneously. In contrast, reducing only one stressor has negligible benefits on yield as long as the crop is suffering from the other stressor. We call for further exploration of interactions among ecosystem services and biotic and abiotic stressors that simulate realistic conditions under climate change.
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soil compaction and Insect Pollination modify impacts of crop rotation on nitrogen fixation and yield
Basic and Applied Ecology, 2016Co-Authors: Audrey Stmartin, Riccardo BommarcoAbstract:Abstract Pollination and biological nitrogen fixation are key ecosystem services, but their contribution to agricultural production might be influenced by simplified crop rotation and soil compaction, two factors known to limit yield. In a greenhouse experiment, we investigated the combined effect of crop rotation, soil compaction, and Insect Pollination on yield formation and on the contribution of biological fixation to nitrogen acquisition of faba bean. Seed yield was reduced under high soil compaction, and under ley rotation management and it was enhanced by Insect Pollination. For plants grown in soil from the ley rotation, Insect Pollination increased individual seed weight by 50% suggesting a contribution to seed quality by Pollination for crop grown in soils where nutrients are limiting yield. Crop monoculture and high soil compaction interactively reduced the contribution of nitrogen fixation by 30%, suggesting that soil compaction exacerbates the negative effect of monoculture on nitrogen fixation. Overall the results revealed that interactive effects of management factors do affect nutrient acquisition. We provide evidence that reduced soil quality affect the capacity of legumes to deliver key ecosystem services to the agroecosystem.
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large scale Pollination experiment demonstrates the importance of Insect Pollination in winter oilseed rape
Oecologia, 2016Co-Authors: Lina Herbertsson, Sandra Lindstrom, Maj Rundlof, Henrik G Smith, Riccardo BommarcoAbstract:Insect Pollination, despite its potential to contribute substantially to crop production, is not an integrated part of agronomic planning. A major reason for this are knowledge gaps in the contribution of pollinators to yield, which partly result from difficulties in determining area-based estimates of yield effects from Insect Pollination under field conditions. We have experimentally manipulated honey bee Apis mellifera densities at 43 oilseed rape Brassica napus fields over 2 years in Scandinavia. Honey bee hives were placed in 22 fields; an additional 21 fields without large apiaries in the surrounding landscape were selected as controls. Depending on the Pollination system in the parental generation, the B. napus cultivars in the crop fields are classified as either open-pollinated or first-generation hybrids, with both types being open-pollinated in the generation of plants cultivated in the fields. Three cultivars of each type were grown. We measured the activity of flower-visiting Insects during flowering and estimated yields by harvesting with small combine harvesters. The addition of honey bee hives to the fields dramatically increased abundance of flower-visiting honey bees in those fields. Honey bees affected yield, but the effect depended on cultivar type (p = 0.04). Post-hoc analysis revealed that open-pollinated cultivars, but not hybrid cultivars, had 11% higher yields in fields with added honey bees than those grown in the control fields (p = 0.07). To our knowledge, this is the first whole-field study in replicated landscapes to assess the benefit of Insect Pollination in oilseed rape. Our results demonstrate that honey bees have the potential to increase oilseed rape yields, thereby emphasizing the importance of pollinator management for optimal cultivation of oilseed rape.
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crop management modifies the benefits of Insect Pollination in oilseed rape
Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, 2015Co-Authors: Lorenzo Marini, Giovanni Tamburini, Edoardo Petruccotoffolo, Sandra Lindstrom, Federica Zanetti, Giuliano Mosca, Riccardo BommarcoAbstract:In a factorial field plot experiment, high and low levels of inorganic nitrogen and of Insect pollinators visiting the crop were manipulated and their combined effects on oilseed rape yield were quantified. A third factor was also included, testing whether different cultivars responded differently to the tested factors. Insect Pollination was required to reach high yield and seed quality (oil content). Final benefits of Pollination service were, however, greatly modified by cultivar, where the seed yield of the open-pollinated cultivar largely depended on Insect Pollination whereas the two hybrid cultivars did not. A near significant interaction between nitrogen input and Insect Pollination was also found, i.e. benefits to crop yield from Insect Pollination seemed to increase with decreased nitrogen levels. The differential response of the three cultivars suggested opportunities to use cultivars that are less dependent on Insect Pollination in landscapes where this service has been deteriorated. Increased access of nitrogen seems to partly compensate yield losses from poor Insect Pollination. Integrating conservation, environmental and agronomic sciences is therefore crucial to sustain agriculture productions through optimized management of agronomic inputs and biodiversity-based ecosystem services.
