Main Content

Ground-nesting wild bees in flower strips and the influence of ploughing on ground-nesting bee nests

Perennial flower strips are becoming increasingly popular as a effective measure for promoting biodiversity in the agricultural landscape. Wild bees in particular benefit from perennial flowerstrips: In addition to a broad food supply, these areas provide necessary nesting opportunities for native wild bee species, the majority of which nest in the soil. 
With regard to the soil-nesting wild bees as important pollinators for wild and cultivated plants, the question arises what effects the tilling of flower strips, e.g. by ploughing, has on the soil-nesting bees and their nests. Currently, there is little knowledge about this; in particular, it is unclear how many of the wild bees that forage in the flowering strips also nest there.
 
In this project, financed by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and Energy Sector Baden-Württemberg, annual and perennial flower strips in the agricultural landscape of Baden-Württemberg are compared with respect to their foraging as well as soil-nesting wild bee communities. In particular, we investigate the effects of ploughing as a tillage measure in flower strips on the nests of ground-nesting wild bees. For this purpose, methods for localizing nests in flower strips will be evaluated and (further) developed, and nest locations as well as the wild bees nesting in them will be systematically recorded.
 
With the ecological and methodological knowledge gained, the project helps to better evaluate measures from current agri-environmental programs such as the Baden-Württemberg Support Program for Agri-environment, Climate Protection and Animal Welfare (FAKT) or the "Eco-schemes" introduced with the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU.

Team:
PhD student Christopher Hellerich
Dr. Anne-Chirstine Mupepele
Dr. Felix Fornoff
Prof. Dr. Alexandra Klein

Project duration:
October 2022 - December 2025
Funding:
Baden-Würtemberg: Ministerium für Umwelt, Klima und Energiewirtschaft