Webbläsaren som du använder stöds inte av denna webbplats. Alla versioner av Internet Explorer stöds inte längre, av oss eller Microsoft (läs mer här: * https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Var god och använd en modern webbläsare för att ta del av denna webbplats, som t.ex. nyaste versioner av Edge, Chrome, Firefox eller Safari osv.

Veronica Hederström. Foto.

Veronica Hederström

Forskare

Veronica Hederström. Foto.

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

Författare

  • Theresia Krausl
  • Veronica Hederström
  • YuanYuan Quan
  • Yann Clough

Summary, in English

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.

Avdelning/ar

  • Centrum för miljö- och klimatvetenskap (CEC)
  • BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
  • Biodiversitet och bevarandevetenskap
  • LU profilområde: Naturbaserade framtidslösningar

Publiceringsår

2025-05-20

Språk

Engelska

Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie

Biological Conservation

Volym

308

Dokumenttyp

Artikel i tidskrift

Förlag

Elsevier

Ämne

  • Ecology (including Biodiversity Conservation)

Nyckelord

  • pollination
  • land-use change
  • landscape composition
  • pollinator declines
  • ecosystem services
  • seed set

Aktiv

Published

Projekt

  • Driven by mutualists: how declines in pollinators impact plant communities and ecosystem functioning (ERC CoG)
  • Effects of pollinator decline on ecosystem functioning

Forskningsgrupp

  • Biodiversity and Conservation Science

ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt

  • ISSN: 1873-2917