Improving the pollinator pantry: Restoration and management of open farmland ponds enhances the complexity of plant-pollinator networks
Improving the pollinator pantry: Restoration and management of open farmland ponds enhances the complexity of plant-pollinator networks
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.
Agricultural landscapes, Agro-ecosystems, Biodiversity conservation, Ecosystem services, Plant-pollinator relationships, Pond management
Walton, Richard E.
8466688e-9f32-446a-a410-914b7dd8c33f
Sayer, Carl D.
4f943cfe-5edf-4146-9332-239cd76cb905
Bennion, Helen
75dad48f-1606-4254-981f-d79c65b67c35
Axmacher, Jan C.
e91a87c6-a93d-4213-87b7-4cbb948222be
15 October 2021
Walton, Richard E.
8466688e-9f32-446a-a410-914b7dd8c33f
Sayer, Carl D.
4f943cfe-5edf-4146-9332-239cd76cb905
Bennion, Helen
75dad48f-1606-4254-981f-d79c65b67c35
Axmacher, Jan C.
e91a87c6-a93d-4213-87b7-4cbb948222be
Walton, Richard E., Sayer, Carl D., Bennion, Helen and Axmacher, Jan C.
(2021)
Improving the pollinator pantry: Restoration and management of open farmland ponds enhances the complexity of plant-pollinator networks.
Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 320, [107611].
(doi:10.1016/j.agee.2021.107611).
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.
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Published date: 15 October 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
Funding for the equipment used in this project was provided by the Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service (NBIS) and the Norfolk-based farming charity The Clan Trust. M. Irving of the UCL Department of Geography Drawing Office provided generous assistance in figure preparation. Thomas Courthauld, Paul Marsh, Peter Seaman, Derek Sayer (The Sayer Estate), and Richard Waddingham graciously provided access to ponds on their land. Many additional thanks to Derek and June Sayer for providing a highly hospitable fieldwork base for two years. Thanks are also due to the Norfolk Ponds Project for pond restoration funding and delivery. Further thanks to the reviewers for their useful feedback that helped improve this article.
Funding Information:
Funding for the equipment used in this project was provided by the Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service (NBIS) and the Norfolk-based farming charity The Clan Trust. M. Irving of the UCL Department of Geography Drawing Office provided generous assistance in figure preparation. Thomas Courthauld, Paul Marsh, Peter Seaman, Derek Sayer (The Sayer Estate), and Richard Waddingham graciously provided access to ponds on their land. Many additional thanks to Derek and June Sayer for providing a highly hospitable fieldwork base for two years. Thanks are also due to the Norfolk Ponds Project for pond restoration funding and delivery. Further thanks to the reviewers for their useful feedback that helped improve this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.
Keywords:
Agricultural landscapes, Agro-ecosystems, Biodiversity conservation, Ecosystem services, Plant-pollinator relationships, Pond management
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 486639
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/486639
ISSN: 0167-8809
PURE UUID: 4287d69d-1784-4e0e-b05c-97f44a03522f
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Date deposited: 30 Jan 2024 17:39
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:17
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Contributors
Author:
Richard E. Walton
Author:
Carl D. Sayer
Author:
Helen Bennion
Author:
Jan C. Axmacher
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