Do legume-rich habitats provide improved farmland biodiversity resources and services in arable farmland?

Abstract

The ability of legume-rich field margins to provide foraging resources for farmland birds and pollinators was investigated. These new margin types were compared to existing wildflower and grass margin options. The legume strips attracted the greatest abundance and diversity of pollinators. There was no relationship between floral abundance and pollinator abundance. Both the long-tongued Bombus pascuorum and the relatively short-tongued Bombus lapidaries showed a preference for the legume strips but no pollinator preferences were observed for other habitat types. Whilst all three habitats supported the same total abundance and biomass of invertebrates, only the legume strips provided sufficient foraging resources to support developing game bird chicks. These results demonstrate the potential value of legume-rich habitats as a means of supporting multiple taxa within agricultural environments.