Melliferous potential of some herbaceous plants in agricultural habitats
2013
Odoux, Jean Francois | Vaissière, Bernard
Agricultural intensification is one of the main causes of pollinator decline, due to the evolution of practices in recent decades. Nevertheless, crops and weeds still provide important resources for honey bees and it is there for essential to check the plants that can contribute to the sustainability of honey bees and beekeeping in agricultural habitats. Floral resources available in a farming landscape are not continuous and may result in periods of dearth. Many floral species, especially forbs, are threatened in today modern agriculture due to weeding practices, crop rotation, and the disappearance of some crops. Methods are needed to survey candidate plants that provide nectar resources, even if these are ordinary weeds but even more so if they could be of potential agricultural interest. We reviewed about 170 plant species, belonging to 120 genus and 35 botanical families, known to be visited by honey bees in agricultural habitats and assessed their melliferous potential based upon the many studies conducted in Romania. We built a large database and results from older and current studies were surveyed in order to cover the largest spectrum of species and ecological conditions. We then analysed features and relationships among species based upon their nectar secretion and ecological traits. Systematic and life history traits, functional traits and traditional use were also taken into account in order to explore cropping possibilities. Indeed, some of these species could offer new perspectives to improve agricultural habitats for honey bees.
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