Pérez-Marcos María, Ortiz-Sánchez Francisco Javier, López-Gallego Elena, Ibáñez Helena, Carrasco Aline, Sanchez Juan Antonio
Biological Pest Control & Ecosystem Services Laboratory, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Research and Development (IMIDA), C/Mayor s/n, 30150 Murcia, Spain.
Research Group "R&D Transfer in the Area of Natural Resources", University of Almería, Ctra. de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain.
Insects. 2023 Mar 20;14(3):296. doi: 10.3390/insects14030296.
Melon is among the most consumed fruits in the world, being a crop that depends almost entirely on insects for its reproduction, which is why it is especially sensitive to declining pollination services. Restoration and maintenance of hedgerows and agricultural borders around crops are generally carried out by sowing flowering herbaceous plants or establishing shrubby species; however, a cost-effective and lower-maintenance alternative for farmers could be as simple as allowing vegetation to regenerate naturally without any management actions. This work aimed to test the effects of three different types of margins (managed herbaceous, managed shrubby, and unmanaged herbaceous) on the overall abundance and richness of wild pollinators in melon crops. The work was performed in three localities in southern Spain over two years. Pollinators were monitored visually using 1 × 1 m sampling squares and pan traps within melon fields. Moreover, crop yield was estimated by measuring fruit weight and the number of seeds. In general, higher abundances of pollinators were observed in melon fields during the second year. In addition, the abundances of Syrphidae, Andrenidae, Apidae (excl. ), and pollinators other than bees, belonging to the orders Diptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera, showed higher values in melon fields with shrubby margins than in fields with herbaceous margins (managed or unmanaged). However, no effect of floral margins on the yield of melon crops was found.
甜瓜是世界上消费最多的水果之一，作为一种几乎完全依赖昆虫进行繁殖的作物，这就是为什么它对授粉服务的下降特别敏感。恢复和维护作物周围的树篱和农业边界通常是通过播种开花草本植物或种植灌木物种来进行的；然而，对农民来说，一种经济高效且维护成本较低的替代方法可能很简单，就是让植被自然再生而不采取任何管理措施。这项工作旨在测试三种不同类型的边缘（人工管理的草本、人工管理的灌木和非人工管理的草本）对甜瓜作物中野生传粉者的总体数量和丰富度的影响。这项工作在西班牙南部的三个地点进行了两年。在甜瓜田内使用1×1米的采样方块和水盘诱捕器对传粉者进行目视监测。此外，通过测量果实重量和种子数量来估计作物产量。总体而言，第二年在甜瓜田中观察到传粉者的数量更多。此外，食蚜蝇科、地蜂科、蜜蜂科（不包括……）以及属于双翅目、鞘翅目、膜翅目和鳞翅目的非蜜蜂传粉者的数量，在有灌木边缘的甜瓜田中比在有草本边缘（人工管理或非人工管理）的田中更高。然而，未发现花缘对甜瓜作物产量有影响。