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when ecosystem services interact crop Pollination benefits depend on the level of pest control
Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2013Co-Authors: Ola Lundin, Henrik G Smith, Maj Rundlof, Riccardo BommarcoAbstract:Pollination is a key ecosystem service which most often has been studied in isolation although effects of Pollination on seed set might depend on, and interact with, other services important for crop production. We tested three competing hypotheses on how Insect Pollination and pest control might jointly affect seed set: independent, compensatory or synergistic effects. For this, we performed a cage experiment with two levels of Insect Pollination and simulated pest control in red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) grown for seed. There was a synergistic interaction between the two services: the gain in seed set obtained when simultaneously increasing Pollination and pest control outweighed the sum of seed set gains obtained when increasing each service separately. This study shows that interactions can alter the benefits obtained from service-providing organisms, and this needs to be considered to properly manage multiple ecosystem services.
Bernard E Vaissiere - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Insect Pollination is an ecological process involved in the assembly of the seed microbiota
bioRxiv, 2019Co-Authors: Alberto Prado, Bernard E Vaissiere, Brice Marolleau, Matthieu Barret, Gloria TorrescortesAbstract:ABSTRACT The assembly of the seed microbiota involves some early microbial seed colonizers that are transmitted from the maternal plant through the vascular system, while other microbes enter through the stigma. Thus, the seed microbiota consists of microbes not only recruited from the vascular tissues of the plant, but also from the flower. Flowers are known to be a hub for microbial transmission between plants and Insects. This floral-Insect exchange opens the possibility for Insect-transmitted bacteria to colonize the ovule and subsequently the seed, and to pass then into the next plant generation. In this study, we evaluated the contribution of Insect Pollination to the seed microbiota through high-throughput sequencing. Oilseed rape (OSR) Brassica napus flowers were exposed to visits and Pollination by honey bees (Apis mellifera) or red mason bees (Osmia bicornis), hand Pollination, or autonomous self-Pollination (ASP). Sequence analyses revealed that honey bee visitation reduced the bacterial richness and diversity, increased the variability in the seed microbial structure, and introduced bee-associated taxa. In contrast, mason bee Pollination had minor effects on the seed microbiota. We highlight the need to consider Insect Pollination as an ecological process involved in the transmission of bacteria from flower to seeds. IMPORTANCE Insect pollinators and flowering plants have a very old mutualistic relationship in which animal mobility is used for the dispersal of pollen. The Pollination services provided by Insects are extremely important to many natural plant populations as well as agricultural crops. Here we show that while visiting flowers, Insect pollinators can disperse bacteria that are able to colonize the developing seed via the flower. Hence, Insect Pollination participates in the assembly of the seed microbiota, the inoculum for the next plant generation. This novel insight has important implications in terms of re-assessing pollinator services by including microbe transfer.
