New research shows that for every £1 invested in pollinator monitoring schemes, at least £1.50 can be saved, from otherwise costly independent research projects.
New research shows that for every £1 invested in pollinator monitoring schemes, at least £1.50 can be saved, from otherwise costly independent research projects.
A research team from the University of Reading and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is studying how to improve pollinator monitoring in the UK in a cost-effective manner. The preliminary results are presented today at the British Ecological Society’s annual meeting in Belfast.
Dr Tom Breeze, researcher at the University of Reading, who will be presenting the research, said “The study shows that scientifically robust pollinator monitoring schemes, regardless of their size or structure, are cost-effective and add tremendous value to food security and wider scientific research”.
Despite the urgent need, monitoring insect pollinators (especially wild bees and hoverflies) has often been considered too expensive to implement at a national scale. This research examines hidden benefits of monitoring schemes. By pooling data and expertise from a wide range of resources, the costs of schemes have been estimated to be between £5,600 for a small volunteer-led scheme collecting basic data and £2.8 million per year for professional monitoring of both pollinating insects and pollination to the UK’s crops.
Read more at British Ecological Society
Image: Short-fringed Mining bee, Andrena dorsata (Credit: Tom Breeze)
