Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States.
Department of Entomology, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, Geneva, New York 14456, United States.
Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 27;7:45296. doi: 10.1038/srep45296.
One of the greatest challenges in sustainable agricultural production is managing ecosystem services, such as pollination, in ways that maximize crop yields. Most efforts to increase services by wild pollinators focus on management of natural habitats surrounding farms or non-crop habitats within farms. However, mass flowering crops create resource pulses that may be important determinants of pollinator dynamics. Mass bloom attracts pollinators and it is unclear how this affects the pollination and yields of other co-blooming crops. We investigated the effects of mass flowering apple on the pollinator community and yield of co-blooming strawberry on farms spanning a gradient in cover of apple orchards in the landscape. The effect of mass flowering apple on strawberry was dependent on the stage of apple bloom. During early and peak apple bloom, pollinator abundance and yield were reduced in landscapes with high cover of apple orchards. Following peak apple bloom, pollinator abundance was greater on farms with high apple cover and corresponded with increased yields on these farms. Spatial and temporal overlap between mass flowering and co-blooming crops alters the strength and direction of these dynamics and suggests that yields can be optimized by designing agricultural systems that avoid competition while maximizing facilitation.
可持续农业生产面临的最大挑战之一是通过管理生态系统服务来最大化作物产量，例如授粉。大多数通过野生传粉媒介增加服务的努力都集中在管理农场周围的自然栖息地或农场内的非作物栖息地上。然而，大量开花作物会产生资源脉冲，这可能是传粉媒介动态的重要决定因素。大量开花会吸引传粉媒介，目前尚不清楚这会如何影响其他共同开花作物的授粉和产量。我们调查了大面积开花的苹果对授粉媒介群落和共同开花的草莓产量的影响，这些草莓种植在景观中苹果园覆盖率呈梯度变化的农场。大面积开花的苹果对草莓的影响取决于苹果开花的阶段。在苹果早期开花和盛花期，苹果园覆盖率高的景观中，传粉媒介的丰度和产量减少。在苹果盛花期过后，高苹果覆盖率的农场上传粉媒介的丰度更大，这些农场的产量也随之增加。大量开花和共同开花作物之间的时空重叠改变了这些动态的强度和方向，并表明通过设计避免竞争同时最大限度地促进的农业系统，可以优化产量。