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Contribution of Insect pollinators to crop yield and quality varies with agricultural intensification
PeerJ, 2014Co-Authors: Ignasi Bartomeus, Bernard E Vaissiere, Simon G. Potts, Ingolf Steffan-dewenter, Michal Woyciechowski, Kristin Krewenka, Thomas Tscheulin, Stuart P.m. Roberts, Hajnalka Szentgyörgyi, Catrin WestphalAbstract:Background. Up to 75% of crop species benefit at least to some degree from animal Pollination for fruit or seed set and yield. However, basic information on the level of pollinator dependence and pollinator contribution to yield is lacking for many crops. Even less is known about how Insect Pollination affects crop quality. Given that habitat loss and agricultural intensification are known to decrease pollinator richness and abundance, there is a need to assess the consequences for different components of crop production. Methods. We used Pollination exclusion on flowers or inflorescences on a whole plant basis to assess the contribution of Insect Pollination to crop yield and quality in four flowering crops (spring oilseed rape, field bean, strawberry, and buckwheat) located in four regions of Europe. For each crop, we recorded abundance and species richness of flower visiting Insects in ten fields located along a gradient from simple to heterogeneous landscapes. Results. Insect Pollination enhanced average crop yield between 18 and 71% depending on the crop. Yield quality was also enhanced in most crops. For instance, oilseed rape had higher oil and lower chlorophyll contents when adequately pollinated, the proportion of empty seeds decreased in buckwheat, and strawberries’ commercial grade improved; however, we did not find higher nitrogen content in open pollinated field beans. Complex landscapes had a higher overall species richness of wild pollinators across crops, but visitation rates were only higher in complex landscapes for some crops. On the contrary, the overall yield was consistently enhanced by higher visitation rates, but not by higher pollinator richness. Discussion. For the four crops in this study, there is clear benefit delivered by pollinators on yield quantity and/or quality, but it is not maximized under current agricultural intensification. Honeybees, the most abundant pollinator, might partially compensate the loss of wild pollinators in some areas, but our results suggest the need of landscape-scale actions to enhance wild pollinator populations.
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Insect Pollination enhances seed yield quality and market value in oilseed rape
Oecologia, 2012Co-Authors: Riccardo Bommarco, Lorenzo Marini, Bernard E VaissiereAbstract:The relationships between landscape intensification, the abundance and diversity of pollinating Insects, and their contributions to crop yield, quality, and market value are poorly studied, despite observed declines in wild and domesticated pollinators. Abundance and species richness of pollinating Insects were estimated in ten fields of spring oilseed rape, Brassica napus var. SW Stratos™, located along a gradient of landscape compositions ranging from simple landscapes dominated by arable land to heterogeneous landscapes with extensive cover of semi-natural habitats. In each field, we assessed the contribution of wind and Insect Pollination to seed yield, seed quality (individual seed weight and oil and chlorophyll contents), and market value in a block experiment with four replicates and two treatments: (1) all flowers were accessible to Insects, self and wind Pollination, and (2) flowers enclosed in tulle net bags (mesh: 1 × 1 mm) were accessible only to wind and self Pollination. Complex landscapes enhanced the overall abundance of wild Insects as well as the abundance and species richness of hoverflies. This did not translate to a higher yield, probably due to consistent Pollination by honey bees across all fields. However, the Pollination experiment showed that Insects increased seed weight per plant by 18% and market value by 20%. Seed quality was enhanced by Insect Pollination, rendering heavier seeds as well as higher oil and lower chlorophyll contents, clearly showing that Insect Pollination is required to reach high seed yield and quality in oilseed rape. Our study demonstrates considerable and previously underestimated contributions from pollinating Insects to both the yield and the market value of oilseed rape.
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Economic valuation of the vulnerability of world agriculture confronted with pollinator decline
Ecological Economics, 2009Co-Authors: Nicola Gallai, Jean-michel Salles, Josef Settele, Bernard E VaissiereAbstract:There is mounting evidence of pollinator decline all over the world and consequences in many agricultural areas could be significant. We assessed these consequences by measuring 1) the contribution of Insect Pollination to the world agricultural output economic value, and 2) the vulnerability of world agriculture in the face of pollinator decline. We used a bioeconomic approach, which integrated the production dependence ratio on pollinators, for the 100 crops used directly for human food worldwide as listed by FAO. The total economic value of Pollination worldwide amounted to €153 billion, which represented 9.5% of the value of the world agricultural production used for human food in 2005. In terms of welfare, the consumer surplus loss was estimated between €190 and €310 billion based upon average price elasticities of − 1.5 to − 0.8, respectively. Vegetables and fruits were the leading crop categories in value of Insect Pollination with about €50 billion each, followed by edible oil crops, stimulants, nuts and spices. The production value of a ton of the crop categories that do not depend on Insect Pollination averaged €151 while that of those that are pollinator-dependent averaged €761. The vulnerability ratio was calculated for each crop category at the regional and world scales as the ratio between the economic value of Pollination and the current total crop value. This ratio varied considerably among crop categories and there was a positive correlation between the rate of vulnerability to pollinators decline of a crop category and its value per production unit. Looking at the capacity to nourish the world population after pollinator loss, the production of 3 crop categories - namely fruits, vegetables, and stimulants - will clearly be below the current consumption level at the world scale and even more so for certain regions like Europe. Yet, although our valuation clearly demonstrates the economic importance of Insect pollinators, it cannot be considered as a scenario since it does not take into account the strategic responses of the markets.
