Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5537814 | Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment | 2017 | 9 Pages |
Abstract
In contrast to studies conducted elsewhere, we did not observe any wild pollinators visiting apple or pear flowers, highlighting the fragility of this conventionally intensified crop production system. We found that such orchard systems can suffer large pollinator deficits affecting farmers' profit. Given that A. mellifera was the only flower visitor, we could estimate the impact of improving colony management on farmer's profit without the influence of other pollinators. Our study also shows that variations within pome crops, i.e. apples and varieties of pears, in pollinator benefits can be very large, and that the assumption of global average values to guide local recommendations can be misleading.
Keywords
Related Topics
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Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Agronomy and Crop Science
Authors
Benoît Geslin, Marcelo A. Aizen, Nancy Garcia, Ana-Julia Pereira, Bernard E. Vaissière, Lucas A. Garibaldi,