Author: Kungen

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank my supervisors Karl-Olof Bergman and Per Milberg for all support. I also want to thank Björn Cederberg for help with species identification and all farmers involved, for allowing access to their land.

Bumblebee distribution in space and time in southeastern Sweden

International Masters Programm in Applied Biology 2007 Joakim Sandell

Contact information E-mail: Joakim.Sandell@gmail.com Telephone: +46(0)704675424 Homepage: http://cms.ifm.liu.se/edu/ biology/master_projects/2007/joakim-sandell/

Introduction

Results

Bumblebees have declined in Western Europe the last decades. The reason is most likely due to increasing agricultural practises causing destruction and fragmentation of flower-rich and undisturbed landscape elements. Bumblebees need such landscape elements for nest-building and hibernation. Flowering plants are also needed the entire season because bumblebees do not store pollen or nectar. The decline of bumblebees is alarming because they are important pollinators of both wild flowers and crops. If their services disappear, the consequences might be both ecological and economical. AIM
To describe plant utilisation and landscape element utilisation in a heterogeneous landscape, an agricultural landscape and a forested landscape in southeastern Sweden.
To investigate differences in bumblebee abundance and species richness between the landscapes.

More species were found in the heterogeneous landscape (14 spp.) compared to the agricultural– and forested landscapes (10 spp.).
The most utilised landscape element varied between the landscapes.
Semi-natural grasslands were most species rich when all landscapes were analysed together.
Trifolium species received most visits in all landscapes.

Conclusion

Most species are found in a heterogeneous landscape with a mix of semi-natural grasslands, arable fields and forests.
Semi-natural grasslands seem to be an important landscape element for bumblebees.
Trifolium species seem to be important for a majority of the bumblebees.
Conservation implications
Preserve undisturbed flower-rich landscape elements
More leys containing Trifolium species should provide bumblebees with an important resource.

Landscape element utilisation of different bumblebee species in the three landscapes