Simon G. Potts - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Insect Pollination as an agronomic input strategies for oilseed rape production
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2018Co-Authors: Michael P D Garratt, Simon G. Potts, Jacob Bishop, Erika Degani, Rosalind F Shaw, Anmei Shi, Shovonlal RoyAbstract:1.Ecological intensification involves the incorporation of biodiversity based ecosystem service management into farming systems in order to make crop production more sustainable and reduce reliance on anthropogenic inputs, including fertiliser and Insecticides. 2.The benefits of effectively managing ecosystem services such as Pollination and pest regulation for improved yields have been demonstrated in a number of studies, however recent evidence indicates that these benefits interact with conventional agronomic inputs such as fertiliser and irrigation. Despite the important contribution of biodiversity‐based ecosystem services to crop production their management is rarely considered in combination with more conventional agronomic inputs. 3.This study combines a number of complementary approaches to evaluate the impact of Insect Pollination on yield parameters of Brassica napus and how this interacts with a key agronomic input, fertiliser. We incorporate data from a flight cage trial and multiple field studies to quantify the relationships between yield parameters to determine whether insufficient Insect Pollination may limit crop yield. 4.We demonstrate that, by producing larger seeds and more pods, B. napus has the capacity to modulate investment across yield parameters and buffer sub‐optimal inputs of fertiliser or Pollination. However, only when fertiliser is not limiting can the crop benefit from Insect Pollination, with yield increases due to Insect Pollination only seen under high fertiliser application. 5.A non‐linear relationship between seed set per pod and yield per plant was found, with increases in seed set between 15 and 25 seeds per pod resulting in a consistent increase in crop yield. The capacity for the crop to compensate for lower seed set due to sub‐optimal Pollination is therefore limited. 6.Synthesis and applications. Oilseed rape has the capacity to compensate for sub‐optimal agronomic or ecosystem service inputs although this has limitations. Insect Pollination can increase seed set and so there are production benefits to be gained through effective management of wild pollinators or by utilising managed species. Our study demonstrates however that increased Insect Pollination cannot simply replace other inputs, and if resources such as fertiliser are limiting, then yield potential cannot be reached. We highlight the need to consider Insect Pollination as an agronomic input to be effectively managed in agricultural systems.
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Insect Pollination reduces yield loss following heat stress in faba bean vicia faba l
Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, 2016Co-Authors: Jacob Bishop, Hannah Jones, Martin Lukac, Simon G. PottsAbstract:Global food security, particularly crop fertilization and yield production, is threatened by heat waves that are projected to increase in frequency and magnitude with climate change. Effects of heat stress on the fertilization of Insect-pollinated plants are not well understood, but experiments conducted primarily in self-pollinated crops, such as wheat, show that transfer of fertile pollen may recover yield following stress. We hypothesized that in the partially pollinator-dependent crop, faba bean (Vicia faba L.), Insect Pollination would elicit similar yield recovery following heat stress. We exposed potted faba bean plants to heat stress for 5 days during floral development and anthesis. Temperature treatments were representative of heat waves projected in the UK for the period 2021–2050 and onwards. Following temperature treatments, plants were distributed in flight cages and either pollinated by domesticated Bombus terrestris colonies or received no Insect Pollination. Yield loss due to heat stress at 30 °C was greater in plants excluded from pollinators (15%) compared to those with bumblebee Pollination (2.5%). Thus, the pollinator dependency of faba bean yield was 16% at control temperatures (18–26 °C) and extreme stress (34 °C), but was 53% following intermediate heat stress at 30 °C. These findings provide the first evidence that the pollinator dependency of crops can be modified by heat stress, and suggest that Insect Pollination may become more important in crop production as the probability of heat waves increases.
