Walton, RE;
Sayer, CD;
Bennion, H;
Axmacher, JC;
(2021)
Improving the pollinator pantry: Restoration and management of open farmland ponds enhances the complexity of plant-pollinator networks.
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment
, 320
, Article 107611. 10.1016/j.agee.2021.107611.
Preview |
Text
AGEE Accepted Version.pdf - Accepted Version Download (27MB) | Preview |
Abstract
In line with general biodiversity losses across agricultural landscapes, insect pollinators have experienced recent sharp declines. A range of conservation measures have been developed to address these declines, with plant-pollinator interaction networks providing key insights into the effectiveness of these measures. For the first time, we studied interactions between three diurnal pollinator groups (bees, hoverflies, and butterflies) and insect-pollinated plants to understand how they are affected by pond management and restoration. Major network contributors were identified, and important network-level parameters compared at nine farmland ponds under different management strategies to assess management effects on plant-pollinator interactions: three ‘overgrown’ tree-covered ponds, three ‘long-term managed ponds’ kept in an open-canopy, early- to mid-successional state by periodic interventions involving tree and sediment removal, and three ‘recently restored ponds’, initially heavily overgrown with woody vegetation, and subsequently rapidly transformed into an early succession state through major tree and sediment removal. Interaction complexity, as measured by the metrics ‘links per species’, ‘linkage density’, Fisher’s alpha and Shannon’s Diversity, was higher for both long-term managed and recently restored ponds compared to overgrown ponds. Several network-level parameters indicated that highest complexity levels were found at recently restored ponds due to their substantially higher plant diversity. Bipartite interaction analysis suggests major benefits of pond management and restoration for agricultural pollinator assemblages. We strongly advocate the inclusion of ponds in conservation strategies and policies aimed at pollinators - ponds should be part of the pollinator pantry.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Improving the pollinator pantry: Restoration and management of open farmland ponds enhances the complexity of plant-pollinator networks |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.agee.2021.107611 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2021.107611 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural landscapes, Agro-ecosystems, Biodiversity conservation, Ecosystem services, Plant-pollinator relationships, Pond management |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Dept of Geography |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10133251 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
