Yields of crops visited by insect pollinators found to be more stable
University of Reading
Scientists
at the University of Reading analysed years of data on the poorly understood
effect of pollinators on crop yield stability. They found there was 32% less
variation in the yields of plants visited by bees and other pollinators than
those grown in absence of pollinators.
The
study, published in the journal Ecology Letters, suggests that
pollinators can help to mitigate supply issues and market shocks that cause
global price spikes, like those being seen this year, by holding food supplies
steady.
The
publication marks the start of Bees' Needs Week (18-24 July), a UK
Government-led initiative championing pollinators and their benefits, and this
year encouraging people to take five simple actions to support pollinators.
Dr Jake Bishop, a crop science researcher at the University of Reading, who led the study, said: "Our findings suggest that preserving pollinators provides a double benefit, reducing fluctuations in food supplies as well as boosting supplies in the first place.
"Stable and predictable production of nutritious food is a necessity for farmers and for global food security. We are seeing right now that instability or shocks across the food system can lead to dramatic increases in food price.
"The
research has revealed another reason why pollinators are so important to our
planet, and to so many families who are struggling to feed themselves with
sufficient, safe and nutritious food.
"Pollinators
are particularly important in the production of fruit and vegetable crops.
Around half of the experiments we analysed were testing the effect of real
pollinator populations in real crop fields so our results illustrate the
benefits that pollinators are currently providing."
While
the benefits of pollinators to crop yield are well known, their effect on crop
stability was poorly understood until now.
The
new research combined the results of more than 200 previous experiments which
compared the yield of crop plants with and without insect pollination. The
study focused on three globally important and representative crop species: faba
bean, oilseed rape and apples.
The
study tested the effects of pollination on yield stability within individual
plants and fields as well as across larger spaces. Insect pollination
consistently made yields more similar between flowers on a plant, between
individual plants, areas within fields, or between fields.
The
stabilising effect of pollination is thought to be due to a ceiling effect,
whereby the yield increase resulting from insect pollination hits an upper
limit due to limitations of other resources that support crop growth such as
soil nutrients or access to water. This creates a raised and more stable
baseline against which there is less fluctuation in yield.
Current
food price increases are being driven by a range of actors including high oil
prices and the reduced ability of Ukraine to export its products after being
invaded by Russia. Ukraine is the world's largest exporter of sunflower oil and
provides around 10% of the world's wheat exports.
A previous food price spike in 2007-08, when the price of major global food crops approximately doubled, is thought to have been partially driven by production losses of wheat amounting to a loss of approximately 4.6% globally.