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avoiding a bad apple Insect Pollination enhances fruit quality and economic value
Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, 2014Co-Authors: Michael P D Garratt, Jacobus C. Biesmeijer, Tom D Breeze, N Jenner, Chiara Polce, Simon G. PottsAbstract:Insect Pollination is important for food production globally and apples are one of the major fruit crops which are reliant on this ecosystem service. It is fundamentally important that the full range of benefits of Insect Pollination to crop production are understood, if the costs of interventions aiming to enhance Pollination are to be compared against the costs of the interventions themselves. Most previous studies have simply assessed the benefits of Pollination to crop yield and ignored quality benefits and how these translate through to economic values. In the present study we examine the influence of Insect Pollination services on farmgate output of two important UK apple varieties; Gala and Cox. Using field experiments, we quantify the influence of Insect Pollination on yield and importantly quality and whether either may be limited by sub-optimal Insect Pollination. Using an expanded bioeconomic model we value Insect Pollination to UK apple production and establish the potential for improvement through Pollination service management. We show that Insects are essential in the production of both varieties of apple in the UK and contribute a total of £36.7 million per annum, over £6 million more than the value calculated using more conventional dependence ratio methods. Insect Pollination not only affects the quantity of production but can also have marked impacts on the quality of apples, influencing size, shape and effecting their classification for market. These effects are variety specific however. Due to the influence of Pollination on both yield and quality in Gala, there is potential for Insect Pollination services to improve UK output by up to £5.7 million per annum. Our research shows that continued pollinator decline could have serious financial implications for the apple industry but there is considerable scope through management of wild pollinators or using managed pollinator augmentation, to improve the quality of production. Furthermore, we show that it is critically important to consider all production parameters including quality, varietal differences and management costs when valuing the Pollination service of any crop so investment in pollinator management can be proportional to its contribution.
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Contribution of Insect pollinators to crop yield and quality varies with agricultural intensification
PeerJ, 2014Co-Authors: Ignasi Bartomeus, Bernard E Vaissiere, Simon G. Potts, Ingolf Steffan-dewenter, Michal Woyciechowski, Kristin Krewenka, Thomas Tscheulin, Stuart P.m. Roberts, Hajnalka Szentgyörgyi, Catrin WestphalAbstract:Background. Up to 75% of crop species benefit at least to some degree from animal Pollination for fruit or seed set and yield. However, basic information on the level of pollinator dependence and pollinator contribution to yield is lacking for many crops. Even less is known about how Insect Pollination affects crop quality. Given that habitat loss and agricultural intensification are known to decrease pollinator richness and abundance, there is a need to assess the consequences for different components of crop production. Methods. We used Pollination exclusion on flowers or inflorescences on a whole plant basis to assess the contribution of Insect Pollination to crop yield and quality in four flowering crops (spring oilseed rape, field bean, strawberry, and buckwheat) located in four regions of Europe. For each crop, we recorded abundance and species richness of flower visiting Insects in ten fields located along a gradient from simple to heterogeneous landscapes. Results. Insect Pollination enhanced average crop yield between 18 and 71% depending on the crop. Yield quality was also enhanced in most crops. For instance, oilseed rape had higher oil and lower chlorophyll contents when adequately pollinated, the proportion of empty seeds decreased in buckwheat, and strawberries’ commercial grade improved; however, we did not find higher nitrogen content in open pollinated field beans. Complex landscapes had a higher overall species richness of wild pollinators across crops, but visitation rates were only higher in complex landscapes for some crops. On the contrary, the overall yield was consistently enhanced by higher visitation rates, but not by higher pollinator richness. Discussion. For the four crops in this study, there is clear benefit delivered by pollinators on yield quantity and/or quality, but it is not maximized under current agricultural intensification. Honeybees, the most abundant pollinator, might partially compensate the loss of wild pollinators in some areas, but our results suggest the need of landscape-scale actions to enhance wild pollinator populations.
