Skip to main content
Researchdata.se

Data for: Abundance of short- and long-tongued bees, and their impact on red clover seed production in four cultivars grown across a large latitude range

https://doi.org/10.5878/5v4x-rd92
The aim of this study was to investigate how short- and long-tongued bees (bumblebees and honeybees) affect seed production in different cultivars of red clover, focusing on tetraploid cultivars. The study includes two experiments. In the first one, data were collected from field trials at six different sites (belonging to Lantmännen) distributed in southern and northern Sweden over two years. The data from this experiment include seed yield, seed set, abundance of short- and long-tongued bees and seed-eating weevils, and plant traits (flower head density and number of florets per flower head) from one diploid and three tetraploid red clover cultivars. The second experiment was a cage study where seed yield from tetraploid red clover was evaluated from cages with different densities of the short-tongued bumblebee Bombus terrestris, and compared with seed yield from an open plot adjacent to the cages. This study was conducted in farmers' fields in southern and northern Sweden over two years.
Download data and documentation (10 files / 62.49 KiB)

Data files

  • Cage_study_pollinators.tsv
    125 Bytes
  • Cage_study_seed_yield.tsv
    1.22 KiB
  • Correlation_analyses_seed_yield_and_total_and_flowering_flower_head_densities.tsv
    6.75 KiB
  • Pollinator_abundance_models.tsv
    16.54 KiB
  • Seed_set_and_florets_per_flower_head_models.tsv
    10.64 KiB
  • Seed_yield_and_weevil_models_and_correlation_analyses_seed_set_and_florets_per_flower_head.tsv
    7.28 KiB
  • Seed_yield_whole_plots_thousand_seed_weight_and_germination.tsv
    1.82 KiB
  • Total_flower_head_density_model.tsv
    4.83 KiB

Documentation files

  • README.txt
    11.47 KiB
  • Spatial_information_study_sites.txt
    1.82 KiB

Citation and access

Data access level:

Creator/Principal investigator(s):

Research principal:

Principal's reference number:

  • SLU.ltv.2025.4.2.IÄ-2

Data contains personal data:

No

Citation:

License:

Language:

Method and outcome

Time period(s) investigated:

Data format/data structure:

Species and taxons:

Data collection Field/Intervention experiment

Mode of collection:

Field/Intervention experiment

Description of the mode of collection:

Cage study: - Harvest and dry seeds from 0,25 m² squares. - Survey of pollinators were conducted in the open field outside of the cages. Pollinators (bumblebees and honeybees) were surveyed along transects measuring 50 m in length and 1 m in width, where the observer walked along the transect and recorded all pollinating (flower-visiting) individuals. - Flower head densities were counted manually in one 25 m² square per treatment in the end of the season, prior harvesting of seeds. Field trials: - Seed yield was collected from three 0,25 m² squares per parcel. - Seed set and number of florets per flower head were determined from flower heads collected in the field at the end of the season. The number of seeds and florets per flower head was counted manually in a laboratory. - Pollinators (bumblebees and honeybees) were surveyed in each plot by dividing the plot into five parallel 10-m long and 1-m wide transects, where the observer walked along the transects and recorded all pollinating (flower-visiting) individuals. - Weevils were surveyed by collecting flower heads at the end of the flowering period and placing them in hatching tubes for approximately six weeks. Thereafter, adult weevils hatched in the tubes were counted in a laboratory. - Flower head densities were calculated manually in the field using three 0.25 m² quadrats that were randomly placed within each plot.

Time period(s) for data collection:

2019 - 2021

Data collector:

Data collection Field/Intervention experiment

Mode of collection:

Field/Intervention experiment

Description of the mode of collection:

Cage trial: - Threshing and cleaning of seeds Field trial: - Drying, threshing and cleaning of seeds from 0.25 m² squares.

Time period(s) for data collection:

2019 - 2021

Data collector:

  • The Rural Economy and Agricultural Society

Data collection Field/Intervention experiment

Mode of collection:

Field/Intervention experiment

Description of the mode of collection:

Field trials: - Seed yield was collected from whole parcels in Svalöv, Lännäs and Kölbäck at the end of the season using a combine harvester. The seeds were also dried, threshed and cleaned by Lantmännen. - Thousant seed weight of seeds in Svalöv, Lännäs and Kölbäck - Germination percentage of seeds in Svalöv, Lännäs and Kölbäck 2020

Time period(s) for data collection:

2020 - 2021

Data collector:

Instrument

Name:

Combine harvester

Geographic coverage

Geographic location:

Geographic description:

Six sites belonging to Lantmännens research stations in Sweden. The sites are: Bjertorp, Kölbäck, Lännäs, Röbäcksdalen, Svalöv, Ås. The sites for the cage study are not reported with coordinates, but this study was conducted in Skåne and Västernorrlands län.

Administrative information

Responsible department/unit:

Department of Plant Protection Biology

Funding

Funding agency:

  • Lantmännen Research Foundation

Award title:

Kan högre humlediversitet i landskapet öka fröskörden av rödklöversorter i Norrland?

Funding agency:

  • Partnerskap Alnarp

Award number:

PA 1199/1336

Award title:

Kan högre humlediversitet i landskapet öka fröskörden hos rödklöver?

Funding agency:

  • Regional jordbruksforskning för norra Sverige (RJN)

Award number:

9/2018

Award title:

Kan högre humlediversitet i landskapet öka fröskörden av rödklöversorter viktiga för Norrland?

Funding agency:

  • SLU Grogrund

Award title:

Växtförädling för ökad fröavkastning hos rödklöver

Topic and keywords

Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2025:

Keywords:

Publications

Citation:

Svensson, K., Hederström V., Valentin, I., Lindholm, S., Öhlund, L., Larsson, M.C. and Lankinen, Å. (2026). Abundance of short- and long-tongued bees, and their impact on red clover seed production in four cultivars grown across a large latitude range. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 401, 110272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2026.110272Opens in a new tab

Contact

Metadata

Version 1
doris
slu
Published: