Small gardens bring great benefits to bees, research works

Pollinators help produce almost 80% of crops around the world, including almost all fruit and grain crops in the United States. They also contribute to cleaner air, water and soil. Unfortunately, with pollinators facing threats including habitat loss and pesticides, their vital jobs are at risk. However, a new study shows that your small garden can help somewhat.

Researchers at the University of Bristol investigated the nectar content in more than 50 urban gardens to better understand how they serve as a food source for pollinators. They found that despite a large amount of nectar production in each garden, bees were able to forage from March to October by jumping from place to place. The results were published in Journal of Applied Ecology.

Nicholas Tew, first author and PhD student at the University of Bristol, speak, “We found that individual gardens differed in the amount of food they provided and the time of year they provided it. However, because fly pollinators like bees can visit many different gardens, they have the ability to forage in residential areas whenever they need to.”

To better understand the role gardens play in this neighborhood, the team looked at nectar production in 59 residential gardens throughout Bristol. Yields ranged from as low as 2g to as high as 1.7kg throughout the year. However, this is not based on size. The difference is based on what kind of tree is there.

Tew speak, “This means that everyone has the potential to help pollinators meaningfully, even with a small garden, and there is a lot of room for improvement, with some gardens providing eat hundreds of times less than other gardens, depending on what people choose to plant, weed, prune or mow. “

To provide the most nectar, the researchers recommend planting shrubs, trees, and flowers that are relatively open in late summer and early fall to make food more accessible. Landscaped gardens also tend to provide the highest yields of nectar.

There’s another way for residential gardens to shine. Due to the large number of gardens available in urban environments, the team also found that pollinators can much more stable food source in this environment than in rural farmland, where there are seasonal variations in food availability.

If you want to make sure these pollinators have the food they need, consider Sign the honey bee pledge.