Agricultural Policies Exacerbate Honeybee Pollination Service Supply-Demand Mismatches Across Europe

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082996
• Publication Date: 2014-01-08T21:32:55Z
• Authors: Tom D. Breeze; Bernard E. Vaissière; Riccardo Bommarco; Theodora Petanidou; Nicos Seraphides; Lajos Kozák; Jeroen Scheper; Jacobus C. Biesme...; David Kleijn; Steen Gyldenkærne; Marco Moretti; Andrea Holzschuh; Ingolf Steffan-De...; Jane C. Stout; Meelis Pärtel; Martin Zobel; Simon G. Potts
• Keywords: économie de la pollinisation; pollination; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Science; enhance; région européenne; declines; sequential introduction; efficacité pollinisatrice; 03 medical and health sciences; état des stocks; colonies; Smart & Sustainable Planet; bee abundance; Agrártudományok; Animals; fruit-set; Pollination; abeille; biodiversity; politique agricole; 2. Zero hunger; density; insecte pollinisateur; 0303 health sciences; pollinisateur; analyse statistique; Geography; Q; R; 940; Agriculture; Honey; Bees; 15. Life on land; crops; offre et demande; [SDV] Life Sciences [q-bio]; Europe; Policy; Állattenyésztési tudományok; Medicine; ddc:570; ecosystem services; Research Article

Declines in insect pollinators across Europe have raised concerns about the supply of pollination services to agriculture. Simultaneously, EU agricultural and biofuel policies have encouraged substantial growth in the cultivated area of insect pollinated crops across the continent. Using data from 41 European countries, this study demonstrates that the recommended number of honeybees required to provide crop pollination across Europe has risen 4.9 times as fast as honeybee stocks between 2005 and 2010. Consequently, honeybee stocks were insufficient to supply >90% of demands in 22 countries studied. These findings raise concerns about the capacity of many countries to cope with major losses of wild pollinators and highlight numerous critical gaps in current understanding of pollination service supplies and demands, pointing to a pressing need for further research into this issue.