Installing Flower Strips to Promote Pollinators in Simplified Agricultural Landscapes: Comprehensive Viability Assessment in Sunflower Fields

Abstract

The installation of flower strips in simplified agricultural landscapes has been promoted as a tool to improve pollination services. While the effectiveness of flower strips in increasing pollinator visitation and yield is well-established, the social and economic feasibility of this measure remains unclear. Here, we evaluated the economic efficiency and social feasibility of installing flower strips to promote pollination under different scenarios of subsidy. A 2-year experiment was implemented by comparing sunflower fields with and without installed flower strips in central Spain, along with local farmer opinions obtained via a focus group. Flower strips significantly increased wild bee visitation to sunflower heads in the second year after implementation, with seed set being 11% higher on average in fields that had flower strips. Cost–benefit analysis revealed that investment in flower strips would be recovered by 4–5 years after installation, depending on the subsidy used. In the most favorable subsidy scenario, farmers could increase their annual benefits by 8.7% (29 €/ha) after recovering the initial investment. However, most local farmers did not perceive a significant increase in yield associated with the flower strip installation. The use of flower strips was negatively identified by farmers as a source of invasive weeds in adjacent fields, along with a lack of technical advice and economic incentives. Farmers fully agreed that direct economic subsidies were required for flower strips to be accepted as feasible approaches in the long-term.

Aerobiology of the Family Lamiaceae: Novel Perspectives with Special Reference to Volatiles Emission

“…Melliferous aromatic crops could act as an attractive spot for pollinators. In this regard, an experiment showed that bee visitation to sunflower heads increased due to flower strips containing 12 melliferous species, including Salvia pratensis [ 144 ]. In intensive agricultural areas, ensuring flower strips and semi-natural habitats (which include Lamiaceae species) in the vicinity of crops with the purpose of creating a refuge and attraction point for bees can result in more visits to the flowers of the nearby crops, therefore increasing seed yield—as demonstrated for sunflower crops [ 144 , 145 ].…”

“…In this regard, an experiment showed that bee visitation to sunflower heads increased due to flower strips containing 12 melliferous species, including Salvia pratensis [ 144 ]. In intensive agricultural areas, ensuring flower strips and semi-natural habitats (which include Lamiaceae species) in the vicinity of crops with the purpose of creating a refuge and attraction point for bees can result in more visits to the flowers of the nearby crops, therefore increasing seed yield—as demonstrated for sunflower crops [ 144 , 145 ]. A meta-analysis provided increasing evidence that flower strips improve pest control and seed yield in the adjacent fields [ 146 ], indicating that this is a justified path of research.…”

Flexible Thermal Convective Emitter - Unsteady Irreversibility Analysis

“…Additionally, sunflower resilience landscapes may include companion plantings, such as planting other flowers and vegetables that can help protect sunflowers from pests and diseases. Wild sunflowers may also incorporate water conservation strategies, such as using drought-tolerant plants and rainwater harvesting in European areas which have a similar climate to the US [9].…”