Understanding metacommunity dynamics through plant-pollinator interactions in agroecosystems to improve the efficiency of agri-environmental schemes

forthcoming

Maintaining biodiversity in agricultural landscapes has become a pressing societal challenge. Species interactions contribute to critical agroecosystem functions such as pollination and pest control. However, scientific evidence suggests that the rate of loss of species interactions is even higher than the rate of species extinction. Agricultural policies promote agri-environmental schemes (AES) to halt biodiversity loss on farmland, but with varying degrees of success. For example, little is known about whether AES support the growth of wildlife populations, or whether they simply concentrate local populations while depleting surrounding areas. METAGROLAND project presents an innovative research agenda that pursues effective AES design at large scales by presenting a novel interdisciplinary framework: the study of plant-pollinator metacommunity dynamics in agricultural landscapes from a social-ecological perspective. This project will firstly investigate the ability of AES and other landscape elements to attract and maintain pollinator species across landscapes, thereby gaining a mechanistic understanding of sink-source dynamics in the metacommunity. Secondly, the metacommunity structure will be investigated by applying and improving a novel methodology: spatial meta-networks. This will allow the detection of landscape characteristics that promote metacommunity cohesion and stability by identifying those landscapes that act as spatial hubs for plant-pollinator interactions across space. Third, the impact of land managers' social networks on metacommunity dynamics will be assessed to provide guidelines for effective AES design based on the synthesis of ecological processes and social dynamics. Beyond new fundamental social-ecological knowledge of agricultural systems, the results of METAGROLAND will contribute to the advancement of biodiversity conservation and agroecological practices, ultimately promoting fair, healthy and environmentally sound food systems.