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Environmental factors driving the effectiveness of European agri-environmental measures in mitigating pollinator loss – a meta-analysis

Scheper, J., Holzschuh, A., Kuussaari, M., Potts, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2045-980X, Rundlöf, M., Smith, H. G. and Kleijn, D. (2013) Environmental factors driving the effectiveness of European agri-environmental measures in mitigating pollinator loss – a meta-analysis. Ecology Letters, 16 (7). pp. 912-920. ISSN 1461-0248

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To link to this item DOI: 10.1111/ele.12128

Abstract/Summary

In Europe, agri-environmental schemes (AES) have been introduced in response to concerns about farmland biodiversity declines. Yet, as AES have delivered variable results, a better understanding of what determines their success or failure is urgently needed. Focusing on pollinating insects, we quantitatively reviewed how environmental factors affect the effectiveness of AES. Our results suggest that the ecological contrast in floral resources created by schemes drives the response of pollinators to AES but that this response is moderated by landscape context and farmland type, with more positive responses in croplands (vs. grasslands) located in simple (vs. cleared or complex) landscapes. These findings inform us how to promote pollinators and associated pollination services in species-poor landscapes. They do not, however, present viable strategies to mitigate loss of threatened or endangered species. This indicates that the objectives and design of AES should distinguish more clearly between biodiversity conservation and delivery of ecosystem services.

Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Divisions:Life Sciences > School of Agriculture, Policy and Development > Department of Sustainable Land Management > Centre for Agri-environmental Research (CAER)
ID Code:33231
Uncontrolled Keywords:Agri-environmental schemes, ecological contrast, ecosystem services, landscape context, land-use intensity, pollinators.
Additional Information:Additional Supporting Information may be downloaded via the online version of this article at Wiley Online Library (www.ecologyletters.com)
Publisher:Wiley

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