Data Set Article: "Pollinators in blackcurrant orchards: Complementary roles of sown and spontaneous flower strips and limited spillover of small wild bees within fields"

Description

The following datasets were used in the study published in Ecology and Evolution (Lachaise et al., 2026). We investigated the local drivers of the abundance of four pollinator morphogroups (Bombus spp., large wild bees, small wild bees, and hoverflies) in blackcurrant orchards while accounting for landscape and temporal context. In these orchards, farmers had previously sown wildflower seed mixtures to support pollinator communities. We hypothesised that the abundance of each pollinator morphogroup in blackcurrant inter-rows would increase with the abundance of both sown and spontaneous floral resources. We expected pollinator abundance to decrease from the edge towards the centre of the inter-rows, especially for small wild bees. Finally, we hypothesised that higher pollinator abundance in the inter-rows would be associated with higher abundance of the same pollinator morphogroup in the adjacent blackcurrant rows. All methodological details regarding data collection and analyses are provided in the Materials and Methods section of the associated article. In this study, we surveyed pollinators in nine blackcurrant orchards in Burgundy (France) during three sampling rounds in spring 2023. In each orchard, we placed up to 20 transects in both sown and unsown inter-rows. Transects were located both within the inter-rows and in the adjacent blackcurrant rows, at different locations within the inter-rows (edge, inner, and centre). Pollinators flying, resting on leaves, or foraging on flowers were recorded while walking along each transect for one minute. Pollinator data are provided in the file EE_Data_Pollinator_Sampling.xlsx, which comprises two sheets: one containing the data and one providing the corresponding metadata. In each inter-row transect, we also surveyed flower communities, distinguishing between spontaneous and sown plant species, as farmers had previously sown wildflower seed mixtures in spring or autumn 2022, or in spring 2023. Flower data are provided in the file EE_Data_Flower_Sampling.xlsx, which also comprises two sheets: one containing the data and one providing the corresponding metadata. We also characterised the surrounding landscape within a 100 m buffer around each transect by quantifying the area of semi-natural habitats, urban areas, flowering crops, and non-flowering crops. These landscape variables are provided in the file EE_Data_Pollinator_Analysis.xlsx, which combines landscape, pollinator, and flower data for each transect. Lachaise, M., B. Collard, and M.-C. Anstett. 2026. “ Pollinators in Blackcurrant Orchards: Complementary Roles of Sown and Spontaneous Flower Strips and Limited Spillover of Small Wild Bees Within Fields.” Ecology and Evolution 16, no. 9: e74127. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.74127.

Institutions

• Université Paris-Saclay

  Île-de-France, Gif-sur-Yvette
• AgroParisTech

  Île-de-France, Palaiseau
• Biogéosciences

  Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Dijon

Categories

Funders

• FEADER

  Grant ID: RBOU160118CR0260011
• FEADER

  Grant ID: RBOU160121CR0260003

Licence