Changes in the wild bee community (Apoidea: Hymenoptera) over 100 years in relation to land use: A case study in a protected steppe habitat in Eastern Austria

Abstract

Abstract The wild bee community of a sand steppe habitat in Eastern Austria was surveyed in the years 2018 and 2019, complemented with historical data from over 100 years, and analyzed in relation to land use change. The mapping of land use categories was based on historical aerial photographs and orthophotos. Changes in bee community composition were analyzed by a multivariate statistical approach and took ecological traits into account. In total, 310 bee species were recorded in the area, with the oldest records dating back to 1882. The bee species composition differed significantly among four defined timespans. Across the two most intensively sampled time periods (1931–1966 vs. 2001–2021), a decline in species richness of more than 50% was observed. We observed a disproportionally high decline of steppe and sand-associated species, and a distinct shift from ground nesting species to above ground nesting species. The area covered with woods increased from 1966 to 2018, while the total area covered with grassland and fallows decreased slightly between 1966 and 1994. The oligolectic species assemblage was specialized on Dipsacaceae, Brassicaceae and Fabaceae in the two earlier periods, and on Asteraceae and specifically on Carduoideae during the two later ones. Implications for insect conservation: Our results indicate that the shift from grazing to mowing as land management is a major factor in the decline of species diversity in the studied nature reserve and its surrounding. Particular attention should be given to measures that facilitate the re-establishment of steppe species.