Abstract
This research evaluates the impact of agricultural intensification on the recruitment, of managed versus wild pollinators in north-east (NE) Bulgaria. We investigated the spectrum and activity of pollinators in lavender mono-crop fields versus those in an ornamental lavender plantation. The pollinator visitation activity in the agrarian study sites was several times lower compared with the ornamental site. Additionally, honey bees outnumbered the wild bees there. In the ornamental site, more than 15 taxa of wild bees were recorded. Bombus haematurus (Kriechbaumer 1870), Amegilla sp., Thyreus sp., Andrena sp., Megachile melanopyga (Costa, 1863), M. cf. centucularis, Megachile cf. ericetorum, Osmia sp., Stelis cf. nasuta, Halictus sp., Lasioglossum spp., Hylaeus sp. and some other insects such as butterflies and hoverflies were recorded there together with the managed Apis mellifera, the latter with sporadic visits. The ornamental site neighbours Natura 2000 Pannonic sand steppes (6260), which explains the high biodiversity of the bee fauna. Intensive agriculture negatively affects the bees and particularly the wild bees. Even the honeybees suffer from the pesticides according to the local beekeepers. Our research shows that the control of human-created stressors needs to be optimized.
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Acknowledgements
Ekaterina Kozuharoiva is grateful to the European Union – NextGenerationEU, through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria, project no. BG-RRP-2.004-0004-C01 for the financial support. Thank you to Zdravko Kolev for the identification of all butterflies. Thank you to Prof. Carlos Herrera for the help of identification of some bees.
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Kozuharova, E., Vereecken, N.J. Lavender production in SE Dobrudja – intensive agriculture impacts pollinators’ density and diversity. Euro-Mediterr J Environ Integr (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-024-00498-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41207-024-00498-z