Delivery of crop pollination services is an insufficient argument for wild pollinator conservation

Kleijn, David; Winfree, Rachael; Bartomeus, Ígnasi; Carvalheiro, Luísa G.; Henry, Mickaël; Isaacs, Rufus; Klein, Alexandra‐Maria; Kremen, Claire; M’Gonigle, Leithen K.; Rader, Romina; Ricketts, Taylor H.; Williams, Neal M.; Adamson, Nancy Lee; Ascher, John S.; Báldí, Andràs; Batáry, Péter; Benjamin, Faye; Biesmeijer, Jacobus C.; Blitzer, Eleanor J.; Bommarco, Riccardo; Brand, Mariette; Bretagnolle, Vincent; Button, Lindsey; Cariveau, Daniel P.; Chifflet, Rémy; Colville, Jonathan F.; Danforth, Bryan N.; Elle, Elizabeth; Garratt, Michael P. D.; Herzog, Félix; Holzschuh, Andrea; Howlett, Brad G.; Jauker, Frank; Jha, Shalene; Knop, Eva; Krewenka, Kristin M.; Féon, Violette Le; Mandelik, Yael; May, Emily A.; Park, Mia; Pisanty, Gideon; Reemer, Menno; Riedinger, Verena; Rollin, Orianne; Rundlöf, Maj; Sardiñas, Hillary; Scheper, Jeroen; Sciligo, Amber R.; Smith, Henrik G.; Steffan‐Dewenter, Ingolf; Thorp, Robbin W.; Tscharntke, Teja; Verhulst, Jort; Viana, Blandina Felipe; Vaissière, Bernard; Veldtman, Ruan; Ward, Kimiora L.; Westphal, Catrin; Potts, Simon G.

doi:10.1038/ncomms8414

articleNature CommunicationsJun 16, 2015GOLD OA

Delivery of crop pollination services is an insufficient argument for wild pollinator conservation

DKDavid Kleijn RWRachael Winfree ÍBÍgnasi Bartomeus LGLuísa G. Carvalheiro MHMickaël Henry

Wageningen University & Research · Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey · +40 more institutions

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Abstract

There is compelling evidence that more diverse ecosystems deliver greater benefits to people, and these ecosystem services have become a key argument for biodiversity conservation. However, it is unclear how much biodiversity is needed to deliver ecosystem services in a cost-effective way. Here we show that, while the contribution of wild bees to crop production is significant, service delivery is restricted to a limited subset of all known bee species. Across crops, years and biogeographical regions, crop-visiting wild bee communities are dominated by a small number of common species, and threatened species are rarely observed on crops. Dominant crop pollinators persist under agricultural expansion and many…

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Topics & keywords

Topics

Keywords

Pollinator
Pollination
Crop
Argument (complex analysis)
Ecosystem services
Biology
Agroforestry
Ecology

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Life in Land

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