A critical analysis of the potential for EU Common Agricultural Policy measures to support wild pollinators on farmland

1. Agricultural intensification and associated loss of high‐quality habitats are key drivers of insect pollinator declines. With the aim of decreasing the environmental impact of agriculture, the 2014 EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) defined a set of habitat and landscape features (Ecological Focus Areas: EFAs) farmers could select from as a requirement to receive basic farm payments. To inform the post‐2020 CAP, we performed a European‐scale evaluation to determine how different EFA options vary in their potential to support insect pollinators under standard and pollinator‐friendly management, as well as the extent of farmer uptake. 2. A structured Delphi elicitation process engaged 22 experts from 18 European countries to evaluate EFAs options. By considering life cycle requirements of key pollinating taxa (i.e. bumble bees, solitary bees and hoverflies), each option was evaluated for its potential to provide forage, bee nesting sites and hoverfly larval resources. 3. EFA options varied substantially in the resources they were perceived to provide and their effectiveness varied geographically and temporally. For example, field margins provide relatively good forage throughout the season in Southern and Eastern Europe but lacked early‐season forage in Northern and Western Europe. Under standard management, no single EFA option achieved high scores across resource categories and a scarcity of late season forage was perceived. 4. Experts identified substantial opportunities to improve habitat quality by adopting pollinator‐friendly management. Improving management alone was, however, unlikely to ensure that all pollinator resource requirements were met. Our analyses suggest that a combination of poor management, differences in the inherent pollinator habitat quality and uptake bias towards catch crops and nitrogen‐fixing crops severely limit the potential of EFAs to support pollinators in European agricultural landscapes. 5. Policy Implications. To conserve pollinators and help protect pollination services, our expert elicitation highlights the need to create a variety of interconnected, well‐managed habitats that complement each other in the resources they offer. To achieve this the Common Agricultural Policy post‐2020 should take a holistic view to implementation that integrates the different delivery vehicles aimed at protecting biodiversity (e.g. enhanced conditionality, eco‐schemes and agri‐environment and climate measures). To improve habitat quality we recommend an effective monitoring framework with target‐orientated indicators and to facilitate the spatial targeting of options collaboration between land managers should be incentivised

Biodiversity of wild bees in Cyprus: Species richness, land use effects and contribution to ecosystem services

