Interactive effect of agricultural management and landscape in bee-plant interaction networks

Abstract

Abstract Bees’ pollination is essential for ecosystems and ecosystem services, including in agriculture. Thus, agricultural management and environmental changes must not affect bee communities and native plants negatively. This study investigated the impact of management practices and areas of native forest around agricultural areas on bee-plant interaction networks. We carried it out in 12 small farming areas with distinct types of management (organic and conventional) and local landscapes (buffer of 1 km with more than 50% of native vegetation or less than it) in the São Paulo Green Belt Biosphere Reserve, SP, Brazil. Our results show that, regardless of the type of forest around the agricultural area and type of management, the bee-plant interaction networks are similar. We concluded that our studied areas were very similar in terms of cultivation characteristics. Nonetheless, our results suggest that less aggressive agriculture management, such as the maintenance of native plants in agricultural areas and the preservation of native forests contribute positively to bee-plant interaction networks, and consequently reduce the impact of pesticide use.