Climate change could be associated with a decrease in honey production, due to its effects on floral resources. Bees’ primary source of nutrition is pollen and nectar from flowers and lack of high-quality floral resources is considered one of the primary stressors to pollinators. According to a new study from Penn State, pollinator floral resources and colony productivity are affected by many global change factors, such as land composition change, rise temperature and extreme weather conditions.
There has been an appreciable decline in honey yields in the continental United States since the mid-1990s, whereas previously the productivity of honeybee colonies and other pollinators had been steadily increasing. Three main conditions usually underpin colonies’ productivity: ecoregion suitability, habitat availability and habitat quality. Since bees are very skilled at finding food, poor honey production is probably a symptom of a poor presence of floral resources in the environment.
Those changes in bees’ habitat turned out to be strictly linked to climate and weather conditions, soil productivity, large-scale application of herbicides and pesticides, and land use, along with intensive agriculture and reduction in land conservation programs that support pollinators. Studies found these environmental factors actually reduce the ability of the ecosystem to provide available floral resources, making it difficult for bees to find pollen and nectar.
Extreme precipitation events are expected with climate change, together with an increase in temperature and biodiversity loss.
Given that there is the correlation between climate change effect, floral communities and honeybee colony productivity, conservation actions that mitigate climate change should be considered for pollinator protection. The study’s findings, along with previous research, suggest that investing in pollinator habitat restoration is a promising approach: practices that work on soil conservation, retaining and restoring soil productivity, could be key for pollinator conservation.