María J. Suso, Penelope J. Bebeli, Stefanie Christmann, Julian Mateus, Valeria Negri, Miguel A. A. Pinheiro de Carvalho, Renzo Torricelli, Maria Manuela Veloso. (18/3/2016). Enhancing Legume Ecosystem Services through an Understanding of Plant�??Pollinator Interplay. Frontiers in Plant Science, 7. | Legumes are bee-pollinated, but to a different extent. The importance of the plant�??pollinator interplay (PPI), in flowering crops such as legumes lies in a combination of the importance of pollination for the production service and breeding strategies, plus the increasing urgency in mitigating the decline of pollinators through the development and implementation of conservation measures. To realize the full potential of the PPI, a multidisciplinary approach is required. This article assembles an international team of genebank managers, geneticists, plant breeders, experts on environmental governance and agro-ecology, and comprises several sections. The contributions in these sections outline both the state of the art of knowledge in the field and the novel aspects under development, and encompass a range of reviews, opinions and perspectives. The first three sections explore the role of PPI in legume breeding strategies. PPI based approaches to crop improvement can make it possible to adapt and re-design breeding strategies to meet both goals of: (1) optimal productivity, based on an efficient use of pollinators, and (2) biodiversity conservation. The next section deals with entomological aspects and focuses on the protection of the �??pest control service�?� and pollinators in legume crops. The final section addresses general approaches to encourage the synergy between food production and pollination services at farmer field level. Two basic approaches are proposed: (a) Farming with Alternative Pollinators and (b) Crop Design System

Pollination is a key ecosystem service. Pollinators, however, are in decline and their service is increasingly threatened. The decline is driven by several factors, most of which are related to agricultural management. However, the complexity of the landscape system, consisting of both cropped and non-cropped areas, makes it difficult to address or even quantify the role of farming practices in pollinator abundance. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to improve our understanding of the relationships between pollinator abundance and their habitat use. We intend to identify and quantify the driving environmental factors that determine pollinator abundance in agricultural landscapes on the crop and landscape scale. These information helps us to design algorithms that can be used as a basis for predicting pollinator abundance on agricultural fields. To integrate varying environmental conditions data sampling was performed on farms in three different regions in Germany. Pollinators were classified into different groups with three aggregation levels. We observed crop parameters as well as landscape parameters in the areas surrounding fields in addition to temporal aspects. Generalized linear models (Gl.Ms) were then calculated. Our results showed that both crop and landscape parameters affect pollinator abundance on agricultural fields. However, the explanatory power of the included parameters varied strongly among the particular pollinator groups and between aggregation levels. Furthermore, differentiation between species groups improves the explanatory power compared to models that are more aggregated. We also found that the temporal match between main activity periods of the particular pollinator groups and resource supply by the crop species is a key factor when analysing pollinator abundance. ln conclusion, we demonstrated that the assessment and support of pollination services should be carried out with regard to individual pollinator groups. When studying pollinator abundance, the crop as well as the landscape scale should be addressed. A range of different habitat requirements and different activity periods of the pollinator groups must be covered to maintain pollination services, and therefore both diverse landscapes and diverse crop rotations are of crucial importance.

During the past decades, managed honeybee stocks have increased globally. Managed honeybees are particularly used within mass-flowering crops and often spill over to adjacent natural habitats after crop blooming. Here, we uniquely show the simultaneous impact that honeybee spillover has on wild plant and animal communities in flower-rich woodlands via changes in plant-pollinator network structure that translate into a direct negative effect on the reproductive success of a dominant wild plant. Honeybee spillover leads to a re-assembly of plant-pollinator interactions through increased competition with other pollinator species. Moreover, honeybee preference for the most abundant plant species reduces its seed set, driven by high honeybee visitation rates that prevent pollen tube growth. Our study therefore calls for an adequate understanding of the trade-offs between providing pollination services to crops and the effects that managed pollinators might have on wild plants and pollinators. | This project was partially funded by the EU FP7 STEP project ‘Status and trends of European pollinators’ (244 090; http://www.STEP-project.net) and Biodiversa-FACCE project ‘Enhancing biodiversity-based ecosystem services to crops through optimized densities of green infrastructure in agricultural landscapes’ (PCIN-2014-048, http://www.cec.lu.se/ecodeal), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness FLORMAS (CGL2012-33801) and the Severo Ochoa program (SEV-2012-0262). A.M. acknowledges funding from the Juan de la Cierva Incorporación program (IJCI-2014-22558).

