Forest loss causes the disappearance of açai palm pollinators

Forest loss causes the disappearance of açai palm pollinators

There are bees that are more sensitive to the loss or impoverishment of areas of natural vegetation

• Work registered a difference of almost 80% more in the number of species that visited the flowers of açaí trees near forests.
• Smaller sized bees were the most impacted by deforestation. In some deforested regions, there was a loss of populations of small species.
• Scientists analyzed species-specific characteristics such as size., on a diet, the formation of nests and others, in an approach known as functional trait.
• Important açaí pollinators, native bees depend on natural vegetation to survive. That is why, work concludes that forest conservation is the key factor in maintaining functional diversity..

Study published in the magazine Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment reveals that in açaí palm areas with little forest cover nearby, native stingless bee species (meliponíneos) They are disappearing. Researchers studied the effect of deforestation on species-specific characteristics, what you call functional diversity, and found that the smallest bees were the most impacted. The loss in the diversity of Amazonian native bees has a negative effect on the pollination of the açaí tree, since these animals are the main pollinators of the palm tree.

Conducted by Brazilian and foreign scientists, the work revealed that in the studied areas, so much with açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea) floodplain (flooded areas) how much in terra firme plantations (high areas), there was a difference of almost 80% in the number of species that visited the palm flowers. "We evaluated areas with little forest around the açais and areas with a lot of forest. In areas with more forest we even find 14 species of stingless bees that visited the açaí flowers. In areas without forest cover, we found only three species", details the biologist Alistair Campbell, visiting researcher working at Embrapa Eastern Amazon (PA), and main author of the study.

Scientists evaluated 18 areas in four municipalities in Pará that stand out in the production of açaí: Barcarena, Abaetetuba, Acará and Bethlehem (Islands Region). Field data collection sites involved natural floodplain açais, subjected to intensive management, and plantations in areas not subject to flooding (dry land). Campbell counts that a total of 33 species of 16 genera of stingless bees were found in açaí palm inflorescences. The most common genera found by researchers were Trigona, Trigonisca, Partamona, Plebeia is Nannotrigona, which are the main pollinators of the açaí palm.

Among the bees found, there are some that are more sensitive to the loss or impoverishment of areas of natural vegetation, is, therefore, are more affected, as the study pointed out. "Consequently, if there is habitat loss, the most sensitive group of bees will disappear from that location, and this can negatively affect the pollination of the açaí tree, since the greater the diversity of pollinators, better and more efficient is pollination and fruit production", says the biologistMarcia Maues, researcher at Embrapa and one of the authors of the work(in the photo on the side, with researcher Alistair Campbell).

Previous study showed thatmore than 90% of açaí pollination is carried out by bees native to the Amazon region. "And these bees depend on areas of natural vegetation, so the production of açaí is dependent on our forests that provide the pollinators and protect the ecosystem service of pollination”, highlights the scientist.

being different is natural

To study the effects of land use change on stingless bee communities and acai pollination services, researchers used the functional trait approach. This means that instead of considering all species equally, the group looked at specific traits that differentiate them from each other, like the size, to diet feed, where do their nests and others. This is what they call functional diversity and that is present in nature.

Functional diversity is the set of specific characteristics of each species that determine their survival and the ecological services they perform.

"We collected data on six functional characteristics of stingless bees that may influence their response to changing landscape and role as pollinators", explica Campbell. the traits, or characteristics analyzed, were the body size, integument color, nest habit, colony size, foraging behavior and diet range.

Each trait is related to the bee's life strategy, how does the scientist explain. For example, the biggest ones can fly farther; those that nest in hollow trees, need forest; and whether the diet is broad or restricted, degraded areas have less plant diversity and consequently less choice of food.

“As functional traits are often shared by some or many species, using such an approach can show us the ecological roles of various species that share a functional trait and make predictions of how some species are impacted by landscape and land-use change.”, says the biologistElinor Lichtenberg, assistant teachergivesUniversity of North Texas (U.S), first author of the study.

The scientist also explains that the calculation of species diversity is based on the number of species. Functional diversity, on the other hand, is calculated based on the values ​​of the different characteristics of the species.

 "When working only with the richness or diversity of species, we don't consider the functional differences between them. But what defines the value of each species are its traits., its characteristics. That's what we tried to do in this study., focus on the attributes of each species", adds Campbell.

international effort The work brought together scientists from theEmbrapa Eastern Amazon, Embrapa Environment (SP), University of North Texas, University of Lisbon, Vale Technological Institute, Federal University of Pará, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, federal university of Bahia isGoias Federal University.