Οι άγριες μέλισσες είναι βασικοί πάροχοι υπηρεσιών επικονίασης. Ογδόντα επτά από τις κύριες παγκόσμιες καλλιέργειες τροφίμων βασίζονται στην επικονίαση από ζώα, με περίπου το 35% της παγκόσμιας προσφοράς τροφίμων να στηρίζεται σε ζωικούς επικονιαστές. Έρευνες πολλών επιστημόνων κατέγραψαν ανησυχητικές μειώσεις των ειδών άγριων μελισσών σε πολλά μέρη του κόσμου, με την κλιματική αλλαγή και τη χρήση της γης, συμπεριλαμβανομένης της εντατικής γεωργίας, να αναδεικνύονται ως βασικοί λόγοι της μείωσης των ειδών. Οι στόχοι της παρούσας διατριβής ήταν να αποτιμηθεί η βιοποικιλότητα επικονιαστών στην Κύπρο, να ερευνηθεί η επίδραση του τύπου χρήσης γης στον πλούτο των ειδών χρησιμοποιώντας ιστορικά και πρόσφατα δεδομένα και να καταγραφεί η συνεισφορά συγκεκριμένων ειδών μελισσών στην επικοινίαση σημαντικών καλλιεργειών. Στο Κεφάλαιο 2 δημιουργήθηκε η πρώτη σύγχρονη λίστα των ειδών άγριων μελισσών της Κύπρου, βασισμένη σε προηγούμενες σχετικές δημοσιεύσεις, δείγματα από μουσεία και πρόσφατες συλλογές από το πεδίο. Συνολικά, 369 επαληθευμένα είδη μελισσών έχουν καταγραφεί στο νησί, με έντεκα είδη να αναφέρονται για πρώτη φορά στην Κύπρο. Το νησί φιλοξενεί και τις έξι από τις παγκοσμίως διαδεδομένες οικογένειες μελισσών, με την Apidae να εκπροσωπείται από 110 είδη, τη Megachilidae με 91, την Andrenidae με 76, τη Halictidae με 72, την Colletidae με 19 και τη Melittidae με 1 είδος. Είκοσι ένα από τα καταγεγραμμένα είδη είναι ενδημικά (ποσοστό ενδημισμού 5,7%) και η Κύπρος κατατάσσεται τρίτη μετά τη Λέσβο και τη Σικελία σε γνωστό πλούτο ειδών μελισσών μεταξύ των νησιών της Μεσογείου. Στο Κεφάλαιο 3 αναλύσαμε ιστορικές αλλαγές στον πλούτο των ειδών χρησιμοποιώντας ως βάση ένα μοναδικό σύνολο δεδομένων που συνέλεξε ο ταξινομιστής μελισσών Γεώργιος Μαυρομουστάκης, με έναρξη των δειγματοληψιών πριν ένα αιώνα και διάρκεια 30 ετών. Εστιάσαμε σε δύο περιοχές με δύο διαφορετικούς τύπους χρήσης γης: στην περιοχή Τσερκέζ Τσιφτλίκ - Ασώματος όπου το τοπίο χαρακτηρίζεται ως κυρίως αγροτικό και στην περιοχή Ακρωτηρίου με κυρίως ημιφυσικό τοπίο. Έγιναν συλλογές μελισσών και στις δύο περιοχές ανά δύο εβδομάδες για περίοδο δύο ετών. Οι αλλαγές στις χρήσεις γης ήταν ελάχιστες μεταξύ της ιστορικής και της σημερινής περιόδου. Ωστόσο, η περιοχή Τσερκέζ Τσιφτλίκ - Ασώματος γνώρισε δραστικές αλλαγές, με αύξηση της χρήσης εντατικών γεωργικών μεθόδων, ιδιαίτερα συνθετικών εντομοκτόνων, συμπεριλαμβανομένου του DDT, περίπου από το 1945 και έπειτα. Επιπρόσθετα, η περιοχή Τσερκέζ Τσιφτλίκ – Ασώματος έχει διάσπαρτη οικιστική ανάπτυξη σε σχέση με το Ακρωτήρι όπου η ανάπτυξη είναι πιο συγκεντρωμένη. Εντοπίσαμε σημαντικές αλλαγές στη σύνθεση των ειδών, με 43 είδη να έχουν αναφερθεί μόνο στα ιστορικά δείγματα, 77 μόνο στα πρόσφατα δείγματα, ενώ 42 εντοπίστηκαν και στις δύο περιόδους. Ο Μαυρομουστάκης ανέφερε 50 είδη από το Ακρωτήρι και 80 από την περιοχή Τσερκέζ Τσιφτλίκ - Ασώματος, από τα οποία τα 26 ήταν κοινά και στις δύο περιοχές. Στις πρόσφατες δειγματοληψίες συγκεντρώσαμε 110 είδη από το Ακρωτήρι και 68 από την περιοχή Τσερκέζ Τσιφτλίκ - Ασώματος, περιλαμβανομένων 53 κοινών ειδών. Η διαφορά στη συχνότητα εξαφανίσεων ειδών ήταν στατιστικά σημαντική, με την περιοχή Τσερκέζ Τσιφτλίκ - Ασώματος να χάνει είδη με διπλάσιο ρυθμό από το Ακρωτήρι, περίπου στο 75 και 35% αντίστοιχα. Ο πλούτος των ειδών φυτών από τα οποία συλλέχθηκαν μέλισσες ήταν υψηλότερος στο Ακρωτήρι, με στατιστικά σημαντική σχέση μεταξύ του φυτικού πλούτου και του πλούτου των μελισσών. Υποθέτουμε ότι οι κύριοι παράγοντες για την εξαφάνιση των ειδών είναι η εντατική χρήση συνθετικών γεωργικών φαρμάκων και η απώλεια κατάλληλων οικοτόπων και φυτικών ειδών λόγω της εφαρμογής εντατικών γεωργικών μεθόδων και οικιστικής ανάπτυξης. Ως αποτέλεσμα της εργασίας, αναφέρονται δεκατρία νέα είδη μελισσών στην Κύπρο, καθώς και τρία νέα είδη για την επιστήμη. Το Κεφάλαιο 4 αξιολόγησε την ποικιλότητα των άγριων μελισσών και άλλων επικονιαστών που βασίζονται στα άνθη της χαρουπιάς, καθώς και τη συμβολή της ζωικής επικοινίασης στην παραγωγή χαρουπιών. Τα άνθη χαρουπιών υποβλήθηκαν σε δύο μεταχειρίσεις: Ανοιχτή επικονίαση, όπου οι ταξιανθίες έμειναν ως είχαν, και κλειστή επικονίαση, όπου οι ταξιανθίες εγκλωβίστηκαν σε δίχτυ κατά τη διάρκεια της ανθοφορίας. Οι εβδομαδιαίες παρατηρήσεις κατά τη διάρκεια της ανθοφορίας έδειξαν ότι το Apis mellifera ήταν ο πιο συχνός επισκέπτης των λουλουδιών ακολουθούμενη από είδη άγριων μελισσών και σφηκών. Τα άνθη χαρουπιών επισκέφθηκαν τουλάχιστον 10 διαφορετικά είδη άγριων μελισσών. Τα άνθη με ανοιχτή επικονίαση παρήγαγαν σημαντικά περισσότερους καρπούς, με το όφελος να κυμαίνεται από 4 έως 20 φορές υψηλότερη παραγωγή, ανάλογα με την περιοχή. Η ανοιχτή επικονίαση οδήγησε σε καρπούς με μεγαλύτερο βάρος, μήκος και αριθμό σπόρων σε σύγκριση με τους καρπούς που προέρχονταν από την κλειστή επικονίαση. Τα αποτελέσματα της παρούσας μελέτης υπογραμμίζουν