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Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Journal of Environmental Analysis and Progress, 4(7), p. 169-176, 2022

DOI: 10.24221/jeap.7.4.2022.4682.169-176

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Bee richness and abundance in small fruit farms from semiarid landscape, NE, Brazil

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Bee diversity and current status of native populations is barely known in cropland from semiarid Sergipe, where fruit production is a growing activity among small farmers. Psidium guajava L. (Myrtaceae) is spread among small growers in Canindé de São Francisco and Poço Redondo in Sergipe state, Northeastern Brazil, in semiarid Caatinga, causing landscape change and habitat loss. Available evidences support that cross-pollination provided by bees may increase seed set and fruit production, despite self-pollination. We aimed to access bee richness and abundance within Guava orchard and identify landscape parameters important to these patterns. Survey was conducted in ten Guava orchards during the flowering period (n=10) from May to December 2017. Nine bee species were recorded and the high density and generalist bees Trigona spinipes and Apis mellifera comprised 92% of the flower visitors. No other social native bees were found, and solitary bees were scarce. No significant influence of landscape structure was found for bee richness, while bee abundance was affected by environmental diversity, isolation, and distance to caatinga patches and continuous vegetation reserves. Landscape simplification threatened bee diversity and pollination services. These results highlight the importance of providing bee habitat within farmlands, rearing stingless bees and restoring natural habitats along streams to increase wild bee populations within crops.