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Data for "Plant identity determines pollinator, natural enemy, herbivore and decomposer abundances in flower plantings"

https://doi.org/10.5878/8q5t-3546
We evaluated 27 candidate plant species for their ability to host functionally important above- and below-ground organisms — pollinators, natural enemies, herbivores, and decomposers — and assessed how the plant traits floral area, timing of peak bloom, life cycle, and plant cover affect these groups. The study was conducted during two years in two sites. Pollinators (hoverflies and wild bees - including bumblebees and solitary bees) were surveyed with visual observations for 60s twice a week while the plot was in bloom. Leaf-dwelling arthropods (predators, parasitic wasps and herbivores) were collected using vacuum sampling (30s in a 1m by 1m quadrat) of the plots with open flowers. As below-ground organisms, nematodes (predators, herbivores and decomposers) were sampled at the end of each survey season taking a composite sample consisting on three samples per plot (2cm diameter, 15cm depth). All data were summed on the plot level per site and year. For the plant traits, floral area and plant cover surveys were recorded weekly in a 1m by 1m quadrat, within 2 days of sampling pollinators and leaf-dwelling arthropods. The timing of peak bloom for each plant species was defined as the average week number between the two consecutive weeks with the highest number of open floral units. The life cycles of the plant species were classified as annual or perennial (perennial and biennial). For further information, see methods in the manuscript Rodríguez-Gasol et al. ’Plant identity determines pollinator, natural enemy, herbivore and decomposer abundances in flower plantings’.
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Data files

Documentation files

Citation and access

Data access level:

Creator/​Principal investigator(s):

Research principal:

Principal's reference number:

  • SLU.ekol.2024.4.4.IÄ-14

Data contains personal data:

No

Citation:

License:

Language:

Method and outcome

Unit of analysis:

Population:

Above and below-ground organisms: - Pollinators: hoverflies and wild bees (including bumblebees and solitary bees). - Leaf-dwelling arthropods: predators, parasitic wasps and herbivores. - Nematodes: predators, herbivores and decomposers). Plant traits: - Floral area: number of flowers multiplied by the average flora area in each plot. - Plant cover: percentage plant cover of the sown plant species in a 1m by 1m quadrat located in the center of each plot. - Timing of peak bloom: defined as the average week number between the two consecutive weeks with the highest number of open floral units. - Life cycle: annual or perennial (perennial and biennial) following Mossberg and Stenberg (2018).

Study design:

  • Ekologisk studie
  • Experimentell studie
  • Randomiserad kontrollerad studie (RCT)
  • Fältstudie
  • Observationsstudie

Description of study design:

The study was conducted over two consecutive seasons, 2020-2021, at two sites, Lönnstorp in Scania county, southernmost Sweden and Lövsta in Uppsala county, south-central Sweden. Thirty plant species were grown in monospecific 5m by 2m plots in a complete randomized block design with four replications per site. Plots within blocks were separated by 2m, and blocks were separated from each other by 4m. The space in between plots was sown with winter wheat.

Sampling procedure:

Description of sampling:

Pollinators (hoverflies and wild bees - including bumblebees and solitary bees-) were surveyed with visual observations for 60s twice a week while the plot was in bloom. Leaf-dwelling arthropods (predators, parasitic wasps and herbivores) were collected using vacuum sampling (30s in a 1m by 1m quadrat) of the plots with open flowers. As below-ground organisms, nematodes (predators, herbivores and decomposers) were sampled at the end of each survey season taking a composite sample consisting on three samples per plot (2cm diameter, 15cm depth). All data were summed on the plot level per site and year.

Time period(s) investigated:

Variables:

63

Number of individuals/​objects:

2050

Data format/​data structure:

Species and taxons:

Data collections 4 collections

Data collection Fältobservation

Mode of collection:

Fältobservation

Description of the mode of collection:

Lövsug för bladlevande leddjur (30 s i en kvadrant på 1 x 1 m, en gång i veckan under tre veckor i följd under blomning).

Time period(s) for data collection:

2020-07-01 - 2021-09-03

Data collector:

Source of the data:

  • Övrigt

Temporal resolution:

7 dag

Spatial resolution:

543 kilometer scale

Sample

Name:

Bladlevande leddjur

Description of sample:

Leddjur som erhållits genom provtagning med lövsug lagrade i 70% etanol.

Instrument

Name:

Modifierad lövblås

Description of the instrument:

en modifierad lövblås

Name:

Kvadrat

Description of the instrument:

1 x 1 meter kvadrant belägen i mitten av varje försöksruta. Användes för provtagning med lövsug.

Data collection Fältobservation

Mode of collection:

Fältobservation

Description of the mode of collection:

Visuella observationer av pollinatörer (60 s, två gånger i veckan under blomning).