τη σημασία της ζωικής επικοινίασης για την παραγωγή χαρουπιών, καθώς και τη σημασία των χαρουπιών για τη διατήρηση των άγριων μελισσών. Τα ευρήματά της παρουσάς διατριβής αναδεικνύουν τη σημασία τόσο των ιστορικών δεδομένων, όσο και σύγχρονων δειγματοληψιών για την κατανόηση της ποικιλότητας των μελισσών και την ανάγκη θέσπισης ενός μακροπρόθεσμου προγράμματος παρακολούθησης και δράσεων διατήρησης για τα είδη των αγρίων μελισσών της Κύπρου.Wild bees are key providers of pollination services. Eighty-seven of the leading global food crops rely on animal pollination, with ca. 35% of global food supply depended on the service. Seminal work by multiple authors documented alarming declines in wild bee species in several parts of the world, with climate change and land use change, including intensive agriculture, emerging as key drivers of species declines. The goals of the current Dissertation were to evaluate wild bee diversity in Cyprus, investigate the effect of land use on species richness using historical and contemporary data, and document the contribution of specific species to pollination services. In Chapter 2 the first modern checklist of the wild bees of Cyprus was created, based on a compilation of previous publications, museum specimens and recent collections. Overall, 369 verified bee species have been recorded on the island, with eleven species reported from Cyprus for the first time. The island hosts all six of the globally widespread bee families, with Apidae represented by 110 species, Megachilidae with 91, Andrenidae with 76, Halictidae with 72, Colletidae with 19, and Melittidae with 1. Twenty-one of the recorded bee species are endemic (i.e., 5.7 % endemism rate) and Cyprus ranks third after Lesvos and Sicily in known bee species richness among the Mediterranean islands. In Chapter 3 we relied on a unique data set collected by the bee taxonomist George Mavromoustakis covering a 30-year period beginning 100 years ago, and recent biweekly samplings over two years to analyze changes in species richness. We focused on two areas with contrasting land use patterns: Cherkes Chiftlik - Asomatos (CC_Asomatos) with a mainly agricultural and Akrotiri with a mainly seminatural land use profile. Changes in landscape use categories were mild and relatively similar in the two areas, with urban development more scattered in CC_Asomatos. In addition, CC_Asomatos experienced drastic changes in land use intensity, with an increase in the use of high-input agricultural methods, including synthetic insecticides, beginning with DDT from around 1945. We detected a substantial species turnover, with 43 species collected only in historical samples, 77 only in recent samples, while 42 persisted in both periods. Mavromoustakis reported 50 species from Akrotiri and 80 from CC_Asomatos, out of which 26 were common. We collected 110 species from Akrotiri, and 68 from CC_Asomatos with 53 common. There was a statistically significant difference in the frequency of species extinctions, with CC_Asomatos loosing species at twice the rate of Akrotiri, at ca. 75 and 35% respectively. The richness of plants visited by bees was higher in Akrotiri, with a significant relationship between plant species richness and bee species richness. We hypothesize that the main drivers for species extinctions are the intensive use of synthetic pesticides, and the loss of habitat and floral diversity because of the expansion of agriculture and urban development. Thirteen species new to Cyprus, as well as three species new to science are reported as part of the current work. Chapter 4 assessed the diversity of wild bees and other pollinators relying on carob flowers, as well as the contribution of animal pollination to carob production. Carob flowers were subjected to two treatments: Open pollination, where inflorescences were left untreated, and wind pollination, where inflorescences were bagged in a mesh during blooming. Weekly observations during blooming showed that Apis mellifera was the most frequent floral visitor followed by wild bees and wasps. Carob flowers were visited by at least 10 different wild bee species. Open-pollinated flowers produced significantly more pods, with the benefit ranging from 4 to 20 times higher production, depending on the region. Open pollination led to pods with greater weight, length and number of seeds compared to pods derived from wind pollination. The results of the study highlight the importance of animal pollination to carob production, as well as the significance of carob trees to wild bee conservation. The findings of the current dissertation highlight the importance of historical data in understanding bee diversity and the need for establishing a long-term monitoring program and conservation actions for the bee species of Cyprus.Denis Michez, Georgios ManganarisComplete

