• Farmers help create `Virtual safe space'

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Fri Aug 13 21:30:38 2021
    Farmers help create `Virtual safe space' to save bumblebees

    Date:
    August 13, 2021
    Source:
    University of Exeter
    Summary:
    Solutions to help pollinators can be tested using a 'virtual safe
    space' tool created by scientists at the University of Exeter in
    collaboration with farmers and land managers.



    FULL STORY ========================================================================== Solutions to help pollinators can be tested using a "virtual safe space"
    tool created by scientists at the University of Exeter in collaboration
    with farmers and land managers.


    ========================================================================== BEE-STEWARD is a decision-support tool which provides a computer
    simulation of bumblebee colony survival in a given landscape.

    The tool lets researchers, farmers, policymakers and other interested
    parties test different land management techniques to find out which ones
    and where could be most beneficial for bees.

    BEE-STEWARD -- which is freely available online -- is a powerful tool
    that can make bumblebee survival predictions, according to a new study.

    "We know that pollinator decline is a really big problem for crops and
    also for wildflowers," said Dr Grace Twiston-Davies, of the Environment
    and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus
    in Cornwall.

    "BEE-STEWARD takes into account the many complicated factors that interact
    to affect bumblebees." "This provides a virtual safe space to test out different bee-friendly management options."


    ========================================================================== "It's a free, user-friendly tool and we have worked with land managers and wildlife groups on the ground to create it together." Disentangling the
    many factors that affect bumblebee colonies is incredibly complicated,
    meaning real-word testing of different methods by land managers is often
    not feasible.

    This problem prompted the Exeter scientists to create the BEEHAVE
    (honeybees) and Bumble-BEEHAVE (Bumblebees) computer models. But to help bumblebees thrive across our landscapes, these tools need to be used by
    people on the ground and not just scientists.

    BEE-STEWARD has been designed with and for land managers, farmers and conservation practitioners to test out different ideas for land management
    and predict the impact that these may have on bumblebee survival.

    BEE-STEWARD is being used by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to help
    test and guide land management to help bumblebees and farm business
    thrive in Cornwall.

    Using BEE-STEWARD, bee-friendly actions are being tested across 1,500 ha
    of land in collaboration with the Duchy of Cornwall Estate, the National
    Trust, Treiwthen Dairy and Kellys of Cornwall.



    ========================================================================== BEE-STEWARD can simulate the growth, behaviour and survival of UK
    bumblebee species living in a landscape providing various nectar and
    pollen sources to forage on.

    "The BEE-STEWARD model is a significant step towards enabling
    practitioners to support bumblebee populations," said Professor Juliet
    Osborne, who leads the team.

    "The tool can be used to inform conservation and farming decisions and
    for assigning bespoke management recommendations." Professor Osborne and
    team won the BBSRC Social Innovator of the Year 2017 award for creating
    the BEEHAVE models.

    "We have worked with researchers and landowners who have been using the
    model and have given us valuable feedback so we could improve our models further" said model developer Dr Matthias Becher.

    "Testing the BEE-STEWARD tool has helped us predict how best to provide
    new and improved habitat for pollinators in an informed way, considering existing and proposed flora, flowering times and location. This has
    focused decision making by identifying pollinator habitats that are
    lacking in a particular landscape, enabling us to focus our attention to improve and protect these specific areas" Ashley Taylor, Assistant Land Steward, Duchy of Cornwall Estate BEE-STEWARD could be an important
    virtual test-bed for scientists exploring the impacts of different
    stressors on bumblebees and used by those with little or no modelling experience. Enabling a shared methodology between research, policy and
    practice for bumblebee survival.

    "'The Bee-Steward model will be fantastic for conservation planning -- it
    lets us time-travel to see the long-term results of changing management
    and compare all the possible options to see which one will work out
    best for bumblebees" Dr Richard Comont, Science Manager, Bumblebee
    Conservation Trust.

    The BEE-STEWARD tool sits alongside a wider body of research by
    Prof. Osborne, Dr Twiston-Davies and Dr Becher around pollinator-friendly land-management.

    Their work on the NERC-funded SWEEP programme has included providing
    advice on Managing Green Space to improve biodiversity and wildlife
    habitats and working on the 'Farming for the Nation' trial for a new Agri-environment scheme with Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

    ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Exeter. Note: Content
    may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Grace Twiston‐Davies, Matthias A. Becher, Juliet L. Osborne.

    BEE‐STEWARD: A research and decision‐support
    software for effective land management to promote bumblebee
    populations. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2021; DOI:
    10.1111/2041-210X.13673 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210813100306.htm

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