Pollination is considered one of the most important processes for biodiversity conservation (Kremen 2005). Recently, the global community, by means of the Intergovernmental Platform of Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services (IPBES 2016), and also, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD 2002) recognized the importance of plant-pollinator interactions for ecosystems functioning and sustainable agriculture. The conservation of pollination depends of information about plant-pollinator interactions covering a great diversity of functional and taxonomic groups. Studies show that successful pollination can improve the amount and the quality of plant fecundation and fruit production (Kevan and Imperatriz-Fonseca 2002). However, the success of these actions depends on the knowledge on pollinators, their conservation and interactions with plants and the environment. In order to conserve and manage it, more information needs to be captured about plant-pollinator interactions. Primary data about pollinators is becoming increasingly available online and can be accessed at a number of websites and portals. Many initiatives have also been created to facilitate and to stimulate the dissemination of pollination data, and examples are the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network - Pollinators Thematic Network - IABIN-PTN (www.biocomp.org.br/iabinptn) and the WebBee (www.webbee.org.br) (Saraiva et al. 2003). One important aspect of this trend is the strong reliance on standardized data schemas and protocols (e.g. Darwin Core - DwC and TDWG Access Protocol for Information Retrieval - TAPIR, respectively) that allow us to share and aggregate biological data, among which pollinator data are included. Although plant-pollinator interaction data are critically important to our understanding of the role, importance and effectiveness of (potential) pollinators, they cannot be adequately represented by the current standards for occurrence data (such as DwC). The ways that interaction data are recorded and stored worldwide, as well as their intended use are very diverse. They lack of a common protocol and data schema, that will allow us to aggregate them in web portals and eventually use them to build decision support systems for conservation and sustainable use in agriculture, needs to be addressed. The IABIN-PTN adopted a simple solution to characterize and digitalize plant-pollinator interaction data based on DwC (Cartolano Júnior et al. 2007), allowing the digitalization of many Latin-american collections. Following that work, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) produced a detailed survey of potential descriptors of plant-pollinators interactions. Although the ultimate goal of that work was to propose a data standard, that did not evolve (Cavalheiro et al. 2016). The FAO Global pollination project, adopted in Brazil the same simplified model used by IABIN to digitize plant-pollinator interaction data (Saraiva et al. 2010). Recently many Brazilian scientists gathered around the Brazilian Plant-Pollinator Interactions Network (REBIPP - www.rebipp.org.br) with the aim of developing scientific and teaching activities in the field. The main goals of the network are: generate a diagnosis of plant-pollinator interactions in Brazil; integrate knowledge in pollination of natural, agricultural, urban and restored areas; identify knowledge gaps; support public policy guidelines aimed at the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services for pollination and food production; and encourage collaborative studies among REBIPP participants. To achieve these goals the group has resumed those previous works done under the auspices of the IABIN and FAO projects, and a data standard is being discussed. The ultimate goal is to adopt a standard and develop a database of plant-pollinator data in Brazil to be used by the national community. This proposal of a data standard (depicted in Fig. 1) can serve as a starting point for the definition of a global data standard for plant-pollinator interactions under the TDWG umbrella.

