The effectiveness of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control, pollination services and crop yield: a quantitative synthesis

• Published in: Ecology letters Vol. 23; no. 10; pp. 1488 - 1498
• Main Authors: Albrecht, Matthias, Kleijn, David, Williams, Neal M., Tschumi, Matthias, Blaauw, Brett R., Bommarco, Riccardo, Campbell, Alistair J., Dainese, Matteo, Drummond, Francis A., Entling, Martin H., Ganser, Dominik, Arjen de Groot, G., Goulson, Dave, Grab, Heather, Hamilton, Hannah, Herzog, Felix, Isaacs, Rufus, Jacot, Katja, Jeanneret, Philippe, Jonsson, Mattias, Knop, Eva, Kremen, Claire, Landis, Douglas A., Loeb, Gregory M., Marini, Lorenzo, McKerchar, Megan, Morandin, Lora, Pfister, Sonja C., Potts, Simon G., Rundlöf, Maj, Sardiñas, Hillary, Sciligo, Amber, Thies, Carsten, Tscharntke, Teja, Venturini, Eric, Veromann, Eve, Vollhardt, Ines M.G., Wäckers, Felix, Ward, Kimiora, Wilby, Andrew, Woltz, Megan, Wratten, Steve, Sutter, Louis, Irwin, Rebecca
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-10-2020; Wiley; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: agri-environment schemes; Agricultural ecosystems; Agricultural production; Agricultural Sciences; Agriculture; Agroecology; Annan lantbruksvetenskap; bee pollinators; Bees; Biodiversity; conservation biological control; Crop yield; Crops; Ecological effects; ecological intensification; Ecology; Ecosystem; Ecosystem assessment; Ecosystem services; Ekologi; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use; Europe; farmland biodiversity; floral enhancements; Flowering; Flowers; Hedgerows; Lantbruksvetenskap och veterinärmedicin; Letters; Miljö- och naturvårdsvetenskap; natural pest regulation; New Zealand; North America; Other Agricultural Sciences; Pest Control; Pests; Plant diversity; Plant reproduction; Pollination; pollination reservoirs; Provisioning; sustainable agriculture; Synthesis; wildflower strips; New Zealand; North America; Europe; bee pollinators; natural pest regulation; floral enhancements; wildflower strips; agri-environment schemes; conservation biological control; pollination reservoirs; farmland biodiversity; Agroecology; sustainable agriculture; ecological intensification
• ISSN: 1461-023X; 1461-0248; 1461-0248
• DOI: 10.1111/ele.13576

Floral plantings are promoted to foster ecological intensification of agriculture through provisioning of ecosystem services. However, a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of different floral plantings, their characteristics and consequences for crop yield is lacking. Here we quantified the impacts of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control (18 studies) and pollination services (17 studies) in adjacent crops in North America, Europe and New Zealand. Flower strips, but not hedgerows, enhanced pest control services in adjacent fields by 16% on average. However, effects on crop pollination and yield were more variable. Our synthesis identifies several important drivers of variability in effectiveness of plantings: pollination services declined exponentially with distance from plantings, and perennial and older flower strips with higher flowering plant diversity enhanced pollination more effectively. These findings provide promising pathways to optimise floral plantings to more effectively contribute to ecosystem service delivery and ecological intensification of agriculture in the future.
Our quantitative synthesis of the impacts of floral plantings on pest control, crop pollination and yield reveals that flower strips, but not hedgerows, enhanced pest control services in adjacent fields by 16% on average, while effects on crop pollination and yield were more variable. Our synthesis identifies several important drivers of this variability in effectiveness of plantings: pollination services declined exponentially with distance from plantings, and perennial and older flower strips with higher flowering plant diversity enhanced pollination more effectively, with important implications for the the design and implementation of these measures to effectively promote ecological intensification of agriculture in the future