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Garratt MPD, de Groot GA, Albrecht M, Bosch J, Breeze TD, Fountain MT, Klein AM, McKerchar M, Park M, Paxton RJ, Potts SG, Pufal G, Rader R, Senapathi D, Andersson GKS, Bernauer OM, Blitzer EJ, Boreux V, Campbell AJ, Carvell C, Földesi R, García D, Garibaldi LA, Hambäck PA, Kirkitadze G, Kovács-Hostyánszki A, Martins KT, Miñarro M, O'Connor R, Radzeviciute R, Roquer-Beni L, Samnegård U, Scott L, Vereecken NJ, Wäckers F, Webber SM, Japoshvili G, Zhusupbaeva A. Opportunities to reduce pollination deficits and address production shortfalls in an important insect-pollinated crop. Ecol Appl 2021; 31:e02445. [PMID: 34448315 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Pollinators face multiple pressures and there is evidence of populations in decline. As demand for insect-pollinated crops increases, crop production is threatened by shortfalls in pollination services. Understanding the extent of current yield deficits due to pollination and identifying opportunities to protect or improve crop yield and quality through pollination management is therefore of international importance. To explore the extent of "pollination deficits," where maximum yield is not being achieved due to insufficient pollination, we used an extensive dataset on a globally important crop, apples. We quantified how these deficits vary between orchards and countries and we compared "pollinator dependence" across different apple varieties. We found evidence of pollination deficits and, in some cases, risks of overpollination were even apparent for which fruit quality could be reduced by too much pollination. In almost all regions studied we found some orchards performing significantly better than others in terms of avoiding a pollination deficit and crop yield shortfalls due to suboptimal pollination. This represents an opportunity to improve production through better pollinator and crop management. Our findings also demonstrated that pollinator dependence varies considerably between apple varieties in terms of fruit number and fruit quality. We propose that assessments of pollination service and deficits in crops can be used to quantify supply and demand for pollinators and help to target local management to address deficits although crop variety has a strong influence on the role of pollinators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael P D Garratt
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, SAPD, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AR, United Kingdom
| | - G Arjen de Groot
- Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR), P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Matthias Albrecht
- Eidgenössisches Departement für Wirtschaft, Agroscope, Reckenholzstrasse 191, CH-8046, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Jordi Bosch
- CREAF, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Catalunya, Spain
| | - Tom D Breeze
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, SAPD, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AR, United Kingdom
| | | | - Alexandra M Klein
- Chair of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Albert-Ludwigs-University, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Megan McKerchar
- Geography, Archaeology and the Environment, University of Worcester, Worcester, WR2 6AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Mia Park
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, 58201, USA
| | - Robert J Paxton
- Institute for Biology, Martin Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Hoher Weg 8, Halle (Saale), 06120, Germany
| | - Simon G Potts
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, SAPD, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AR, United Kingdom
| | - Gesine Pufal
- Chair of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Albert-Ludwigs-University, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Romina Rader
- School of Environment and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, 2351, Australia
| | - Deepa Senapathi
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, SAPD, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AR, United Kingdom
| | | | - Olivia M Bernauer
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, 2753, New South Wales, Australia
| | | | - Virginie Boreux
- Chair of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Albert-Ludwigs-University, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
| | | | - Claire Carvell
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, OX10 8BB, Wallingford, United Kingdom
| | - Rita Földesi
- Lendület Ecosystem Services Research Group, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, 2163, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Daniel García
- Depto. Biología de Organismos y Sistemas (Universidad de Oviedo) and Instituto Mixto de Investigación en Biodiversidad (IMIB, CSIC-Universidad de Oviedo-Principado de Asturias), C/Catedrático Rodrigo Uría s/n, Oviedo, E-33006, Asturias, Spain
| | - Lucas A Garibaldi
- Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural, San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural, San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - Peter A Hambäck
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Giorgi Kirkitadze
- Institute of Entomology, Agricultural University of Georgia, 0159, Tbilisi, Georgia
| | - Anikó Kovács-Hostyánszki
- Lendület Ecosystem Services Research Group, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, 2163, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Kyle T Martins
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, H3A 0G4, Québec, Canada
| | - Marcos Miñarro
- Servicio Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario (SERIDA), Apdo. 13, Villaviciosa, E-33300, Asturias, Spain
| | - Rory O'Connor
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, SAPD, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AR, United Kingdom
| | - Rita Radzeviciute
- Molecular Evolution and Animal Systematics, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, Talstraβe 33, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Laura Roquer-Beni
- CREAF, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Catalunya, Spain
| | - Ulrika Samnegård
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Biology, Lund University, 223 62, Lund, Sweden
| | - Lorraine Scott
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, BT9 7BL, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Nicolas J Vereecken
- Agroecology Lab, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Boulevard du Triomphe CP 264/2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Felix Wäckers
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, LA1 4YQ, Lancaster, United Kingdom
| | - Sean M Webber
- Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, SAPD, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AR, United Kingdom
| | - George Japoshvili
- Institute of Entomology, Agricultural University of Georgia, 0159, Tbilisi, Georgia
| | - Aigul Zhusupbaeva
- Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, 237 Panfilova str., Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
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