Red clover (Trifolium pratense) is currently used as a green fertilizer for agriculture in northern Sweden. However, due to its low resistance against diseases and a minimal benefit to local pollinators, there is a need to find alternative native species that maximize the benefits for pollinators and agriculture. Garden lupin (Lupinus polyphyllus), another legume, is an invasive alien species in Sweden that may affect the behavior of pollinators and therefore the pollination success of local plant species. The main aim of this study was to increase the knowledge of the legumes cow vetch (Vicia cracca), garden lupin, marsh pea (Lathyrus palustris) and red clover by observing their insect visitors and potential pollinators. The work was divided into subproject 1 (delprojekt 1) and subproject 2 (delprojekt 2). Delprojekt 1 studied insect visitation frequencies in one plot where garden lupin, cow vetch and red clover grew together in Burträsk, while delprojekt 2 studied insect pollination effectivity in two plots where one plot (Fäbodsanden) contained only marsh pea and the other plot (Skäret) contained both garden lupin and marsh pea. Data were collected via field observations. In ‘delprojekt 1', both bumblebees and solitary bees showed a significantly higher visit frequency to garden lupin than to cow vetch and red clover. In ‘delprojekt 2’, flies showed a significantly higher pollination effectivity on garden lupin than on marsh pea in Skäret. Both flies and bumblebees showed a significantly higher pollination effectivity on marsh pea in Fäbodsanden than in Skäret. This indicate that visitation frequencies to cow vetch and red clover as well as pollination effectivity on marsh pea may be affected by the presence/absence of garden lupin. For future studies, examples on how to extend the knowledge even further on plant-pollinator interactions are suggested.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-215272 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Westling, Tobias |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Institutionen för ekologi, miljö och geovetenskap |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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