Neglected diversity of crop pollinators: Lessons from the world’s largest tropical country

Lopes, Ariadna Valentina, Porto, Rafaella Guimaraes, Cruz-Neto, Oswaldo, Peres, Carlos A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1588-8765, Viana, Blandina Felipe, Giannini, Tereza Cristina and Tabarelli, Marcelo (2021) Neglected diversity of crop pollinators: Lessons from the world’s largest tropical country. Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation, 19 (4). pp. 500-504. ISSN 2530-0644

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Abstract

We draw attention to potential pollinator species that have not yet been reported as crop pollinators but could likely contribute to agricultural productivity. We refer to this as the neglected diversity of crop pollinators, which we argue should not be excluded from conservation strategies and land-use planning. We used Brazil as case study for at least five main reasons: (1) Brazil is one of the world’s largest food producers and exporters; (2) Tropical agricultural production is highly dependent on pollinators; (3) Brazil is almost certainly the most biologically megadiverse country; (4) Brazil has high diversity of pollinators; (5) Brazil has played a leading international role in environmental sustainability. We estimated that the neglected diversity of bees as potential crop pollinators in Brazil is 88.4%. For vertebrates, the neglected diversity is 95.2%. This means that many yet to be observed plant–pollinator interactions are entirely off the radar in terms of the conservation agenda for agricultural stability.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: agricultural stability,brazil,conservation,food security,plant–pollinator interactions,pollination,nature and landscape conservation,management, monitoring, policy and law,ecology,sdg 15 - life on land,sdg 2 - zero hunger ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2309
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Biology
Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 23 Sep 2021 01:00
Last Modified: 09 Oct 2024 13:37
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/81503
DOI: 10.1016/j.pecon.2021.06.004

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