Data for: Assessing the biodiversity and the impact of pollinators on carob production

As the current climate crisis intensifies, drought-resistant crops are becoming more important due to their ability to withstand the increasingly hotter and drier summers. Such crops are valuable for pollinators as they provide food resources for wild and managed species. The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) represents an example of a heat- and drought-resistant crop, able to grow in dry areas with practically no inputs. The current study assessed over two growing seasons the diversity of wild bees and other pollinators relying on carob flowers, as well as the contribution of animal pollination to carob production. Carob flowers were subjected to two treatments: Open pollination, where inflorescences were left untreated, and wind pollination, where inflorescences were bagged in a mesh during blooming. Weekly observations during blooming showed that Apis mellifera was the most frequent floral visitor followed by wild bees and wasps. Carob flowers were visited by at least 10 different wild bee species. Open-pollinated flowers produced significantly more pods, with the benefit ranging from 4 to 16 times higher production, depending on the region. Open pollination led to pods with greater weight, length and number of seeds compared to pods derived from wind pollination. The results of the current study highlight the importance of animal pollination to carob production, as well as the significance of carob trees to wild bee conservation.OpenOffice can be used to open the CSV and Notepad files.The information on how the data were collected is presented in the accompanying manuscript. This is the curated dataset that was used for analyses and graph preparation

Assessing the biodiversity and the impact of pollinators on carob production.

