Our review looks at pollinator conservation and highlights the differences in approach between managing for pollination services and preserving pollinator diversity. We argue that ecosystem service management does not equal biodiversity conservation, and that maintaining species diversity is crucial in providing ecosystem resilience in the face of future environmental change. Management and policy measures therefore need to focus on species not just in human dominated landscapes but need to benefit wider diversity of species including those in specialised habitats. We argue that only by adopting a holistic ecosystem approach we can ensure the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the long-term.

Our review looks at pollinator conservation and highlights the differences in approach between managing for pollination services and preserving pollinator diversity. We argue that ecosystem service management does not equal biodiversity conservation, and that maintaining species diversity is crucial in providing ecosystem resilience in the face of future environmental change. Management and policy measures therefore need to focus on species not just in human dominated landscapes but need to benefit wider diversity of species including those in specialised habitats. We argue that only by adopting a holistic ecosystem approach we can ensure the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the long-term.

Our review looks at pollinator conservation and highlights the differences in approach between managing for pollination services and preserving pollinator diversity. We argue that ecosystem service management does not equal biodiversity conservation, and that maintaining species diversity is crucial in providing ecosystem resilience in the face of future environmental change. Management and policy measures therefore need to focus on species not just in human dominated landscapes but need to benefit wider diversity of species including those in specialised habitats. We argue that only by adopting a holistic ecosystem approach we can ensure the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the long-term.

An increasing degree of attention is being given to the ecosystem services which insect pollinators supply, and the economic value of these services. Recent research suggests that a range of factors are contributing to a global decline in pollination services, which are often used as a “headline” ecosystem service in terms of communicating the concept of ecosystem services, and how this ties peoples׳ well-being to the condition of ecosystems and the biodiversity found therein. Our paper offers a conceptual framework for measuring the economic value of changes in insect pollinator populations, and then reviews what evidence exists on the empirical magnitude of these values (both market and non-market). This allows us to highlight where the largest gaps in knowledge are, where the greatest conceptual and empirical challenges remain, and where research is most needed.

An increasing degree of attention is being given to the ecosystem services which insect pollinators supply, and the economic value of these services. Recent research suggests that a range of factors are contributing to a global decline in pollination services, which are often used as a “headline” ecosystem service in terms of communicating the concept of ecosystem services, and how this ties peoples׳ well-being to the condition of ecosystems and the biodiversity found therein. Our paper offers a conceptual framework for measuring the economic value of changes in insect pollinator populations, and then reviews what evidence exists on the empirical magnitude of these values (both market and non-market). This allows us to highlight where the largest gaps in knowledge are, where the greatest conceptual and empirical challenges remain, and where research is most needed.

Natural Capital, and the ecosystem services derived from it, are essential to human well-be-ing and economic prosperity. Indeed, nature inspires and provides many solutions that can help us tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For example, pollinators matter because a majority of European crops depend or benet from insect pollination. Another example is the contribution of pollinators to preserving cherished natural and cultural landscapes through wildower pollination. However, due to a cocktail mix of drivers of change, pollinator species are disappearing and pollinator populations are declining. ese losses accentuate several of our societal chal-lenges, including food security and ecosystem degradation. Hence, building knowledge on the causes behind pollinator decline, and the eects of pollinator decline on other species and ecosystems is essential. e STEP project has contributed signicantly within this eld, with a particular focus on the status and drivers behind trends in European pollinators.Furthermore, research into the dierent solutions for maintaining or enhancing pollinator populations is crucial. ese activities enrich the knowledge base on Nature-based solu-tions, solutions that are inspired by or supported by nature and address societal challenges while maintaining or enhancing our natural capital. Overall, research and innovation ac-tions such as those successfully supported by the STEP project, contribute to greening the economy and making development sustainable.

The temporal dynamics of ecosystem functioning and services are largely regulated by seasonal patterns, or phenology, of Earth’s biota. Recent evidence suggests that species in exotic-dominated systems may exhibit altered phenology relative to species in native-dominated systems. However, whether phenology of plants and pollinator communities differ between existing novel, exotic-dominated ecosystems and native-dominated systems remains poorly understood. We tested whether exotic- and native-dominated grasslands differed across a growing season for plant production, species and functional diversity, and bee pollinator abundances and diversity in the Northern Great Plains tallgrass prairie region, Iowa, USA. We found that niche overlap and some aspects of phenology in exotic-dominated systems were different from native systems for plants, but not for pollinators. Exotic dominated grasslands peaked earlier in biomass production, and exhibited consistently lower levels of species and functional diversity, including higher levels of proportion of C₃ biomass, than native grasslands. These results were related to higher levels of temporal niche overlap in exotic grasslands, where species were similar across the growing season in exotic, but not in native, grasslands. Surprisingly, bee pollinator communities did not differ between exotic and native grasslands despite higher forb:grass ratios in native sites, implying that factors other than exotic-native status may be important in structuring pollinator communities at this scale in highly fragmented landscapes. Our results imply that phenological differences between communities in novel and native grasslands can have important consequences to diversity and ecosystem functioning, and that exotic or native status of plant species should be considered in future studies of phenology.

