Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Trees for Bees
AU - Donkersley, Philip William
PY - 2019/2/1
Y1 - 2019/2/1
N2 - Limited resources and land-use pressures require more efficient conservation strategies, from increasingly limited input. Pollinator declines are threatening food security and natural capital. I present a novel perspective on landscape level pollinator conservation from across multiple scientific fields. I examine the value of landscape structure provided by trees and hedgerows compared with floral strips, and discuss use of computer simulation technologies for understanding how spatial structure impacts pollinators’ ability to forage.All bees forage on a mixture of both flowering plants and tree species. Honeybees have a detectable preference for foraging on trees, even when sparse. The spatial information provided by trees and hedgerows positively impacts formation of the “cognitive map”, making pollination and foraging more efficient. Woody habitat features like trees and hedgerows provide more efficient resources for pollinators in a number of ways. They are more efficient forage targets due to absolute resource density; tree and hedgerow planting could provide more optimised foraging landscapes for pollinators. Using computer simulation may enable us to study pollinator responses to landscape development at this scale. Woodland development results in non-pollinator ecosystem services, representing a more cost-effective conservation strategy. Moving forward we need to identify the key impediments to its successful implementation.
AB - Limited resources and land-use pressures require more efficient conservation strategies, from increasingly limited input. Pollinator declines are threatening food security and natural capital. I present a novel perspective on landscape level pollinator conservation from across multiple scientific fields. I examine the value of landscape structure provided by trees and hedgerows compared with floral strips, and discuss use of computer simulation technologies for understanding how spatial structure impacts pollinators’ ability to forage.All bees forage on a mixture of both flowering plants and tree species. Honeybees have a detectable preference for foraging on trees, even when sparse. The spatial information provided by trees and hedgerows positively impacts formation of the “cognitive map”, making pollination and foraging more efficient. Woody habitat features like trees and hedgerows provide more efficient resources for pollinators in a number of ways. They are more efficient forage targets due to absolute resource density; tree and hedgerow planting could provide more optimised foraging landscapes for pollinators. Using computer simulation may enable us to study pollinator responses to landscape development at this scale. Woodland development results in non-pollinator ecosystem services, representing a more cost-effective conservation strategy. Moving forward we need to identify the key impediments to its successful implementation.
KW - hedgerows
KW - Habitat restoration
KW - Landscape Architecture
KW - nutrition
KW - pollinators
KW - RADE networks
KW - restoration efficiency
KW - woodland
U2 - 10.1016/j.agee.2018.10.024
DO - 10.1016/j.agee.2018.10.024
M3 - Journal article
VL - 270-271
SP - 79
EP - 83
JO - Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
JF - Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
SN - 0167-8809
ER -