The The effect of grassland restoration on wild bee assemblages, in Hortobágy National Park (Hungary)
Abstract
The decline of ecosystem services in response to agricultural intensification has become a worldwide phenomenon, which, in theory, could be decreased with large-scale habitat restoration. We studied wild bee assemblages in the Egyek-Pusztakócs grassland restoration programme in Hortobágy National Park, Hungary. After a preliminary methodological study in 2009 to identify the type of yellow plate-trap most suitable for sampling, I studied wild bee assemblages in croplands, native grasslands (loess, alkali) and in restored grasslands (four age treatments, three last crop types, two seed mixtures) in 2010. Wild bee species richness and Shannon-diversity were significantly higher in alkali restorations than in loess restorations. Both species richness and abundance were highest in the first year after restoration, which was characterized by a dense cover of weeds and flower-rich vegetation. Afterwards, with the development of a vegetation dominated by monocotyledonous species, wild bee assemblages became more stable and mainly contained species common in target grasslands. Our results suggest that the herb-rich, first year restorations are the most preferable for diverse wild bee assemblages rich in transient species and that a more developed restored vegetation is preferable for species characteristic to target loess and alkali grasslands.
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