Understanding the inter-play plant–pollinator is essential to develop ecosystem services of faba bean and improved populations for low-input systems. We analyzed the phenotypic selection exerted by pollinators on floral traits involved in the plant pollinator inter-play. We test whether variation in pollinator-related floral traits is associated with differences among plants in seed production patterns. We used open pollination and pollinator-exclusion environments to examine pollinator mediated selection and selection for autonomous selfing in six gene-pools of Vicia faba over three consecutive years. We recorded, by using Digital Image Analysis, functional floral traits related to attraction, sexual dimension, and vector matching/pollen transfer efficiency. Nine production components were measured to categorize seed production patterns. Our approach used a series of Multivariate Regression Analyses (MRA) to explore which floral traits provided the best models to explain seed production patterns in each gene-pool and pollination environment. MRA showed that variation in the incidence of pollinator-mediated selection on floral traits or in the selection for autonomous selfing can substantially contribute to differences in seed patterns. The underlying floral mechanisms are specific to the gene-pool and largely unrelated among gene-pools. Consistent results among gene-pools involved no evidence of pollinator-mediated selection as result of the floral traits under study on the main predictors of crop yield, pods and seeds per plant. However, relevant predictors of crop yield such as pod length and seed dimensions and weight were pollinator-dependent because of pollinator-mediated selection on sexual dimension, floral display and vector matching traits. We caution against dismissing pollinator-mediated selection as driver of seed production patterns variation which may be influenced by the gene-pool and by the gene-pool × pollination environment interaction.

Lack of natural disturbances and the homogenization of boreal forest because of intensive forest management pose a threat to biodiversity and can endanger the provision of ecosystem services. In this study, we assessed how two methods aimed to promote biodiversity, i.e. prescribed fire and retention forestry (RET), affect ecosystem services supported by bilberry and lingonberry in Scots pine-dominated boreal forests. Shrub cover, flowering, berry yield and percent fruit set of both shrubs were measured and bees were sampled by pan-traps on 24 study sites 13years following a large-scale experiment, where RET (0, 10, 50m3/ha and uncut forests) and fire (yes/no) were manipulated following a replicated factorial design. In general, bilberry performance and reproduction were higher at uncut sites, while lingonberry flowering was positively affected by fire and retention. Bee community composition was mainly determined by percentage of bare ground and number of logs within sites, both nesting resources largely determined by fire and retention. Burnt sites with retention trees serve as pollinator source habitats and contain floral resources, highlighting the importance of natural disturbances and biological legacies in the conservation of pollination services from boreal forests.

Pollination services are economically important component of agricultural biodiversity which enhance the yield and quality of many crops. An understanding of the suitability of extant habitats for pollinating species is crucial for planning management actions to protect and manage these service providers. In a highly modified agricultural ecosystem, we tested the effect of different pollination treatments (open, autonomous self- and wind-pollination) on pod set, seed set, and seed weight in field beans (Vicia faba). We also investigated the effect of semi-natural habitats and flower abundance on pollinators of field beans. Pollinator sampling was undertaken in ten field bean fields along a gradient of habitat complexity; CORINE land cover classification was used to analyse the land use patterns between 500–3000m around the sites. Total yield from open-pollination increased by 185% compared to autonomous self-pollination. There was positive interactive effect of local flower abundance and cover of semi-natural habitats on overall abundance of pollinators at 1500 and 2000m, and abundance of bumblebees (Bombus spp.) at 1000–2000m. In contrast, species richness of pollinators was only correlated with flower abundance and not with semi-natural habitats. We did not find a link between pod set from open-pollination and pollinator abundance, possibly due to variations in the growing conditions and pollinator communities between sites. We conclude that insect pollination is essential for optimal bean yields and therefore the maintenance of semi-natural habitats in agriculture-dominated landscapes should ensure stable and more efficient pollination services in field beans.