Venturini E M, Drummond F A, Hoshide A K, Dibble A C, Stack L B
School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, 5722 Deering Hall, Orono, ME 04469 (
University of Maine Cooperative Extension, 495 College Ave., Orono, ME 04469 (
J Econ Entomol. 2017 Apr 1;110(2):333-346. doi: 10.1093/jee/tow285.
Pollinator-dependent agriculture heavily relies upon a single pollinator-the honey bee. To diversify pollination strategies, growers are turning to alternatives. Densely planted reservoirs of pollen- and nectar-rich flowers (pollination reservoirs, hereafter "PRs") may improve pollination services provided by wild bees. Our focal agroecosystem, lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton), exists in a simple landscape uniquely positioned to benefit from PRs. First, we contrast bee visitation rates and use of three types of PR. We consider the effects of PRs on wild bee diversity and the composition of bumble bee pollen loads. We contrast field-level crop pollination services between PRs and controls four years postestablishment. Last, we calculate the time to pay for PR investment. Social bees preferentially used clover plantings; solitary bees preferentially used wildflower plantings. On average, bumble bee pollen loads in treatment fields contained 37% PR pollen. PRs significantly increased visitation rates to the crop in year 4, and exerted a marginally significant positive influence on fruit set. The annualized costs of PRs were covered by the fourth year using the measured increase in pollination services. Our findings provide evidence of the positive impact of PRs on crop pollination services.
依赖传粉者的农业严重依赖单一传粉者——蜜蜂。为了使授粉策略多样化，种植者正在寻求替代方案。密集种植富含花粉和花蜜的花朵的区域（授粉区域，以下简称“PRs”）可能会改善野生蜜蜂提供的授粉服务。我们关注的农业生态系统——矮丛蓝莓（Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton），存在于一个简单的景观中，特别适合从PRs中受益。首先，我们对比了蜜蜂的访花率以及对三种类型PRs的利用情况。我们考虑了PRs对野生蜜蜂多样性和熊蜂花粉负载组成的影响。我们对比了建立PRs四年后与对照区域在田间层面的作物授粉服务情况。最后，我们计算了PRs投资的回报时间。群居蜜蜂优先选择三叶草种植区域；独居蜜蜂优先选择野花种植区域。平均而言，处理区域的熊蜂花粉负载中有37%是PRs花粉。在第4年，PRs显著提高了对作物的访花率，并对坐果率产生了略微显著的积极影响。利用所测量的授粉服务增加量，到第4年就覆盖了PRs的年度成本。我们的研究结果证明了PRs对作物授粉服务的积极影响。
