Flower Strips in Wheat Intercropping System: Effect on Pollinator Abundance and Diversity in Belgium
The decline of pollinators in agricultural areas has been observed for some decades, this being partly due to landscape simplification in intensive agrosystems. Diversifying agricultural landscapes by sowing flower strips within fields could reduce these adverse effects on biodiversity. In this cont...
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MDPI AG
2018-09-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/9/3/114 |
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| author | Clara Amy Grégoire Noël Séverin Hatt Roel Uyttenbroeck Frank Van de Meutter David Genoud Frédéric Francis |
| author_facet | Clara Amy Grégoire Noël Séverin Hatt Roel Uyttenbroeck Frank Van de Meutter David Genoud Frédéric Francis |
| author_sort | Clara Amy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The decline of pollinators in agricultural areas has been observed for some decades, this being partly due to landscape simplification in intensive agrosystems. Diversifying agricultural landscapes by sowing flower strips within fields could reduce these adverse effects on biodiversity. In this context, the study presented here aimed at assessing and comparing the abundance and diversity of bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) and hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) found and visiting flowers in three types of flower strips in Belgium: (i) a mixture of 11 wild flowers, (ii) a monofloral strip of Dimorphoteca pluvialis (Asteraceae) and (iii) a monofloral strip of Camelina sativa (Brassicaceae), where the last two are considered to be intercrops since they are valuable on the market, all sown within a field of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Pollinators were captured with pan traps and by netting in standardised transects from May to July 2017. One-thousand one-hundred and eighty-four individuals belonging to 43 bee species and 18 hoverfly species were collected. Significant differences in hoverfly diversity were found between the different flower strips. The multifloral treatment supported a greater diversity of syrphid species. Various pollinator species visited the different flowers composing the mixture and also D. pluvialis. The pollinator community proved to be predominantly generalist, with the exception of an oligolectic species in Belgium, Andrena nitidiuscula. Moreover, the three tested flower strips were effective in attracting hoverflies, among them natural enemies of insect pests. This study opens new perspectives in the design of intercropping systems with flower strips towards the design of sustainable agro-ecosystems. Improving economic profitability of sowing flower strips could encourage farmers to diversify their agricultural systems and foster conservation biology strategies. |
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| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
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| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-698e4f6c63aa4662bb6d05f41f9d487b2022-12-21T17:33:17ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502018-09-019311410.3390/insects9030114insects9030114Flower Strips in Wheat Intercropping System: Effect on Pollinator Abundance and Diversity in BelgiumClara Amy0Grégoire Noël1Séverin Hatt2Roel Uyttenbroeck3Frank Van de Meutter4David Genoud5Frédéric Francis6Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, Department of Agronomy, Biology and Chemistry, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liege, Passage des Déportés 2, 5030 Gembloux, BelgiumFunctional and Evolutionary Entomology, Department of Agronomy, Biology and Chemistry, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liege, Passage des Déportés 2, 5030 Gembloux, BelgiumFunctional and Evolutionary Entomology, Department of Agronomy, Biology and Chemistry, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liege, Passage des Déportés 2, 5030 Gembloux, BelgiumTERRA—AgricultureIsLife, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liege, Passage des Déportés 2, 5030 Gembloux, BelgiumThe Research Institute for Nature & Forest (INBO), Herman Teirlinck building, Venue du Port, 1000 Brussels, BelgiumDiagnostic, Gestion, Expertise (DGE), 10 rue du Président Fallières, 11000 Carcassonne, FranceFunctional and Evolutionary Entomology, Department of Agronomy, Biology and Chemistry, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liege, Passage des Déportés 2, 5030 Gembloux, BelgiumThe decline of pollinators in agricultural areas has been observed for some decades, this being partly due to landscape simplification in intensive agrosystems. Diversifying agricultural landscapes by sowing flower strips within fields could reduce these adverse effects on biodiversity. In this context, the study presented here aimed at assessing and comparing the abundance and diversity of bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) and hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) found and visiting flowers in three types of flower strips in Belgium: (i) a mixture of 11 wild flowers, (ii) a monofloral strip of Dimorphoteca pluvialis (Asteraceae) and (iii) a monofloral strip of Camelina sativa (Brassicaceae), where the last two are considered to be intercrops since they are valuable on the market, all sown within a field of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Pollinators were captured with pan traps and by netting in standardised transects from May to July 2017. One-thousand one-hundred and eighty-four individuals belonging to 43 bee species and 18 hoverfly species were collected. Significant differences in hoverfly diversity were found between the different flower strips. The multifloral treatment supported a greater diversity of syrphid species. Various pollinator species visited the different flowers composing the mixture and also D. pluvialis. The pollinator community proved to be predominantly generalist, with the exception of an oligolectic species in Belgium, Andrena nitidiuscula. Moreover, the three tested flower strips were effective in attracting hoverflies, among them natural enemies of insect pests. This study opens new perspectives in the design of intercropping systems with flower strips towards the design of sustainable agro-ecosystems. Improving economic profitability of sowing flower strips could encourage farmers to diversify their agricultural systems and foster conservation biology strategies.http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/9/3/114sustainable agricultureecosystem servicesApoideaeSyrphidaeDimorphoteca pluvialisCamelina sativaCoriandrum sativumFagopyrum esculentumAndrena nitidiuscula |
| spellingShingle | Clara Amy Grégoire Noël Séverin Hatt Roel Uyttenbroeck Frank Van de Meutter David Genoud Frédéric Francis Flower Strips in Wheat Intercropping System: Effect on Pollinator Abundance and Diversity in Belgium Insects sustainable agriculture ecosystem services Apoideae Syrphidae Dimorphoteca pluvialis Camelina sativa Coriandrum sativum Fagopyrum esculentum Andrena nitidiuscula |
| title | Flower Strips in Wheat Intercropping System: Effect on Pollinator Abundance and Diversity in Belgium |
| title_full | Flower Strips in Wheat Intercropping System: Effect on Pollinator Abundance and Diversity in Belgium |
| title_fullStr | Flower Strips in Wheat Intercropping System: Effect on Pollinator Abundance and Diversity in Belgium |
| title_full_unstemmed | Flower Strips in Wheat Intercropping System: Effect on Pollinator Abundance and Diversity in Belgium |
| title_short | Flower Strips in Wheat Intercropping System: Effect on Pollinator Abundance and Diversity in Belgium |
| title_sort | flower strips in wheat intercropping system effect on pollinator abundance and diversity in belgium |
| topic | sustainable agriculture ecosystem services Apoideae Syrphidae Dimorphoteca pluvialis Camelina sativa Coriandrum sativum Fagopyrum esculentum Andrena nitidiuscula |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/9/3/114 |
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