Promoting Pollination and Pollinators in Farming

“This very timely book provides a comprehensive exploration of the current status of pollinators in farming and the strategies to promote pollination by insects other than honeybees. The editors, Peter Kevan and Susan Willis Chan, have assembled contributions from a large number of experts in the area of crop pollination, bee ecology and pathology…this book presents a state-of-the-art account of an essential topic and will remain a very useful resource for years to come. The Burleigh Dodds series in agricultural science aims to provide researchers with advice for sustainable food production. This volume does more than that: it will be a go-to reference not only for researchers but also for farmers and agronomists, policymakers and NGOs interested in learning about advances in techniques and protocols in promoting a crucial ecosystem service.” (Dr Katja Hogendoorn, The University of Adelaide, Australia)

It has been reported that up to 95% of all flowering plants require the services of other organisms to move pollen from male to female flower parts during the pollination process. These organisms, including bees, are collectively known as pollinators. However, in light of the growing evidence of global declines in pollinator species, the management, ecology and conservation of wild and managed pollinators is a subject of growing importance and research activity.

Promoting pollination and pollinators in farming reviews the wealth of research on our current understanding of existing pollination processes and their importance to our global ecosystems. The book considers how pollinators interact with plants, as well as the major threats to pollinator species, including climate change, diseases and pesticide exposure.

Through its comprehensive exploration of the current status of pollinators in farming, the book provides its readers with the knowledge required to promote pollination by protecting the world’s pollinators species and the ecosystem services they deliver using techniques such as habitat conservation.

Dr Peter Kevan is Emeritus Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph, Canada. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo and Ottawa University, Canada and a Research Associate of the Missouri Botanical Garden and Royal Botanical Garden. Professor Kevan is internationally renowned for his research on the biology and conservation of bees and other pollinators, with over 200 publications on these topics. Amongst other honours, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal Entomological Society and the Royal Society of Biology.

Dr D. Susan Willis Chan works in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph where she conducts research in entomology, ecology and biology, as well as working with Canadian farmers on conserving pollinators. Susan is a species expert on the ground-nesting hoary squash bee and has a strong interest in all aspects of agroecology.

Professor Stevenson holds a PhD in Chemical Ecology from University of London and is Head of Trait Diversity and Function at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, studying plant and fungal traits, to aid conservation, increase resilience to global change, and explore potential uses of plants and fungi for human health and well-being. Professor Stevenson also holds a dual role as Professor of Plant Chemistry at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich.

Professor Rob Paxton is Chair of Zoology at the University of Halle, Germany. He has held postdoc positions at Cardiff University, UK, Uppsala University, Sweden and the University of Tübingen, Germany. His main research areas are: social evolution, host-parasite relations, pollination and conservation genetics, with a taxonomic focus on bees.

Dr Jose Franco is a Research Agroecologist with the US Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, WI. His research focus is at the intersection of cover crop systems and precision agriculture and explores methods to increase cover crop performance and inclusion in dairy forage rotations.