Disappearance of minors

It was found that the characteristic that had the greatest impact on deforestation was the size of the species and that the smallest were the most affected.. "That's because they have more difficulty in dispersing, have lesser flight autonomy. I'm talking about very small bees, smaller than a mosquito", exemplifies.

The researcher explains that the bees found in the açaí palm areas were divided into three sizes according to the intertegular distance, which is the body of bees: small, medium and large, with variation between 0,7 is 2,6 mm. The two extremes of results reveal that there is a difference in 79% between the number of bees in areas with high forest cover (14 species) in relation to areas with little or no coverage (three species), and that small bees have disappeared from deforested areas. "Species of the genus Trigonisca are basically restricted to conserved areas", add.

Another important data revealed by the study is that deforestation had a strong effect on the composition of groups of stingless bees in certain regions, because there was a loss of populations of small species. "In addition to losing in number of species, we are missing a specific type of bee, who can't keep their colonies and disappears, leaving only the largest in the region", alerta Campbell.

more forests, more bees

The study serves as a warning both for the management areas of native açaí trees and for the areas planted on terra firme. "We know that the açaí palm has a mega-diversity of floral visitors, of which about a hundred are potential pollinators.. of these pollinators, stand out the native bees, which is highly dependent on areas of natural vegetation to survive, get food, shelter and build their nests", highlights Maués.

"It is not enough to have just one species that may be less sensitive to habitat loss, as açaí production benefits from having several species of stingless bees, with different characteristics, that is why, forest conservation is the key factor in maintaining functional diversity”, adds Lichtenberg.

in the Amazon, environmental legislation determines that rural properties maintain 80% of natural areas, the Legal Reserve and Permanent Protection Area. The researchers' recommendation is to seek mechanisms to compensate for environmental liabilities, reforest areas and maintain diversity in floodplain forests. “Nas managed areas of açaí, for example, it is important to keep the balance between açaí and other plants, because they are the ones who will serve as a place of shelter and food for the bees", recommends Maués.

Another point highlighted by the researcher is the connection of natural areas between rural properties. The maintenance of forest areas around agricultural areas is very important, "because the pollinator fauna sees no borders, and the diversity of pollinators present in these areas benefits the entire neighborhood.”, highlights.

“Açaí is the most important crop in the Amazon, moves about US$1 billion annually. It's amazing that we still know so little about its pollination, which is directly related to fruit production. The discovery shows that when we lose Amazon forests, we lost important pollinators and also the açaí, which has a great weight in the income of Amazonian communities,” evaluatesCristiano Menezes, researcher atEmbrapa Environment.

Friendly practices and up to 40% production In the ten hectares of açaí palm that the producer Waltair Beliqui has in the municipality of Santa Bárbara, located in the Metropolitan Region of Belém (PA), the stingless bees visit the palm flowers daily. The place, which is a dry land planting, It has, besides the açaí, other palm trees such as peach palm and an area of ​​secondary vegetation with species diversity, that guarantees the presence of pollinators. "This forest is important because it offers more food to bees", recognize the producer. And the more vegetation, more bees. "During the morning, wherever you are, we can hear their noise in the açaizal. We climb the açaí trees and see many of them in the bunches", Beliqui account. He and his son Bruno Beliqui understood that bees are so important, that inserted hives of different species of stingless bees in the middle of the planting. "I have the black uruçu, straw, yellow annatto, mosquito and other species", reports the producer. Both the father and the son claim that after the introduction of the boxes in the plantation, the increase in fruit yield increased between 30% is 40%. "The bunches did not 'abort' and are more full of fruit. The 'toothless' curl is no longer given as before", count. The agronomist Kamila Leão, Director of Agricultural Development of the State Secretariat for Agricultural Development and Fisheries of Pará (Delicious), also author of the work, states that pollinator-friendly practices are essential for the production of açaí. They involve the conservation and restoration of vegetation close to the açais, the maintenance of trees that have nests, the non-use of pesticides and the elimination of fires. "It is important that producers in general start to incorporate these practices as another essential agricultural input for the production of açaí, as well as fertilization and irrigation", explains the agronomist. "I'm trying to show the importance of this practice to neighbors so that we can keep the bees. It's good for acai, it's good for us, it's good for them. It's good for everyone", Beliqui ends.Photo: Ronaldo Rosa

Ana Laura Lima (MTb 1268 / PA)
Embrapa Eastern Amazon

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