Romain Carrié
Researcher
Interactive effects of landscape-wide intensity of farming practices and landscape complexity on wild bee diversity
Author
Summary, in English
Context
The local intensity of farming practices is considered as an important driver of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes and its effect on biodiversity has been shown to interact with landscape complexity. But the influence of landscape-wide intensity of farming practices on biodiversity and its combined effect with landscape complexity have been little explored.
Objective
In this study, we tested the interactive effect of the landscape-wide intensity of farming practices and landscape complexity on the local species richness and abundance of farmland wild bee communities.
Methods
We captured wild bees in 96 crop fields and explored the effect of landscape-wide intensity of various farming practices along a gradient of landscape complexity (proportion of semi-natural habitats).
Results
We found that species richness and abundance of wild bees were more positively influenced by landscape complexity in highly insecticide-sprayed landscapes than in less intensively managed landscapes. In contrast, we found that the positive effect of landscape complexity on bee species richness only occurred in landscapes with low nitrogen inputs.
Conclusions
Our study demonstrates the interactive effects of landscape-wide farming intensity and landscape complexity in shaping the diversity of farmland wild bee communities. We conclude that the management of farming intensity at the landscape-scale could mitigate the effects of habitat loss on wild bee decline and would help to maintain pollination services in agricultural landscapes.
The local intensity of farming practices is considered as an important driver of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes and its effect on biodiversity has been shown to interact with landscape complexity. But the influence of landscape-wide intensity of farming practices on biodiversity and its combined effect with landscape complexity have been little explored.
Objective
In this study, we tested the interactive effect of the landscape-wide intensity of farming practices and landscape complexity on the local species richness and abundance of farmland wild bee communities.
Methods
We captured wild bees in 96 crop fields and explored the effect of landscape-wide intensity of various farming practices along a gradient of landscape complexity (proportion of semi-natural habitats).
Results
We found that species richness and abundance of wild bees were more positively influenced by landscape complexity in highly insecticide-sprayed landscapes than in less intensively managed landscapes. In contrast, we found that the positive effect of landscape complexity on bee species richness only occurred in landscapes with low nitrogen inputs.
Conclusions
Our study demonstrates the interactive effects of landscape-wide farming intensity and landscape complexity in shaping the diversity of farmland wild bee communities. We conclude that the management of farming intensity at the landscape-scale could mitigate the effects of habitat loss on wild bee decline and would help to maintain pollination services in agricultural landscapes.
Publishing year
2017-05-23
Language
English
Pages
1631-1642
Publication/Series
Landscape Ecology
Volume
32
Issue
8
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Springer
Topic
- Landscape Architecture
- Ecology
- Environmental Sciences
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1572-9761