Cross-pollination benefits differ among oilseed rape varieties

Hudewenz, Anika; Pufal, Gesine; Bögeholz, Anna-Lena; Klein, Alexandra‐Maria

doi:10.1017/s0021859613000440

Cited by 72 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…This increase in the number of seeds per plant, due to a higher number of seeds per fruit and an increased number of fruits, was the major driver of overall quantitative yield gains. These findings corroborate recent evidence that insect pollination can significantly enhance seed set and yield in commonly grown OSR varieties [17,18,36,37]. Moreover, and most importantly, they demonstrate that these yield gains strongly depend on the level of pest control.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…The adult beetles feed on the pollen of open and closed flowers, the latter leading to flower development abortion and consequently reduced fruit set. OSR is considered to be mainly wind pollinated, because currently grown cultivars with restored fertility are self-fertile, but recent evidence suggests that insect pollination can significantly increase seed set in commonly grown varieties [17]. Bumblebees, in particular, the buff-tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae, hereafter 'bumblebees') together with honeybees and a series of solitary bee and hoverfly species are the most important pollinators of OSR in Europe [23].…”

Section: Materials and Methods (A) Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Synergistic interactions of ecosystem services: florivorous pest control boosts crop yield increase through insect pollination

Sutter

Albrecht

2016

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Insect pollination and pest control are pivotal functions sustaining global food production. However, they have mostly been studied in isolation and how they interactively shape crop yield remains largely unexplored. Using controlled field experiments, we found strong synergistic effects of insect pollination and simulated pest control on yield quantity and quality. Their joint effect increased yield by 23%, with synergistic effects contributing 10%, while their single contributions were 7% and 6%, respectively. The potential economic benefit for a farmer from the synergistic effects (12%) was 1.8 times greater than their individual contributions (7% each). We show that the principal underlying mechanism was a pronounced pestinduced reduction in flower lifetime, resulting in a strong reduction in the number of pollinator visits a flower receives during its lifetime. Our findings highlight the importance of non-additive interactions among ecosystem services (ES) when valuating, mapping or predicting them and reveal fundamental implications for ecosystem management and policy aimed at maximizing ES for sustainable agriculture.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Materials and Methods (A) Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synergistic interactions of ecosystem services: florivorous pest control boosts crop yield increase through insect pollination

Sutter

Albrecht

2016

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…It rather suggests that observed enhancement of pest predation observed here at higher shares of greening was apparently not strong enough that it translated in significant effects on final crop yield. Insect pollination, although enhanced by local and landscape‐scale greening, seemed not to play a significant role for final crop yield, in our study presumably because seed set in the studied OSR variety is not as strongly limited by insect pollination as in other varieties in which the contribution of insect pollination ranges between 13% and 50% (Hudewenz et al., ; Marini et al., ; Sutter & Albrecht, ). The relatively low pollinator dependence of the investigated variety together with strong effects of management are likely the main reasons for the lack of interactive effects among pollination and natural pest control services found in the present study, despite experimental evidence for strikingly strong interactive effects among pollination and pest control shaping final yield of another OSR variety (Sutter & Albrecht, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 46%

Landscape greening and local creation of wildflower strips and hedgerows promote multiple ecosystem services

Sutter

Albrecht

Jeanneret

2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

107

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The explicit and implicit aims of creating ecological focus areas (EFAs) and implementing greening measures in European agro‐ecosystems include the promotion of regulatory ecosystem services (ES) to sustain crop production in conventional cropping systems. However, the extent to which these goals are achieved with current policy measures remains poorly explored. We measured insect‐mediated pollination and natural pest control service provisioning in 18 winter oilseed rape fields as a function of the independent and interactive effects of local EFA establishment─sown wildflower strips and hedgerows─and landscape‐scale greening measures within a 1 km radius around focal fields and quantified their contribution to crop yield. Insect pollination potential and pest predation increased on average by 10% and 13%, respectively, when landscape‐scale greening measures share was increased from 6% to 26%. For pollination, the increase was stronger in fields adjoining an EFA (14%) than in fields without adjacent EFA (7%). Agricultural management practices were the main drivers of crop yield. Neither insect pollination potential or natural pest control (pest predation and parasitism) nor adjacent EFAs and landscape‐scale greening significantly affected crop yield in addition to agricultural management. Synthesis and applications. Local establishment of perennial, species‐rich wildflower strips and hedgerows, combined with landscape‐scale greening measures in agricultural landscapes, can promote multiple ecosystem services (ES) in conventional production systems. Benefits may be maximized when local and landscape measures are combined. However, enhanced pollination and natural pest regulation seem to contribute relatively little to final crop yield compared to local agricultural management practices in the high‐input conventional production system studied. Further research is needed to better understand how to improve the effectiveness of ecological focus areas and other greening measures in promoting regulatory ES. Potential improvements include minimising trade‐offs while promoting synergies between ES provision, food production and biodiversity conservation.

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“…Therefore, whether soil nutrient status enhances or reduces the effects of pollination on yield, it is most likely context dependent and will differ among crop species and varieties, level and type of nutrient supply, and density and species composition of pollinator communities (Hudewenz et al . ; Marini et al . ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can above‐ground ecosystem services compensate for reduced fertilizer input and soil organic matter in annual crops?

Gils

Putten

Kleijn

2016

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary1. Above-ground and below-ground environmental conditions influence crop yield by pollination, pest pressure and resource supply. However, little is known about how interactions between these factors contribute to yield. Here, we used oilseed rape Brassica napus to test their effects on crop yield. 2. We exposed potted plants to all combinations of high and low levels of soil organic matter (SOM) and fertilizer supply, and placed all treatments at a variety of field sites representing a gradient in pollinator visitation rate and pest exposure. We determined the relative contribution of pollinators and pests, SOM and fertilizer supply to yield. We also tested whether SOM can moderate effects of fertilizer on yield and whether soil conditions influence the relationship between above-ground conditions and yield. 3. Increases in pollinator visitation rate and decreases in pest pressure enhanced yield more than increase in fertilizer supply. Although higher SOM content resulted in plants with more biomass and flowers, under our experimental conditions SOM neither enhanced yield, nor influenced effects of fertilizer, pollinators or pests on yield. 4. The relationships between yield, pollinator visitation rate and pest pressure did not depend on the level of fertilization, suggesting that the effects of fertilizer application and aboveground (dis)services on yield were additive. In contrast, pollinator visitation rate was more strongly related to yield at low pest pressure than at high pest pressure indicating trade-offs between above-ground services and disservices. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our results show that it is possible to increase oilseed rape yield by enhancing pollination, irrespective of supplying mineral fertilizer. Moreover, the fact that belowground conditions did not alter the effect of above-ground conditions suggests that farmers may obtain even higher yields by maximizing both above-ground ecosystem services and external inputs. Further studies are needed to understand at which point the positive relationships between pollinator visitation and yield, as well as between fertilizer and yield, will level off. Considering above-ground and below-ground services and inputs in agro-ecosystems in conjunction is crucial in order to optimize external inputs for crop yield from an economic and ecological perspective.

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Cross-pollination benefits differ among oilseed rape varieties

Cited by 72 publications

References 17 publications

Synergistic interactions of ecosystem services: florivorous pest control boosts crop yield increase through insect pollination

Synergistic interactions of ecosystem services: florivorous pest control boosts crop yield increase through insect pollination

Landscape greening and local creation of wildflower strips and hedgerows promote multiple ecosystem services

Can above‐ground ecosystem services compensate for reduced fertilizer input and soil organic matter in annual crops?

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