Declining potential nectar production of the herb layer in temperate forests under global change

作者：Wim De Schuyter, Emiel De Lombaerde, Leen Depauw, Pallieter De Smedt, Alina Stachurska‐Swakoń, Anna Orczewska, Balázs Teleki, Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Déborah Closset‐Kopp, Frantíšek Máliš, Fraser Mitchell, Fride Høistad Schei, G. F. Peterken, Guillaume Decocq, Hans Van Calster, Jan Šebesta, Jonathan Lenoir, Jörg Brunet, Kamila Reczyńska, Krzysztof Świerkosz, Martin Diekmann, Martin Kopecký, Markéta Chudomelová, Martin Hermy, Martin Macek, Miles Newman, Monika Wulf, Ondřej Vild, Ove Eriksson, Peter Horchler, Petr Petřík, Remigiusz Pielech, Thilo Heinken, Thomas Dirnböck, Thomas A. Nagel, Tomasz Durak, Tibor Standovár, Tobias Naaf, Wolfgang Schmidt, Lander Baeten, Pieter De Frenne, Markus Bernhardt‐Römermann, Radim Hédl, Don Waller, Kris Verheyen · 发表于：Journal of Ecology · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1111/1365-2745.14274 · 被引用次数：12 · 研究领域：Plant and animal studies、Plant Parasitism and Resistance、Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

Abstract Wild pollinators are crucial for ecosystem functioning and human food production and often rely on floral resources provided by different (semi‐) natural ecosystems for survival. Yet, the role of European forests, and especially the European forest herb layer, as a potential provider of floral resources for pollinators has scarcely been quantified. In this study, we measured the potential nectar production (PNP) of the forest herb layer using resurvey data across 3326 plots in temperate forests in Europe, with an average time interval of 41 years between both surveys in order to assess (i) the importance of the forest herb layer in providing nectar for wild pollinators, (ii) the intra‐annual variation of PNP, (iii) the overall change in PNP between survey periods and (iv) the change in intra‐annual variation of PNP between survey periods. The PNP estimates nectar availability based on the relative cover of different plant species in the forest herb layer. Although PNP overestimates actual nectar production, relative differences amongst plots provide a valid and informative way to analyse differences across time and space. Our results show that the forest herb layer has a large potential for providing nectar for wild pollinator communities, which is greatest in spring, with an average PNP of almost 16 g sugar/m 2 /year. However, this potential has drastically declined (mean plot‐level decline >24%). Change in light availability, associated with shifts in canopy str...