Summary
This field survey of 36 farms demonstrates that longer tenure under organic management (0–43 years) promotes bee community assembly driven by niche-based rather than stochastic processes, resulting in reduced species turnover and greater stability across years. The findings suggest that sustained organic practices establish environmental conditions—particularly floral and nesting resources—that support species-specific bee preferences, whilst urbanised landscapes amplify bee species loss through resource replacement. The study provides mechanistic insight into how farming system duration shapes pollinator community resilience, linking agroecological practice intensity to functional stability of pollination services.
UK applicability
The findings are relevant to UK organic farming policy and conservation, particularly regarding the temporal investment required for organic transitions to yield pollinator stability benefits. However, direct application should account for differences in UK landscape fragmentation, native bee species composition, and climate; the study's US context may have different urbanisation patterns and floral resource dynamics.
Key measures
Bee community composition and abundance; floral resource diversity; niche-based and stochastic species abundance models; additive partition of beta diversity; species turnover and resource turnover metrics; landscape urbanisation classification
Outcomes reported
The study measured bee community assembly mechanisms, species turnover, and beta diversity across farms with varying organic production tenure (0–43 years). It assessed how niche-based versus stochastic processes, floral resource availability, and landscape urbanisation influenced bee community structure and stability.
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