Critical habitat thresholds for effective pollinator conservation in agricultural landscapes

Abstract

Biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes is declining, but evidence-based conservation targets to guide international policies for such landscapes are lacking. We present a framework for informing habitat conservation policies based on the enhancement of habitat quantity and quality and define thresholds of habitat quantity at which it becomes effective to also prioritize habitat quality. We applied this framework to insect pollinators, an important part of agroecosystem biodiversity, by synthesizing 59 studies from 19 countries. Given low habitat quality, hoverflies had the lowest threshold at 6% semi-natural habitat cover, followed by solitary bees (16%), bumble bees (18%), and butterflies (37%). These figures represent minimum habitat thresholds in agricultural landscapes, but when habitat quantity is restricted, marked increases in quality are required to reach similar outcomes.

Published in

Science
2025, volume: 389, number: 6767, pages: 1314-1319
Publisher: AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE

SLU Authors

• Berggren, Åsa

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Bommarco, Riccardo

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Raderschall, Chloë

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Riggi, Laura

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Wageningen University and Research

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences and Nature Conservation
Ecology

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adr2146

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/144382