Süle G., Baldi A., Kleijn D., Steffan-Dewenter I., Albrecht M., Batary P., Biegerl C., Bogusch P., Braunisch V., Buse J., Cappellari A., Eckerter T., Fartmann T., Frank T., Fumy F., Garratt M., Georgi M., Guariento E., Heneberg P., Hipold A., Holzschuh A., Hopfenmüller S., Horak J., Imran Hussain R., Jozan Z., Karise R., Kati V., Klein A., Kovacs-Hosyanski A., Kozel P., Körösi A., Liiskmann E., Löffler F., Marini L., McLaughlin G., Mora A., Morrison M., Nasiou K., Nehbova K., Odor P., Poniatowski D., Soltesz Z., Szentirmai I., Tölgyesi C., Zografou K., Szigeti V.
Synthesis of pollinator-friendly management in European protected areas.
Conservation Biology, In Press, 2026, Article e70366.
Pollinators are important to humans and nature due to their role in ecosystem functioning
and services. Research on the effects of pollinator management in protected areas
is insufficient compared with that on farmlands and urban areas, potentially hindering
appropriate policy implementation. We addressed this knowledge gap by conducting a
data-based synthesis on measures to promote pollinators (especially bees, butterflies, and
flies) across European protected areas. To compare the effects of management practices
that enhance pollinators (pollinator-friendly; treatment) and those not focused on pollinators
(conventional; control) in protected areas, we used vegetation, floral resource, and
pollinator datasets. Our synthesis involved 10 countries, 34 datasets, and 639 sampling
sites with different management activities (land abandonment, mowing, grazing, mulching,
flower sowing, gap creation, and uprooting and girdling trees) and habitats (grasslands,
forests, reed beds, and sandpits). Pooled analysis indicated that pollinator-friendly management
had mainly neutral effects on floral resources and pollinators, with some positive
effects but no negative effects. Dataset-level details revealed mostly neutral effects from
pollinator-friendly management with some positive (15%) and fewer negative (3%) effects.
Management slightly improved pollinator overall abundance and species richness, particularly
for butterflies and wild bees (excluding bumblebees). Comparing our synthesis with
previous studies suggests that implementing management practices for pollinators in protected
areas is more challenging than in farmlands and cities, possibly because protected
areas already host higher quality habitats. Alternatively, pollinator-friendly approaches
commonly implemented in protected areas may be insufficient. Although the Nature
Restoration Regulation provides new opportunities for pollinator conservation, implementation
will require careful planning for target areas, as effective management, including
pollinator requirements, requires more focused and context-specific measures than those
applied in cities and farmlands. Although focused on Europe, our synthesis provides
broadly applicable lessons for pollinator conservation in other highly modified landscapes
but with adaptation to local ecological and socioeconomic conditions.
