Direct and indirect effects of local wild plant communities, landscape composition and landscape configuration on the abundance of wild pollinating insects in agricultural landscapes
Abstract
The promotion of diverse and abundant floral resources is crucial for reversing pollinator declines. In agricultural landscapes, these resources are provided by wild plants in semi-natural habitats and crop fields. Intercropping with legumes can increase the availability of floral resources for pollinators, although it might reduce the cover of flowering wild plants in crops. Landscape heterogeneity is also crucial for pollinator conservation, by directly influencing habitat availability, diversity and accessibility for insects, or by indirectly impacting local wild plant communities. However, these direct and indirect effects have seldom been jointly investigated. The goal of the present study was to assess the direct and indirect effects of landscape heterogeneity, in addition of those of local habitat characteristics, on the abundance of wild pollinating insects in crops and hedgerows. We used existing data on insect abundance and plant communities collected in 75 crop fields (intercrops and sole crops) and 75 hedgerows in contrasting landscape contexts. Structural Equation Models were run to test direct and indirect effects of local and landscape variables. Intercrops had lower bumblebee abundance, higher cover of flowering wild plants and similar solitary bee and hoverfly abundance in comparison with sole crops. Insect abundance was positively related to wild flower cover in crops and to wild plant richness in hedgerows. Landscape composition (percentage of grasslands) or configuration (hedgerow length and edge length) had direct effects on solitary bee and hoverfly abundance in crops. Landscape configuration (hedgerow length and edge length) also impacted wild flower cover in crop fields, suggesting indirect landscape effects on pollinator abundance. Our results highlight the role of wild floral resources in crop fields and their margins to sustain wild pollinator abundance, but also the importance of maintaining, restoring and establishing hedgerows in agricultural landscapes to simultaneously sustain wild pollinators and their floral resources.
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BibTeX
@article{aviron2026direct,
title = {{Direct and indirect effects of local wild plant communities, landscape composition and landscape configuration on the abundance of wild pollinating insects in agricultural landscapes}},
author = {Stéphanie Aviron and Emma Jeavons and Cecile Le Lann and Joan van Baaren and Audrey Alignier},
journal = {Basic and Applied Ecology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.baae.2026.151857},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05752913v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Direct and indirect effects of local wild plant communities, landscape composition and landscape configuration on the abundance of wild pollinating insects in agricultural landscapes
AU - Stéphanie Aviron
AU - Emma Jeavons
AU - Cecile Le Lann
AU - Joan van Baaren
AU - Audrey Alignier
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - Basic and Applied Ecology
DO - 10.1016/j.baae.2026.151857
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05752913v1
AB - The promotion of diverse and abundant floral resources is crucial for reversing pollinator declines. In agricultural landscapes, these resources are provided by wild plants in semi-natural habitats and crop fields. Intercropping with legumes can increase the availability of floral resources for pollinators, although it might reduce the cover of flowering wild plants in crops. Landscape heterogeneity is also crucial for pollinator conservation, by directly influencing habitat availability, diversity and accessibility for insects, or by indirectly impacting local wild plant communities. However, these direct and indirect effects have seldom been jointly investigated. The goal of the present study was to assess the direct and indirect effects of landscape heterogeneity, in addition of those of local habitat characteristics, on the abundance of wild pollinating insects in crops and hedgerows. We used existing data on insect abundance and plant communities collected in 75 crop fields (intercrops and sole crops) and 75 hedgerows in contrasting landscape contexts. Structural Equation Models were run to test direct and indirect effects of local and landscape variables. Intercrops had lower bumblebee abundance, higher cover of flowering wild plants and similar solitary bee and hoverfly abundance in comparison with sole crops. Insect abundance was positively related to wild flower cover in crops and to wild plant richness in hedgerows. Landscape composition (percentage of grasslands) or configuration (hedgerow length and edge length) had direct effects on solitary bee and hoverfly abundance in crops. Landscape configuration (hedgerow length and edge length) also impacted wild flower cover in crop fields, suggesting indirect landscape effects on pollinator abundance. Our results highlight the role of wild floral resources in crop fields and their margins to sustain wild pollinator abundance, but also the importance of maintaining, restoring and establishing hedgerows in agricultural landscapes to simultaneously sustain wild pollinators and their floral resources.
SN - 1439-1791
ER -