Pollination plays a crucial role in the conservation of many plant species persisting in fragmented, human-dominated landscapes. Pollinators are known to be instrumental in maintaining genetic diversity and metapopulation dynamics for many plant species and are important for providing ecological services that are essential in agricultural landscapes where populations of native plants are highly isolated. Numerous studies have explored the value of remnant native vegetation for supporting pollination services to crop species, yet the effect of mass-flowering crops on the pollinator communities and the pollination services they provide to native plant communities persisting in fragmented landscapes are less well understood. Here, we assess the influence of the presence and phenology of a mass-flowering crop to pollinator community structure, abundance, and pollen load composition in remnant vegetation in complex agricultural landscapes.
Adjacent crop type impacts potential pollinator communities and their pollination services in remnants of natural vegetation
Year: 2022
