Wild bees are declining in Denmark as in the rest of Europe, resulting in reduced yield stability in insect pollinated crops and insufficient pollination of wild plants. Farmers are the most important actors influencing wild bee conditions in farmland, and organic farmers are especially attentive to pollination due to both production stability and biodiversity in general.

Therefore the overall aim of this project is to provide organic and conventional farmers with a tool to evaluate their farm for its quality for wild bees, thus offering an option to be proactive in improving on farm bee conditions. The tool is a science based scoring system,based on an existing scientific model linking resources and wild bees on landscape level and modified to the Danish context. The tool guides farmers through an field estimation of nesting and flower resources on the farm during the season. Development of the tool is done in collaboration with organic red clover seed producers and apple growers, who test the tool and offer feedback
on user friendliness to adjust the tool. In addition the scientific model behind will be validated based on agreement between modelled and observed abundance of wild bees.

Project period: 01-10-2014 to 31-03-2017

Wild bees are declining in Denmark as in the rest of Europe, resulting in reduced yield stability in insect pollinated crops and insufficient pollination of wild plants. Farmers are the most important actors influencing wild bee conditions in farmland, and organic farmers are especially attentive to pollination due to both production stability and biodiversity in general.

Therefore the overall aim of this project is to provide organic and conventional farmers with a tool to evaluate their farm for its quality for wild bees, thus offering an option to be proactive in improving on farm bee conditions. The tool is a science based scoring system,based on an existing scientific model linking resources and wild bees on landscape level and modified to the Danish context. The tool guides farmers through an field estimation of nesting and flower resources on the farm during the season. Development of the tool is done in collaboration with organic red clover seed producers and apple growers, who test the tool and offer feedback
on user friendliness to adjust the tool. In addition the scientific model behind will be validated based on agreement between modelled and observed abundance of wild bees.

Project period: 01-10-2014 to 31-03-2017