This year, more than 120 volunteers are participating in bumblebee monitoring in agricultural landscapes on 100 transects across Germany. Compared to the previous year, both the number of study areas and the number of participating volunteers have increased by about 50 percent. Since the monitoring began in spring 2021, a total of more than 600 transect visits and over 2,000 bumblebee reports have been received. The data collected so far has already revealed patterns regarding dominant species groups in the agricultural landscape, seasonal fluctuations in the frequency of bumblebee observations and interactions between bumblebees and around 90 different plant genera. In the long term, the data collected will contribute to a better understanding of bumblebee population changes, patterns in resource use and the influence of land use.
Bumblebees are among the most important pollinators of many wild and cultivated plants and play a key role in maintaining biodiversity and ensuring human food security. However, one in three of the 41 native bumblebee species is considered endangered. Along with climate change, agricultural management plays a key role in the pressure factors on bumblebees: on the one hand, agricultural land covers approximately 50 percent of Germany's land area and on the other hand, intensive agricultural practices have a direct impact on the quality of bumblebee nesting and foraging habitats. Although the main risk factors are known, it is unclear how significantly bumblebee populations are changing in agricultural landscapes, which species are most affected and where changes in resource availability and other factors are particularly severe.
Researchers from the Wild Bee Monitoring in Agricultural Landscapes working group have been conducting bumblebee monitoring within the framework of MonViA since 2021 to fill this knowledge gap. Together with numerous volunteers, the monitoring program is continuously being developed further.
Further information on bumblebee monitoring in agricultural landscapes, results from recent years and opportunities to get involved can be found on the project website wildbienen.thuenen.de