Honey production has been declining since the 1990s

Honey production has declined since the 1990s as honeybees, like other insects worldwide, face difficult times due to habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change.

The final answer to why this decline is still unclear, researchers at Pennsylvania State University say they may have finally found it after a half-century-long analysis of data from across the United States on variables such as average productivity per colony usage of land and resources, use of herbicides, and climatic and meteorological anomalies.

We already know that pesticide use can cause long-term harm to bees and that heat reduces their ability to pollinate.
New research identifies other factors that also play a role.

What’s amazingly unique about this study is that we were able to use 50 years of datasaid Christina Grosinger, professor of entomology and director of the Department of Entomology and the Pollinator Research Center at Penn State.

This allows us to truly examine the role of soil, climatic conditions in the ecoregion, annual climate variability, land use, and land management practices in the availability of nectar to bees and other pollinators.“.

Changes in honey production

Honey production

Grozinger and his colleagues detailed in their study that changes in honey production are linked to herbicide use and land use, which are also influenced by climate anomalies.

Climatic conditions and soil productivity (the ability of soil to support crops due to its physical, chemical and biological properties) are among the most important factors in evaluating honey performance. They reported that states in warm and cold regions had higher honey yields when the soil was fertile.“. They added: “Climatic and soil ecological conditions determine the initial level of honey production, while changes in land use, herbicide use, and climate influence the volume of honey production in a given year.“.

According to Gabriela Quinlan, a postdoctoral researcher at the Pollinator Research Center, climate has been increasingly linked to honey production since the early 1990s.

It is unclear how climate change will continue to affect honey production, but our results could help predict these changes.Quinlan says. “PFor example, pollination resources in the Great Plains could decline as the climate warms and becomes more temperate, while resources in the Mid-Atlantic could increase as conditions become warmer.“.

The key factor that reduces crop productivity is the lack of flowers for bees to collect enough pollen and nectar to eat.

There are many factors that affect honey production, but one of the most important is the availability of flowers.Grosinger explains. “Honey bees are very good collectors, they collect nectar from various flowering plants and convert it into honey.. “I wonder: If beekeepers see less honey, does that mean there are fewer floral resources available to pollinators in general? And if so, what environmental factors caused this change??”

This is where the importance of land productivity comes into play. Scientists say pollination sources are influenced not only by soil nutrient levels, but also by other characteristics such as temperature, texture and structure.

For example, reducing the area used for soybean production and increasing the land area allocated under the Pollinator Conservation Reserve Program had positive impacts on honey production. Meanwhile, increased use of herbicides is reducing honey production.”possibly because removing flowering weeds can reduce the number of food sources available to bees“say the researchers.

Our results provide valuable information that can be used to improve models and design experiments that allow beekeepers to predict honey production, producers to understand pollination services, and land managers to support pollinator plant communities and ecosystem services.Quinlan says.

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