Time period(s) for data collection:

2020-07-01 - 2021-09-03

Data collector:

Source of the data:

  • Övrigt

Temporal resolution:

7 dag

Spatial resolution:

543 kilometer scale

Sample

Name:

Pollinatörer

Description of sample:

Fångade individer från observationer av pollinatörer. Uppnålade, identifierade och lagrade.

Instrument

Name:

Pollinator net

Description of the instrument:

Pollinator net used to collect the unkown pollinators observed during the visual observations

Data collection Fältobservation

Mode of collection:

Fältobservation

Description of the mode of collection:

Blomyta och täckningsgrad uppskattades med hjälp av en 1m x 1m kvadrant belägen i mitten av varje försöksruta. För blomytan räknades antalet blomenheter i varje ruta och detta multiplicerades sedan med den genomsnittliga blomstorleken. En blomenhet var lika med en enskild blomma hos de flesta arter, men för korgblommiga växter och klöver (Trifolium spp.) räknade vi varje blomställning som en blomenhet. Den genomsnittliga blomstorleken uppskattades i varje ruta genom att mäta diametern (aktinomorfa eller sammansatta blommor) eller längden och bredden (zygomorfa blommor) på fem blomställningar. Täckningsgraden uppskattades som den procentuella täckningen av de sådda växtarterna.

Time period(s) for data collection:

2020-07-01 - 2021-09-03

Data collector:

Source of the data:

  • Övrigt

Temporal resolution:

7 dag

Spatial resolution:

543 kilometer scale

Instrument

Name:

Skjutmått

Description of the instrument:

För att uppskatta blomstorleken. Vi mätte diametern (aktinomorfa eller sammansatta blommor) eller längden och bredden (zygomorfa blommor) på fem blomställningar i varje försöksruta. Undersökningarna utfördes varje vecka under blomning, inom 2 dagar efter provtagningen av pollinatörer och bladlevande leddjur.

Name:

Kvadrat

Description of the instrument:

1 x 1 meter kvadrant belägen i mitten av varje försöksruta. Användes för provtagning med lövsug.

Data collection Fältobservation

Mode of collection:

Fältobservation

Description of the mode of collection:

Jordprover bestående av ett sammansatt prov av tre prover per försöksruta (från 1,5 m, 2,5 m och 3,5 m avstånd längs en central längsgående transekt; 2 cm diameter, 15 cm djup).

Time period(s) for data collection:

2020-09-21 - 2021-10-03

Data collector:

Source of the data:

  • Övrigt

Temporal resolution:

1 år

Spatial resolution:

543 kilometer scale

Sample

Name:

Nematoder

Description of sample:

Nematoder som samlats in med jordborr, extraherats med modifierade Baermann-trattar (Viketoft et al. 2005), värmedödats och fixerats i formalin. Viketoft, M., Palmborg, C., Sohlenius, B., Huss-Danell, K., Bengtsson, J., 2005. Plant species effects on soil nematode communities in experimental grasslands. Appl. Soil Ecol. 30, 90-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2005.02.007.

Instrument

Name:

Jordborr

Description of the instrument:

2 cm i diameter

Geographic coverage

Geographic location:

Geographic description:

The study was conducted over two consecutive seasons 2020-2021 at two sites, Lönnstorp in Scania county, southernmost Sweden (55°40'08.1"N 13°06'49.4"E) and Lövsta in Uppsala county, south-central Sweden (59°50'34.1"N 17°48'34.5"E).

Administrative information

Responsible department/​unit:

Department of Ecology

Funding

Funding agency:

Award number:

2019-00461

Award title:

Blomsterremsor 2.0: Skötsel av ekosystem tjänster och gentjänster ovan och under jord

Funding agency:

Award number:

O-19-23-298

Award title:

SamZoner 2.0 - Optimering av multifunktionella skyddszoner för ökad biologisk bekämpning och pollinering

Funding agency:

Award number:

2021-00164

Funding information:

Denna studie har möjliggjorts av Swedish Infrastructure for Ecosystem Science (SITES), i detta fall SITES Lönnstorps forskningsstation vid SLU.

Topic and keywords

Swedish Standard Classification of Research Subjects 2025:

Keywords:

Publications

Citation:

Neus Rodríguez-Gasol, Fabian A. Boetzl, Elodie Chapurlat, Johan A. Stenberg, Mattias Jonsson, Ola Lundin, Maria Viketoft (2026). Plant identity determines pollinator, natural enemy, herbivore, and decomposer abundances in flower plantings. Ecosphere. 17 (1), e70519. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70519

Contact

Maria ViketoftMaria.Viketoft@slu.se
SLU Arkivarkiv@slu.se

Metadata

Versions

Version:

2

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5878/8q5t-3546

  • Variabel tillagd:

    Variabler för pollinatörernas artrikedom har lagts till

Published:

Version:

1

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5878/001q-v042

Published:

doris
slu
Version 2 published:Metadata updated: