Pollination services provided by a diversity of pollinators are critical in agriculture since they enhance the yield of many crops. However, few studies have assessed pollination services in urban agricultural systems. We performed flower-visitor observations and pollination experiments on strawberries, Fragaria × ananassa, in an urban area of Paris, France, in order to assess the effects of (i) insect-mediated pollination service and (ii) potential pollination deficit on fruit set and fruit quality (size, weight, malformation and seed set). Flower-visitor observations revealed that the pollinator community was solely comprised of unmanaged pollinators, despite the presence of apiaries in the surrounding landscape. Based on the pollination experiments, we found that the pollination service mediated by wild insects improved fruit size as a qualitative value of production, but not fruit set. We also found no evidence for pollination deficit in our urban environment. These results suggest that the local community of wild urban pollinators is able to support strawberry crop production, and thus plays an important role in providing high quality, local and sustainable crops in urban areas.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.