Today’s human population is continuously increasing and this also increases the need of exploiting natural habitats. Increased exploitation results in loss of important habitats for different organisms, which in turn leads to biodiversity loss. The loss of biodiversity endangers the supply of ecosystem services, which is fundamental for human well-being. To mitigate the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, the building and construction-sector uses Nature -based solutions (NBS). MAX IV is a new science plant located in the city of Lund, Sweden. The aim of this study is to evaluate interventions on the MAX IV area, classified as NBS. The interventions are evaluated in terms of their qualification of biodiversity and ecosystem services. This study mostly focuses on the prerequisites for pollinators, honeybees and wild bees, on the MAX IV area. The prerequisites are evaluated by the access of food recourses that the different interventions have brought to the area. Also the prerequisite for biodiversity, in connection with NBS on the MAX IV area, is evaluated. The prerequisite for biodiversity of birds, bats, pollinators and vegetation was evaluated in terms of accessibility to the area and the supply of recourses. The result of this study shows lack of flowering food recourses during the beginning and end of the pollinator season. The supply of food recourses was best during the months of June and July, but during the months of March and October the supply of food recourses was deficit. The results also show lack of food resources for wild bees. The results from the evaluation of resources for biodiversity show that the MAX IV area is most adapted for mobile species like pollinators, bats and birds. Possible competition between honeybees and wild bees is also mentioned as a negative effect on the wild biodiversity on the MAX IV area. | Today’s human population is continuously increasing and this also increases the need of exploiting natural habitats. Increased exploitation results in loss of important habitats for different organisms, which in turn leads to biodiversity loss. The loss of biodiversity endangers the supply of ecosystem services, which is fundamental for human well-being. To mitigate the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, the building and construction-sector uses Nature -based solutions (NBS). MAX IV is a new science plant located in the city of Lund, Sweden. The aim of this study is to evaluate interventions on the MAX IV area, classified as NBS. The interventions are evaluated in terms of their qualification of biodiversity and ecosystem services. This study mostly focuses on the prerequisites for pollinators, honeybees and wild bees, on the MAX IV area. The prerequisites are evaluated by the access of food recourses that the different interventions have brought to the area. Also the prerequisite for biodiversity, in connection with NBS on the MAX IV area, is evaluated. The prerequisite for biodiversity of birds, bats, pollinators and vegetation was evaluated in terms of accessibility to the area and the supply of recourses. The result of this study shows lack of flowering food recourses during the beginning and end of the pollinator season. The supply of food recourses was best during the months of June and July, but during the months of March and October the supply of food recourses was deficit. The results also show lack of food resources for wild bees. The results from the evaluation of resources for biodiversity show that the MAX IV area is most adapted for mobile species like pollinators, bats and birds. Possible competition between honeybees and wild bees is also mentioned as a negative effect on the wild biodiversity on the MAX IV area.

Historically, demand for increased crop production has been satisfied by agricultural practices that include land conversion into agricultural land and improvements in crop yield. The benefits of persisting in this approach are challenged by the existence of apparent yield plateaus for many major crops and of crop yield saturating responses to increasing levels of pesticides. Notably, despite the importance of yield stability and the empirical evidence that magnitude and stability of ecosystem functions do not necessarily co-vary positively, few studies on the stability of crop yield have been attempted. Here, we develop a model for crop yield dynamics in a spatially heterogeneous agricultural landscape to explore possible trade-offs between crop production (yield mean and stability) and biodiversity conservation (pollinators) in agroecosystems. We focus on how landscape composition (proportion of semi-natural habitat within the agricultural landscape) and crop pollination dependence shape these trade-offs and how they influence the mean and stability of pollinators, and that of crop yield. We find that agricultural practices impose trade-offs in pollination-dependent agriculture between provisioning and regulating/cultural services in agroecosystems, such as between crop area and semi-natural habitat for pollinator communities, which not only affect the production of crops, but also their stability. These trade-offs are conditioned by mechanisms associated with the pollinator dependence of crops, and the crop relative responsiveness. Agriculture has become more pollinator-dependent over time, and, in order to develop more efficient and sustainable management policies, it is essential to understand the mechanisms driving these trade-offs.

EA GESTAD INRA<br/>EAGESTAD INRA | Historically, demand for increased crop production has been satisfied by agricultural practices that include land conversion into agricultural land and improvements in crop yield. The benefits of persisting in this approach are challenged by the existence of apparent yield plateaus for many major crops and of crop yield saturating responses to increasing levels of pesticides. Notably, despite the importance of yield stability and the empirical evidence that magnitude and stability of ecosystem functions do not necessarily co-vary positively, few studies on the stability of crop yield have been attempted. Here, we develop a model for crop yield dynamics in a spatially heterogeneous agricultural landscape to explore possible trade-offs between crop production (yield mean and stability) and biodiversity conservation (pollinators) in agroecosystems. We focus on how landscape composition (proportion of semi-natural habitat within the agricultural landscape) and crop pollination dependence shape these trade-offs and how they influence the mean and stability of pollinators, and that of crop yield. We find that agricultural practices impose trade-offs in pollination-dependent agriculture between provisioning and regulating/cultural services in agroecosystems, such as between crop area and semi-natural habitat for pollinator communities, which not only affect the production of crops, but also their stability. These trade-offs are conditioned by mechanisms associated with the pollinator dependence of crops, and the crop relative responsiveness. Agriculture has become more pollinator-dependent over time, and, in order to develop more efficient and sustainable management policies, it is essential to understand the mechanisms driving these trade-offs.

