
The restoration of agricultural landscapes for ecosystem services such as pollination and biological pest control needs targeted management to increase structural complexity and heterogeneity. Small fields, diverse crops and at least one-fifth semi-natural areas would be in line with the UN Decade (2021-2030) on ecosystem restoration. Photo: Dr Tibor Härtel (right), Teja Tscharntke (left)
Current estimates put the value of pollination services at around 200 to 400 billion US dollars per year. Smallholder farmers, whose fields are less than two hectares, represent about 83 per cent of all farmers. They benefit from pollination services much more than farmers with large fields. If the fields are smaller than two hectares, any shortfall in yields can be reduced much more efficiently through pollination than in arge fields. Many smallholder farmers live in the Global South and suffer from hunger or malnutrition. Crops that are dependent on pollinators, such as fruits and nuts, contain nutrients that are particularly important for health. "Pollination services in agriculture should be given more attention, in addition to pest regulation and good nutrient supply," claims author Professor Teja Tscharntke, Head of the Agroecology Group at Göttingen University. The benefits are not limited to an increase in how much fruit can be produced: its quality can also be improved, for instance, in terms of nutrient content or how long it can be stored. Smallholder agroforestry systems in the tropics are particularly well suited for this and stand out due to their comparatively species-rich pollinator communities.
"More needs to be done to halt the decline of pollinators, which are mostly bees and other insects. The stress to pollinators caused by agrochemicals, large monocultures and the loss of semi-natural habitats should be minimised," says Tscharntke. "However, considerable research efforts are still needed to make agricultural landscapes productive and, at the same time, species-rich - in particular to improve the situation in the tropics."
Original publication: Teja Tscharntke: Disrupting plant-pollinator systems endangers food security. One Earth (2021), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.08.022