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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Bee Sci.
Sec. Bees in Pollination
Volume 2 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frbee.2024.1393431
This article is part of the Research Topic Pollinators: A Network to Life View all 3 articles

Do forest reserves help maintain pollinator diversity and pollination services in tropical agricultural highlands? A case study using Brassica rapa as a model

Provisionally accepted
Natalia Escobedo-Kenefic Natalia Escobedo-Kenefic 1,2,3*Edson Cardona Edson Cardona 2María d. Arizmendi María d. Arizmendi 4César A. Domínguez César A. Domínguez 3
  • 1 Natalia Escobedo, Guatemala, Guatemala
  • 2 Unidad de Investigación para el Conocimiento, Uso y Valoración de la Biodiversidad, Centro de Estudios Conservacionistas (CECON), Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Guatemala, Guatemala
  • 3 Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, Mexico, Mexico
  • 4 Laboratorio de Ecología, UBIPRO, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, Tlalnepantla, Mexico

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Habitat loss and fragmentation have negative impacts on pollinator populations and thus on the pollination services they provide. Negative effects can be lessened by the presence of forest remnants that serve as refuges and sources of food for pollinators. However, few studies have analyzed the influence of highly heterogeneous agricultural landscapes (as commonly found in many developing countries), on pollination services. We compared native bee diversity, pollination visitation, and fruit set of Brassica rapa L. between two land use conditions (sites maintaining more than 15% of the original forest coverture [Moderately Modified], and sites with less of 10% [Highly Modified]) in the highlands of Guatemala. Native bee diversity was higher in HM areas, although social bees were more abundant in MM sites. We did not find differences in pollinator visitation rate between conditions. HM sites were mainly visited by honeybees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus), while native bees and syrphid flies were more frequent in the MM condition. Fruit set was significantly higher in MM sites and was positively affected by natural forest areas. Experiments on pollen limitation and on pollinator efficiency stressed the importance of native pollinators in fruit production, especially in moderately modified areas. Our results highlight the role of forest remnants on the provision of pollination services in tropical agricultural highlands and underline the relevance of appropriate management of introduced bees such as A. mellifera.

    Keywords: Fruit set, Guatemala, Landscape disturbance, land use, Native bees

    Received: 29 Feb 2024; Accepted: 02 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Escobedo-Kenefic, Cardona, Arizmendi and Domínguez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Natalia Escobedo-Kenefic, Natalia Escobedo, Guatemala, Guatemala

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