Stevenson, Philip C. - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Insect Pollination is important in a smallholder bean farming system
'PeerJ', 2020Co-Authors: Belmain, Steven R., Stevenson, Philip C., Arnold, Sarah E.j., Gurr, Geoff M., Elisante Filemon, Xie Gang, Darbyshire Iain, Ndakidemi PatrickAbstract:Background Many crops are dependent on Pollination by Insects. Habitat management in agricultural landscapes can support pollinator services and even augment crop production. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important legume for the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in many low-income countries, particularly so in East Africa. While this crop is autogamous, it is frequently visited by pollinating Insects that could improve yields. However, the value of Pollination services to common beans (Kariasii) yield is not known. Methods We carried out pollinator-exclusion experiments to determine the contribution of Insect pollinators to bean yields. We also carried out a fluorescent-dye experiment to evaluate the role of field margins as refuge for flower-visitors. Results Significantly higher yields, based on pods per plant and seeds per pod, were recorded from open-pollinated and hand-pollinated flowers compared to plants from which pollinators had been excluded indicating that flower visitors contribute significantly to bean yields. Similarly, open and hand-pollinated plants recorded the highest mean seed weight. Extrapolation of yield data to field scale indicated a potential increase per hectare from 681 kg in self-pollinated beans to 1,478 kg in open-pollinated beans indicating that flower visitors contributed significantly to crop yield of beans. Our marking study indicated that flower-visiting Insects including bees, flies and lepidopterans moved from the field margin flowers into the bean crop. Overall, these results show that Insect pollinators are important for optimising bean yields and an important food security consideration on smallholder farms. Field margin vegetation also provides habitat for flower-visiting Insects that pollinate beans. Hence, non-crop habitats merit further research focusing on establishing which field margin species are most important and their capacity to support other ecosystem services such as natural pest regulation or even pests
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Insect Pollination is important in a smallholder bean farming system
'PeerJ', 2020Co-Authors: Filemon Elisante, Gurr, Geoff M., Belmain, Steven R., Xie Gang, Darbyshire Iain, Ndakidemi, Patrick A., Arnold, Sarah E. J., Stevenson, Philip C.Abstract:Background: Many crops are dependent on Pollination by Insects. Habitat management in agricultural landscapes can support pollinator services and even augment crop production. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important legume for the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in many low-income countries, particularly so in East Africa. While this crop is autogamous, it is frequently visited by pollinating Insects that could improve yields. However, the value of Pollination services to common beans (Kariasii) yield is not known. Methods: We carried out pollinator-exclusion experiments to determine the contribution of Insect pollinators to bean yields. We also carried out a fluorescent-dye experiment to evaluate the role of field margins as refuge for flower-visitors. Results: Significantly higher yields, based on pods per plant and seeds per pod, were recorded from open-pollinated and hand-pollinated flowers compared to plants from which pollinators had been excluded indicating that flower visitors contribute significantly to bean yields. Similarly, open and hand-pollinated plants recorded the highest mean seed weight. Extrapolation of yield data to field scale indicated a potential increase per hectare from 681 kg in self-pollinated beans to 1478 kg in open-pollinated beans indicating that flower visitors contributed significantly to crop yield of beans. Our marking study indicated that flower-visiting Insects including bees, flies and lepidopterans moved from the field margin flowers into the bean crop. Overall, these results show that Insect pollinators are important for optimising bean yields and an important food security consideration on smallholder farms. Field margin vegetation also provides habitat for flower-visiting Insects that pollinate beans. Hence, non-crop habitats merit further research focusing on establishing which field margin species are most important and their capacity to support other ecosystem services such as natural pest regulation
Pedro Jimenezmejias - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Insect Pollination in temperate sedges a case study in rhynchospora alba cyperaceae
Plant Biosystems, 2020Co-Authors: Irene Villamachio, Juan Carlos Zamora, Jose Vladimir Sandovalsierra, Jose Luis Blancopastor, Mario Fernandezmazuecos, Pedro JimenezmejiasAbstract:Sedges (Cyperaceae) are commonly pollinated by wind, but some transitions from wind to Insect Pollination have been reported in tropical sedges. Despite being a temperate sedge, the Pollination str...