title: Railway embankments as new habitat for pollinators in an agricultural landscape.
abstract: Pollinating insect populations, essential for maintaining wild plant diversity and agricultural productivity, rely on (semi)natural habitats. An increasing human population is encroaching upon and deteriorating pollinator habitats. Thus the population persistence of pollinating insects and their associated ecosystem services may depend upon on man-made novel habitats; however, their importance for ecosystem services is barely understood. We tested if man-made infrastructure (railway embankments) in an agricultural landscape establishes novel habitats that support large populations of pollinators (bees, butterflies, hoverflies) when compared to typical habitats for these insects, i.e., semi-natural grasslands. We also identified key environmental factors affecting the species richness and abundance of pollinators on embankments. Species richness and abundance of bees and butterflies were higher for railway embankments than for grasslands. The occurrence of bare (non-vegetated) ground on embankments positively affected bee species richness and abundance, but negatively affected butterfly populations. Species richness and abundance of butterflies positively depended on species richness of native plants on embankments, whereas bee species richness was positively affected by species richness of non-native flowering plants. The density of shrubs on embankments negatively affected the number of bee species and their abundance. Bee and hoverfly species richness were positively related to wood cover in a landscape surrounding embankments. This is the first study showing that railway embankments constitute valuable habitat for the conservation of pollinators in farmland. Specific conservation strategies involving embankments should focus on preventing habitat deterioration due to encroachment of dense shrubs and maintaining grassland vegetation with patches of bare ground.
authors: Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland.
authors: Dawid
authors: D
authors: Moroń
authors: Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland.
authors: Piotr
authors: P
authors: Skórka
authors: Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland.
authors: Magdalena
authors: M
authors: Lenda
authors: Institute of Biology, Pedagogical University of Cracow, Kraków, Poland.
authors: Elżbieta
authors: E
authors: Rożej-Pabijan
authors: Independent researcher, Kraków, Poland.
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Wantuch
authors: Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
authors: Joanna
authors: J
authors: Kajzer-Bonk
authors: Institute of Biology, The Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland.
authors: Waldemar
authors: W
authors: Celary
authors: Department of Pomology and Apiculture, Agricultural University in Kraków, Krakow, Poland.
authors: Łukasz Emil
authors: ŁE
authors: Mielczarek
authors: Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland.
authors: Piotr
authors: P
authors: Tryjanowski
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000502:physiology; D002080:Butterflies / Q000502:physiology; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D005843:Geography; D065948:Grassland; D006801:Humans; D007313:Insecta / Q000502:physiology*; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D011044:Poland; D054817:Pollination / Q000502:physiology*; D011156:Population Density; D011157:Population Dynamics