Agroforestry systems and pollinators

Key words: ecosystem services, pollination services, bees, dehesa, arable wooded pastures

Professor

Laboratory of Biogeography & Ecology, Department of Geography, University of the Aegean, 81100 Mytilene, Greece tpet@aegean.gr

Agroforestry And Ecosystem Services

As a result of the ever-increasing demand for food production, natural areas around the world are gradually being transformed for agriculture, at the cost of biodiversity and local ecosystem services among others. A major loss through this process is pollination services, especially affecting crops that are pollinator-dependent. This is happening at an increasing rate in the tropics, where huge areas have been transformed into other land uses mainly for agriculture and livestock farming. Similarly, other large parts of the world that have been cultivated over long periods of time are now being abandoned as a result of improper land management, the effects of which are significantly enhanced by climate change (Talukder et al. 2021).

A nature-based solution to the above challenges is diversifying farming systems through agroforestry. In other words, this means intentionally integrating trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems, thus integrating biodiversity-based ecosystem services into agricultural production.

In this chapter I examine the role of pollination and pollinators in agroforestry systems not only for nature conservation and ecosystem health, but also for the sustainability of primary production in these systems. I explore examples stemming from research carried out in different agroforestry crops around the globe, focus on agroforestry traditional systems in the Mediterranean Basin, and finally propose solutions also based on the results and experience gained from related actions (viz. the project LIFE TERRACESCAPE).