A new PoshBee research paper explores the impact of landscape heterogeneity, weather and climatic conditions on the abundance of several broad taxonomic groups of flower-visiting insects, in 128 crop-dominated sites across Europe. The paper highlights the importance of understanding the role of taxon-specific responses to changes in land use and climate for the continued delivery of pollination services to pollinator-dependent crops.

(A) Location of the 128 sites – oilseed rape sites (orange dots) and apple sites (purple dots) across the eight countries. (B) Examples of mapping land cover features within 1-km radius buffers around apple and oilseed rape sites.

The study found that diverse and less-intensively managed habitats in heterogeneous landscapes can positively impact communities of flower-visiting insects, even in landscapes dominated by intensive agriculture. Climate parameters also play a crucial role in shaping these communities, highlighting the need to include them in future studies. 

Read the full paper here.