Abstract
There have been serious global declines in diversity of bumblebees, butterflies and other pollinating insects. The most effective means of increasing abundance and diversity of bumblebees on farmland is to sow simple, low cost mixtures of dicotyledons rich in pollen and nectar, as prescribed under the UK agri-environment schemes. The potential benefits of this management prescription for butterflies are unknown. Similarly, more information is needed on how to manage this habitat to maximise the provision of pollen and nectar resources whilst protecting breeding habitat for butterflies. This study aimed to devise mixtures and cutting management regimes which address these issues. We found significant effects of seed mixture, timing and frequency of cutting, and removal of cut material on vegetation composition, flower resource availability and pollinators (the abundance, species richness and temporal distribution of butterflies and bumblebees, including males and queens, attracted to the mixtures). We recommend that nectar flower mixtures are refined by the inclusion of the best performing species to provide mid- and late-season forage resources (Trifolium spp., Lotus corniculatus and Centaurea nigra), and the removal of competitive grass species. Summer cutting in May or early June, with removal of herbage where possible, should be applied to half the patch to extend the flowering season, and minimise damage to butterfly breeding habitat. This should be accompanied by the typical autumn cut to the whole patch. Even with best management practice, such nectar flower mixtures are only effective for 3–4 years and this should be recognised in policies aimed at enhancing pollinator populations in agricultural landscapes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alford DV (1975) Bumblebees. Davis-Poynter, London
Bignal EM (1998) Using an ecological understanding of farmland to reconcile nature conservation requirements, EU agriculture policy and world trade agreements. J Appl Ecol 35:949–954
Boatman ND, Jones NE, Garthwaite D, Pietravalle S (2007) Option uptake in entry level scheme agreements in England. Asp Appl Biol 81:309–316
Brittain CA, Vighi M, Bommarco R, Settele J, Potts SG (2010) Impacts of a pesticide on pollinator species richness at different spatial scales. Basic Appl Ecol 11:106–115
Bullock JM (1996) Plant competition and community dynamics. In: Hodgson J, Illius AW (eds) The ecology and management of grazing systems. CAB International, Wallingford, pp 69–100
Carvell C, Roy DB, Smart SM, Pywell RF, Preston C, Goulson D (2006) Declines in forage availability for bumblebees at a national scale. Biol Conserv 132:481–489
Carvell C, Meek WR, Pywell RF, Goulson D, Nowakowski M (2007) Comparing the efficacy of agri-environment schemes to enhance bumblebee abundance and diversity on arable field margins. J Appl Ecol 44:29–40
Edwards M, Williams PH (2004) Where have all the bumblebees gone, and could they ever return? British Wildlife 15:305–312
Feber RE, Smith H, Macdonald DW (1996) The effects on butterfly abundance of the management of uncropped edges of arable field. J Appl Ecol 33:1191–1205
Fox R, Warren MS, Harding PT, McLean IFG, Asher J, Roy D, Brereton T (2001) The State of Britain’s Butterflies. Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wareham
Goulson D (2003) Bumblebees their behaviour and ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Hawkins RP (1958) A survey of late flowering and singlecut red clover seed crops. J Nat Inst Agric Bot 8:450–461
Heard MS, Carvell C, Carreck NL, Rothery P, Osborne JL, Bourke AFG (2007) Landscape context not patch size determines bumble-bee density on flower mixtures sown for agri-environment schemes. Biol Lett 3:638–641
Lonsdorf E, Kremen C, Ricketts T, Winfree R, Williams N, Greenleaf N (2009) Modelling pollination services across agricultural landscapes. Ann Bot 103:1589–1600
Memmott J, Carvell C, Pywell RF, Craze PG (2010) The potential impact of global warming on the efficacy of field margins sown for the conservation of bumblebees. Phil Trans B 365:2071–2079
Morris MG (2000) The effects of structure and its dynamics on the ecology and conservation of arthropods in British grasslands. Biol Conserv 95:L129–L142
Natural England (2010a) The countryside stewardship scheme handbook. Natural England, Peterborough
Natural England (2010b) Entry level stewardship: environmental stewardship handbook. Natural England, Peterborough
Pollard E, Yates TJ (1993) Monitoring butterflies for ecology and conservation. Chapman and Hall, London
Potts SG, Biesmeijer JC, Kremen C, Neumann P, Schweiger O, Kunin WE (2010) Global pollinator declines: trends, impacts and drivers. Trends Ecol Evol 25:345–353
Prŷs-Jones OE, Corbet SA (1991) Bumblebees. Naturalists’ Handbooks 6. Richmond Publishing, Slough
Pywell RF (2008) Comparison of new and existing agri-environment scheme options for biodiversity enhancement on arable land (BD1624). Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London
Pywell RF, Bullock JM, Roy DB, Warman EA, Rothery P (2003) Plant traits as predictors of performance in ecological restoration schemes. J Appl Ecol 40:65–77
Pywell RF, Warman EA, Hulmes L, Hulmes S, Nuttall P, Sparks TH, Critchley CNR, Sherwood A (2006) Effectiveness of new agri-environment schemes in providing foraging resources for bumblebees in intensively farmed landscapes. Biol Conserv 129:192–206
Pywell RF, Meek WM, Carvell C, Hulmes L, Nowakowski M (2007) The Buzz project: biodiversity enhancement on arable land under the new agri-environment schemes. Asp Appl Biol 81:61–68
Sakanoue S (2005) Demography of red clover seeds in mixed-sown meadows. J Agric Sci 143:193–197
Steffan-Dewenter I, Potts SG, Packer L (2005) Pollinator diversity and crop pollination services are at risk. Trends Ecol Evol 20:651–652
Stewart KEJ, Bourn NAD, Thomas JA (2001) An evaluation of three quick methods commonly used to assess sward height in ecology. J Appl Ecol 38:1148–1154
Walker KJ, Stevens PA, Stevens DP, Mountford JO, Manchester SJ, Pywell RF (2004) The restoration and re-creation of species-rich lowland grassland on land managed for intensive agriculture in the UK. Biol Conserv 119:1–18
Warren MS (1992) The conservation of British butterflies. In: Dennis RLH (ed) The ecology of butterflies in Britain. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Wells TCE, Cox R (1993) The long-term effects of cutting on the yield, floristic composition and soil nutrient status of chalk grassland. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Huntingdon
Williams P, Colla SR, Zhenghua XIE (2009) Bumblebee vulnerability: common correlates of winners and losers across three continents. Conserv Biol 23:931–940
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by a commission (BD1623) from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. We thank Richard Brand-Hardy for supporting this research and two anonymous referees for constructive comments on an earlier draft of the paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pywell, R.F., Meek, W.R., Hulmes, L. et al. Management to enhance pollen and nectar resources for bumblebees and butterflies within intensively farmed landscapes. J Insect Conserv 15, 853–864 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-011-9383-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-011-9383-x