Being close to a natural habitat such as a forest doesn't necessarily make farmland more attractive to pollinators, a new study shows.
It is commonly thought that when farmland is close to a natural habitat it is more likely to attract bees and other pollinators, and that more flowers will develop into seeds and fruit.
But a meta-analysis of how distance from natural habitats affects pollination in tropical smallholder farms discovered this is not always the case.
Smallholder farms - family-managed farms that produce crops or livestock on small plots - make up 84% of all farms worldwide and rely heavily on 'ecosystem services' such as pollination for nutrition and food security.
These farms are often part of communities that struggle to access safe and healthy food all year round, so understanding how to increase nutrition and food security while also supporting biodiversity could support farmers to sustain their livelihoods as well as meeting the UN's Sustainable Development Goals targets.
Using data from more than 500 smallholder farms from 35 studies across the tropics - including from Central and South America, East Africa, South and South East Asia - the researchers found that distance from a natural habitat - including forests, woodlands, wetlands, or other native vegetation - was not consistent with a decline in the number of pollinators or the number of flowers that turn into fruit or seeds.
"Our findings stand in contrast to previous studies which have shown consistent declines in pollinators and pollination services, especially in the tropics," said Ennia Bosshard, lead author of the study and a conservation scientist at the University of Exeter.
Previous studies primarily focus on larger-scale industrial farms, and a possible explanation for the findings is that these farms are more monocultural, with whole fields of the same crop.
Small-scale farms, in contrast, tend to be more diverse, with different species of plants, trees, flowers and woodland all close together.
This built-in diversity and mix of habitats creates varied landscapes that can support pollinators such as bees and other insects - even if they are not close to a forest or other wild area.
"We think the ecological complexity of the farms themselves helps make up for the lack of nearby natural habitats, acting as a buffer against the negative effects of increasing distance to natural habitat on pollination services."
The study shows how traditional smallholder farming practices and mixed, ecologically rich landscapes can play a big role in sustainable agriculture and food security.
"Our findings indicate that smallholder farms with their more traditional ecological practices may provide a sustainable way of farming, especially when looking at the provision of ecosystem services such as pollination. There is much to be gained from adopting some of these practices for conventional farming systems - particularly if we are serious about protecting biodiversity and our commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. "
