Resources and Research

References and Background Research

This list represents a small subset of the body of research on these topics. Please reach out to the Xerces team with any questions on the science based practices we employ.

We need wild pollinators in agriculture

Brittain, C., C. Kremen, and A.-M. Klein. 2013. Biodiversity buffers pollination from changes in environmental conditions. Global Change Biology 19(2):540–547. 

Garibaldi, L. A., I. Steffan-Dewenter, R. Winfree, M. A. Aizen, R. Bommarco, S. A. Cunningham, C. Kremen, et al. 2013. Wild pollinators enhance fruit set of crops regardless of honey bee abundance. Science 339(6127):1608–1611. 

Greenleaf, Sarah S., and Claire Kremen. 2006. “Wild Bee Species Increase Tomato Production and Respond Differently to Surrounding Land Use in Northern California.” Biological Conservation 133 (1): 81–87. 

Jordan, Alex, Harland M. Patch, Christina M. Grozinger, and Vikas Khanna. 2021. “Economic Dependence and Vulnerability of United States Agricultural Sector on Insect-Mediated Pollination Service.” Environmental Science & Technology 55 (4): 2243–53. 

Lemanski, Natalie J., Neal M. Williams, and Rachael Winfree. 2022. “Greater Bee Diversity Is Needed to Maintain Crop Pollination over Time.” Nature Ecology & Evolution, August. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01847-3. 

Reilly, J. R., D. R. Artz, D. Biddinger, K. Bobiwash, N. K. Boyle, C. Brittain, J. Brokaw, et al. 2020. “Crop Production in the USA Is Frequently Limited by a Lack of Pollinators.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 287 (1931): 20200922. 

Rogers, S. R., D. R. Tarpy, and H. J. Burrack. 2014. Bee species diversity enhances productivity and stability in a perennial crop. PLoS ONE 9(5):e97307. 

Winfree, R., N. M. Williams, J. Dushoff, and C. Kremen. 2007. Native bees provide insurance against ongoing honey bee losses. Ecology Letters 10(11):1105–1113. 

Habitat increases pollinator and beneficial insect populations on farms

Blaauw, Brett R., and Rufus Isaacs. 2014. “Flower Plantings Increase Wild Bee Abundance and the Pollination Services Provided to a Pollination-Dependent Crop.” The Journal of Applied Ecology 51 (4): 890–98. 

Cahenzli, Fabian, Lene Sigsgaard, Claudia Daniel, Annette Herz, Laurent Jamar, Markus Kelderer, Stine Kramer Jacobsen, et al. 2019. “Perennial Flower Strips for Pest Control in Organic Apple Orchards - A Pan-European Study.” Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 278 (June): 43–53. 

Klein, Alexandra-Maria, Claire Brittain, Stephen D. Hendrix, Robbin Thorp, Neal Williams, and Claire Kremen. 2012. “Wild Pollination Services to California Almond Rely on Semi-Natural Habitat.” The Journal of Applied Ecology, April, no – no. 

Lundin, Ola, Kimiora L. Ward, Derek R. Artz, Natalie K. Boyle, Theresa L. Pitts-Singer, and Neal M. Williams. 2017. “Wildflower Plantings Do Not Compete With Neighboring Almond Orchards for Pollinator Visits.” Environmental Entomology 46 (3): 559–64. 

Morandin, L. A., and C. Kremen. 2013. Hedgerow restoration promotes pollinator populations and exports native bees to adjacent fields. Ecological Applications 23(4):829–839. 

Riva, Federico, and Lenore Fahrig. 2022. “The Disproportionately High Value of Small Patches for Biodiversity Conservation.” Conservation Letters n/a (n/a): e12881. 

Saunders, Manu E., Gary W. Luck, and Margaret M. Mayfield. 2013. “Almond Orchards with Living Ground Cover Host More Wild Insect Pollinators.” Journal of Insect Conservation 17 (5): 1011–25. 

Walton, Nathaniel J., and Rufus Isaacs. 2011. “Influence of Native Flowering Plant Strips on Natural Enemies and Herbivores in Adjacent Blueberry Fields.” Environmental Entomology 40 (3): 697–705. 

Williams, Neal M., Kimiora L. Ward, Nathaniel Pope, Rufus Isaacs, Julianna Wilson, Emily A. May, Jamie Ellis, et al. 2015. “Native Wildflower Plantings Support Wild Bee Abundance and Diversity in Agricultural Landscapes across the United States,” December. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-1748.1. 

Habitat is a key regenerative agriculture tool

Chahal, I., R.J. Vyn, D. Mayers, and L.L. Van Eerd. 2020. Cumulative impact of cover crops on carbon sequestration and profitability in a temperate humid climate. Scientific Reports. 10:13381

Chiartas, Jessica L., Louise E. Jackson, Rachael F. Long, Andrew J. Margenot, and Anthony T. O’Geen. 2022. “Hedgerows on Crop Field Edges Increase Soil Carbon to a Depth of 1 Meter.” Sustainability: Science Practice and Policy 14 (19): 12901. 

Drexler, Sophie, Andreas Gensior, and Axel Don. 2021. “Carbon Sequestration in Hedgerow Biomass and Soil in the Temperate Climate Zone.” Regional Environmental Change 21 (3): 74. 

Papanikolaou, Alexandra D., Ingolf Kühn, Mark Frenzel, and Oliver Schweiger. 2017. “Semi-Natural Habitats Mitigate the Effects of Temperature Rise on Wild Bees.” The Journal of Applied Ecology 54 (2): 527–36.