As the current climate crisis intensifies, drought resistant crops are becoming more important due to their ability to withstand the increasingly hotter and drier summers. Such crops are valuable for pollinators as they provide food resources for wild and managed species. The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) represents an example of a heat- and drought- resistant crop, able to grow in dry areas with practically no inputs. The current study assessed over two growing seasons the diversity of wild bees and other pollinators relying on carob flowers, as well as the contribution of animal pollination to carob production. Carob flowers were subjected to two treatments: Open pollination, where inflorescences were left untreated, and wind pollination, where inflorescences were bagged in a mesh during blooming. Weekly observations during blooming showed that Apis mellifera was the most frequent floral visitor followed by wild bees and wasps. Carob flowers were visited by at least 10 different wild bee species. Open-pollinated flowers produced significantly more pods, with the benefit ranging from 4 to 16 times higher production, depending on the region. Open pollination led to pods with greater weight, length and number of seeds compared to pods derived from wind pollination. The results of the current study highlight the importance of animal pollination to carob production, as well as the significance of carob trees to wild bee conservation

Characterization Factors to Assess Land Use Impacts on Pollinator Abundance in Life Cycle Assessment

While wild pollinators play a key role in global food production, their assessment is currently missing from the most commonly used environmental impact assessment method, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This is mainly due to constraints in data availability and compatibility with LCA inventories. To target this gap, relative pollinator abundance estimates were obtained with the use of a Delphi assessment, during which 25 experts, covering 16 nationalities and 45 countries of expertise, provided scores for low, typical, and high expected abundance associated with 24 land use categories. Based on these estimates, this study presents a set of globally generic characterization factors (CFs) that allows translating land use into relative impacts to wild pollinator abundance. The associated uncertainty of the CFs is presented along with an illustrative case to demonstrate the applicability in LCA studies. The CFs based on estimates that reached consensus during the Delphi assessment are recommended as readily applicable and allow key differences among land use types to be distinguished. The resulting CFs are proposed as the first step for incorporating pollinator impacts in LCA studies, exemplifying the use of expert elicitation methods as a useful tool to fill data gaps that constrain the characterization of key environmental impacts

Characterization Factors to Assess Land Use Impacts on Pollinator Abundance in Life Cycle Assessment.

Funder: Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnolog?aFunder: Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services DivisionFunder: Montana Department of AgricultureWhile wild pollinators play a key role in global food production, their assessment is currently missing from the most commonly used environmental impact assessment method, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This is mainly due to constraints in data availability and compatibility with LCA inventories. To target this gap, relative pollinator abundance estimates were obtained with the use of a Delphi assessment, during which 25 experts, covering 16 nationalities and 45 countries of expertise, provided scores for low, typical, and high expected abundance associated with 24 land use categories. Based on these estimates, this study presents a set of globally generic characterization factors (CFs) that allows translating land use into relative impacts to wild pollinator abundance. The associated uncertainty of the CFs is presented along with an illustrative case to demonstrate the applicability in LCA studies. The CFs based on estimates that reached consensus during the Delphi assessment are recommended as readily applicable and allow key differences among land use types to be distinguished. The resulting CFs are proposed as the first step for incorporating pollinator impacts in LCA studies, exemplifying the use of expert elicitation methods as a useful tool to fill data gaps that constrain the characterization of key environmental impacts

National records of 3000 European bee and hoverfly species: A contribution to pollinator conservation

Pollinators play a crucial role in ecosystems globally, ensuring the seed production of most flowering plants. They are threatened by global changes and knowledge of their distribution at the national and continental levels is needed to implement efficient conservation actions, but this knowledge is still fragmented and/or difficult to access. As a step forward, we provide an updated list of around 3000 European bee and hoverfly species, reflecting their current distributional status at the national level (in the form of present, absent, regionally extinct, possibly extinct or non-native). This work was attainable by incorporating both published and unpublished data, as well as knowledge from a large set of taxonomists and ecologists in both groups. After providing the first National species lists for bees and hoverflies for many countries, we examine the current distributional patterns of these species and designate the countries with highest levels of species richness. We also show that many species are recorded in a single European country, highlighting the importance of articulating European and national conservation strategies. Finally, we discuss how the data provided here can be combined with future trait and Red List data to implement research that will further advance pollinator conservation