Management that enhances floral resources can be an effective way to support pollinators and pollination services. Some wildlife-friendly farming schemes aim to enhance the density and diversity of floral resources in non-crop habitats on farms, whilst managing crop fields intensively. Others, such as organic farming, aim to support ecological processes within both crop and non-crop habitats. How effective these different approaches are for supporting pollination services at the farm scale is unknown. We compared organic farming with two non-organic wildlife-friendly farming schemes: one prescriptive (Conservation Grade, CG) and one flexible (Entry Level Stewardship, ELS), and sampled a representative selection of crop and non-crop habitats. We investigated the spatial distribution and overall level of: (i) flower density and diversity, (ii) pollinator density and diversity and (iii) pollination services provided to Californian poppy (Eschscholzia californica) potted phytometer plants. Organic crop habitats supported a higher density of flowers, insect-wildflower visits, and fruit set of phytometers than CG or ELS crop habitats. Non-crop habitats supported a higher density of flowers and insect-flower visits than crop habitats on CG and ELS farms. Pollination services were higher on organic farms overall compared to CG or ELS. Pollinator diversity and density did not differ between schemes, at the point or farm level. CG farms received the highest total number of insect-wildflower visits. The findings support organic farming practices that increase floral resources in crop habitats, such as sowing clover or reduced herbicide usage, as mechanisms to enhance pollination services. However trade-offs with other ecosystem services are likely and these are discussed. The findings support the CG scheme as a way of supporting pollinators within farms where high wheat yields are required.

Trabajo presentado en la International Conference on Pulses for Health, Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture in Drylands, celebrada en Marrakesh del 18 al 20 de abril de 2016. | Pulses are pollinated by several apoid species. However, the plant pollinator inter-play does not get much attention as a useful tool in breeding planning. The attention that should be given to the understanding of the interplay plant-pollinator in pulses is the consequence of the combined importance of the pollination for the production service and breeding strategies, plus the increasing urgency, in mitigating bee-pollinators decline by the development / implementation of conservation measures. Faced with an increasingly uncertain climate and a global decline on biodiversity, the ability to incorporate the potential benefits of insect pollinators will become increasingly important to protect yields. Further, it is important to highlight that pollination and pollinators are very significant for the production of local pulse crops that are important for local communities. However, it is highly likely that bee-pollinated pulses grown today are suboptimal in terms of their floral traits for attracting and sustaining their pollinator populations. Pulses breeding for sustainable agriculture, in the face of climate change, demands the development of non-food services. Foraging places for bees are some of the ecological services provided for pulses. Declines in bee populations have increased the interest in this particular ecological service of pulses. Moreover, pulses have a great potential to be served by bee pollinators. Pollinators, as agents of crossing are natural breeders of highest importance for the development of hybrids and/or heterotic high yielding and resilient open-pollinated populations. Farmers should use pollinator-friendly crops to increase the occurrence, health and visitation of pollinators. Designing the right crop, appropriate and effective in a particular site, is where management of pollination becomes key. It is necessary the construction of a conceptual framework and an analytical tool to develop approaches in pulse production, based on understanding and sustainable use of pollinators. The view point is that plant-pollinator interplay understanding may inform breeding approaches for a sustainable agriculture to meet both goals: 1) optimal productivity (food production service), based on an efficient use of pollinators, and 2) biodiversity conservation (ecological service). To implement this approach, the methodology proposed is to support native pollinators for insect-mediated outcrossing by designing a crop with appropriate functional flower traits: Crop Design System (CDS). In the CDS approach, breeders and farmers incorporate the potential benefits of pollen vectors into practices to increase the efficiency of hybrid seed technology and, in parallel, increase the occurrence, health and visitation of pollinators, whether these are wild or managed, by developing pollinator-friendly crops. The topic is timely because initiatives, at world level (the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), on the assessment of pollination and pollinators associated with food production confirmed that the management of pollinators is an issue of paramount importance to our food supply system and food security. | No

Die Durchwachsene Silphie (Silphium perfoliatum L.) ist eine alternative Bioenergiepflanze, die in wesentlichen Punkten zu einer umweltschonenden Nutzung von Erneuerbaren Energien beitragen könnte. Die Vorzüge der Durchwachsenen Silphie liegen insbesondere in ihren Blüheigenschaften und dem mehrjährigen Anbau ohne Bodenbearbeitung, wovon Organismengruppen profitieren können, die besondere Funktionen im Agrarökosystem wie z.B. Bestäubung oder Bodenfruchtbarkeit steuern. Aktuell stützt sich die Erzeugung von Biomasse in Deutschland auf Anbausysteme, die aus agrarökologischer Sicht eine Bedrohung für die Biodiversität und für Ökosystemfunktionen darstellen. Die Dringlichkeit, dieser Entwicklung entgegenzusteuern, wird insbesondere bei Betrachtung des Flächenbedarfs für eine substanzielle Energieerzeugung deutlich. Inwiefern der Anbau der Durchwachsenen Silphie die Erwartungen an eine nachhaltige Biomassenutzung erfüllt, wurde im Rahmen einer umfangreichen Erhebung von blütenbesuchenden Insekten (Bienen und Schwebfliegen) einschließlich einer Pollen- und Nektarquantifizierung sowie Bodentier-Gemeinschaften (Regenwürmer, Collembolen und Nematoden) einschließlich ihrer funktionellen Gruppen in Beständen praxisnaher Bewirtschaftung untersucht. Es zeigte sich, dass die Durchwachsene Silphie als Biomassepflanze über das nötige agrarökologische Potential verfügt, um die aktuelle negative Entwicklung der Biodiversität insbesondere in Regionen mit hohem Maisanteil in Monokultur abzufedern. Dieses agrarökologische Potential lässt sich jedoch nur ausschöpfen, wenn agronomische Voraussetzungen wie z.B. ein später Erntetermin und Standzeiten von mindestens fünf Jahren erfüllt sind. Unter diesen Voraussetzungen ist der Landschaftskontext zu berücksichtigen. So sind semi-natürliche Habitate als Nist- und Larvalhabitate in der Umgebung nötig, um den Lebenszyklen wildlebender Bestäubergruppen gerecht zu werden, während eine positive Entwicklung der biologischen Funktionalität des Bodens an eine ackerbauliche Vornutzung der Flächen gekoppelt ist. | The cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum L.) is an alternative bioenergy plant that may contribute to a more environmentally friendly utilization of renewable resources. The potential benefits of the cup plant comprise its flowering- characteristics and the perennial cultivation without tillage. Hence organisms could be fostered that serve important ecosystem-functions, i.e. pollination and soil fertility. To date biomass production in Germany is based on cropping systems that bear a risk for biodiversity and ecosystem- services. The importance to counteract this development becomes more pronounced, considering the land requirements for significant generation of energy from biomass. To what extent cropping of the cup plant meets the expectations of a sustainable biomass production was investigated within a comprehensive assessment of pollinating insects (bees and hoverflies) including pollen- and nectar-quantification as well as of soil-fauna communities (earthworms, collembolans, nematodes) and according functional groups in cup-plant stands with a commercial orientation of management. From the results it became obvious that the cup plant as a bioenergy crop has got the necessary potential to mitigate the negative development of biodiversity and ecosystem services, especially in regions with a large share of maize monocultures. This agro-ecological potential can only be exploited if certain agronomic requirements are met, i.e. a late harvest and cultivation periods of at least five years. Under these conditions the landscape context has to be considered. Semi-natural habitats are required for nesting and larval development of wild pollinator-groups, whereas positive development of biological functions in soil is tied to the land-use history.