Ecological engineering has recently emerged as a paradigm for considering pest management approaches that are based on cultural practices and informed by ecological knowledge rather than on high technology approaches such as synthetic pesticides and genetically engineered crops (Gurr et al. 2004a). This article provides a brief summary of ecological engineering for arthropod pest management and contrasts it with its controversial cousin, genetic engineering. The development of ecological engineering is explored, ranging from a simple first approximation that diversity is beneficial, to contemporary understanding that diversity can have adverse effects on pest management. This requires that the functional mechanisms that lead components of biodiversity to suppress pest activity are better understood and exploited. Pest suppression via ecological engineering is placed in the broader context of ‘ecosystem services’ provided by farmland biodiversity including nitrogen fixation and the conservation of pollinator species and wildlife.

The increase and expansion of urbanisation and agriculture intensification has led to a decrease of natural habitats worldwide. Natural habitats offer resources such as food or nesting sites for different arthropod groups. Decline of these habitats could cause a loss of arthropod biodiversity. Semi-natural habitats in farmland, but also green spaces (e.g. parks and gardens) in cities that have high plant richness and flower cover, can potentially maintain this biodiversity and the associated ecosystem services. Pollinators provide vital ecosystem services and are highly dependent on flowering resources in natural habitats. Bumblebees (Bombus) are a particularly important pollinator group in Europe. In study 1, I examined how floral resources at the local and landscape scale affect bumblebee foraging behaviour and colony performance. I conducted an experiment with 32 Bombus terrestris colonies along a farmland to urban gradient. I analysed local and long-range movement patterns of bumblebees to assess where pollinators forage in urban areas. I measured if B. terrestris colony growth depended on resource availability in the direct surroundings of the colonies or on landscape scale. The colony performance was the same along the gradient and workers visited plants providing floral resources in the direct surroundings and foraged at greater distances to their colonies. My results indicate that resources at the local and landscape scale affect bumblebee behaviour and performance. It is important to provide sufficient amounts of vegetated area for pollinators in farmland and urban areas as they benefit from plant rich environments. Additionally, in study 2 I collected pollen from 48 bumblebee colonies in May and July 2015 and analysed which plant families were collected most frequently from bumblebee workers and if these plant families occurred in the surroundings of the colonies. Bumblebee workers showed high preferences for specific plant families with high flower cover and a high amount of nectar and pollen resources. Bumblebees foraged in greater distance to their colonies when these plant families were not present in the direct surroundings of the colonies. My results suggest that in bumblebee conservation and green space management these plant families should be taken into account. These plant families could help with the maintenance and restoration of good quality habitat for pollinators.In study 3, I conducted a pollinator observation experiment along a farmland to urban gradient. I planted phytometer plants along grassy margins in farmland sites, in village gardens and city gardens and observed plant-pollinator interactions. Plant-pollinator networks were more robust with higher interaction strength in farmland sites than networks in village and city gardens. Pollinator community composition changed with increasing urbanisation. In farmland sites, syrphid flies visited the phytometer plants more often, whereas wild-bees were more often present in gardens. In village gardens intermediate amounts of syrphid flies and bees visited the phytometer plants. My results suggest that farmland and urban landscapes support different pollinator communities and that the interface between the two extremes is of particular importance for the maintenance and restoration of a complementary pollinator community. In study 4, I sampled three arthropod taxa (Coleoptera, Araneae and Hymenoptera) along an urbanisation gradient from small villages to cities. Sampling was conducted in gardens and public green spaces in the edge or centre of settlements to investigate if the direct surroundings or the amount of urban area in the landscape affected arthropod community composition. Coleoptera community structure and composition changed depending on the local surroundings (position in the settlement and green space type) and the amount of urban area (landscape effect). Hymenoptera and Araneae were influenced predominantly by the local surroundings. Our study deepens our understanding of how arthropod communities respond to urbanisation, as it is the first to investigate the influence of both urban area size and position in an urban area. In conclusion, the results of my thesis show that arthropod groups respond to local habitat type and resource availability such as flower cover and plant richness in urban green spaces. Arthropod community composition and structure are influenced by landscape factors, such as degree of urbanisation or the amount of a mass flowering crop. Vegetated areas and urban green spaces have biodiversity value and my results suggest that landscape and the type of local habitat are intricately linked and therefore they should be evaluated together when designing landscapes to maintain and conserve biodiversity.