Green infrastructure provides important wild bee refuges in intensive agricultural landscapes: The case of Spanish drove roads

Agricultural intensification and reduced proximity to natural habitats and their associated resources negatively impact wild bee diversity. The Spanish network of drove roads, a series of traditional routes which have been maintained through the practice of transhumant grazing and livestock movement...

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Authors: Solascasas, P., Azcárate, F.M., González, J.A., Manzano, P., Michez, D., Wood, T.J., Hevia, V.
Format: article
Publication Date:2025
Country:España
Institution:Universidad del País Vasco
Repository:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/78146
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/78146
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Cañada Real Conquense
Ecological corridor
Iberian Peninsula
Landscape heterogeneity
Livestock routes
Pan traps
Pollinators
Transhumance
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network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
repository_id_str
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Green infrastructure provides important wild bee refuges in intensive agricultural landscapes: The case of Spanish drove roads
title Green infrastructure provides important wild bee refuges in intensive agricultural landscapes: The case of Spanish drove roads
spellingShingle Green infrastructure provides important wild bee refuges in intensive agricultural landscapes: The case of Spanish drove roads
Solascasas, P.
Cañada Real Conquense
Ecological corridor
Iberian Peninsula
Landscape heterogeneity
Livestock routes
Pan traps
Pollinators
Transhumance
title_short Green infrastructure provides important wild bee refuges in intensive agricultural landscapes: The case of Spanish drove roads
title_full Green infrastructure provides important wild bee refuges in intensive agricultural landscapes: The case of Spanish drove roads
title_fullStr Green infrastructure provides important wild bee refuges in intensive agricultural landscapes: The case of Spanish drove roads
title_full_unstemmed Green infrastructure provides important wild bee refuges in intensive agricultural landscapes: The case of Spanish drove roads
title_sort Green infrastructure provides important wild bee refuges in intensive agricultural landscapes: The case of Spanish drove roads
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Solascasas, P.
Azcárate, F.M.
González, J.A.
Manzano, P.
Michez, D.
Wood, T.J.
Hevia, V.
author Solascasas, P.
author_facet Solascasas, P.
Azcárate, F.M.
González, J.A.
Manzano, P.
Michez, D.
Wood, T.J.
Hevia, V.
author_role author
author2 Azcárate, F.M.
González, J.A.
Manzano, P.
Michez, D.
Wood, T.J.
Hevia, V.
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Basque Government
Basque Foundation for Science
IUBS
European Union Life Program
Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities
BERC
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Cañada Real Conquense
Ecological corridor
Iberian Peninsula
Landscape heterogeneity
Livestock routes
Pan traps
Pollinators
Transhumance
topic Cañada Real Conquense
Ecological corridor
Iberian Peninsula
Landscape heterogeneity
Livestock routes
Pan traps
Pollinators
Transhumance
description Agricultural intensification and reduced proximity to natural habitats and their associated resources negatively impact wild bee diversity. The Spanish network of drove roads, a series of traditional routes which have been maintained through the practice of transhumant grazing and livestock movements, plays a fundamental role in mitigating some of these negative impacts. This network, functioning as a form of green infrastructure, provides permanent semi-natural grasslands that serve as refuges for pollinators in particularly intensively managed agricultural landscapes. To explore the effect of the Conquense drove road –over 400 km long and one of the most frequently used transhumant drove roads in Castilla-La Mancha (central Spain)– on the wild bee community, we sampled a 240 km section that extends across three distinct ecoregions (Campo de Calatrava, Llanura Manchega and Mancha Alta), which differ biogeographically in terms of geology and geomorphology, likely resulting in differences in bee communities. We collected wild bee specimens using pan traps across three land use types present within each ecoregion: drove road grasslands, patches of semi-natural vegetation and intensive crop fields. Wild bee community composition showed significant differences between the three ecoregions. Drove roads showed a significant positive effect on species richness and Shannon’s diversity when the availability of semi-natural habitat was low. Functional richness of wild bees was significantly higher in drove road grasslands compared to the other two land use types (semi-natural vegetation and crops). Moreover, the interaction between semi-natural cover and drove roads revealed a significant positive effect of drove roads on both functional richness and dispersion, particularly under conditions of low semi-natural habitat cover. Our study highlights that drove road grasslands can offer suitable habitat resources that support bee taxonomic and functional diversity, particularly in landscapes heavily transformed by intensive agriculture and with reduced availability of semi-natural areas. The EU Pollinators Initiative emphasizes the need of restoring natural habitats in agricultural landscapes and creating a network of ecological corridors for pollinators. In this context, the preservation of the Spanish network of drove roads is highly relevant. Drove road grasslands, when maintained through traditional transhumant grazing, can provide feeding and nesting resources to wild bees and other pollinators, especially within a highly intensified agricultural matrix.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2026
2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10810/78146
url http://hdl.handle.net/10810/78146
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MCIN/CEX2021-001201-M/
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/LIFE18NAT
EUS/BERC/BERC.2022-2025
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109777
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/es/
© 2025 The Authors.
Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 3.0 España
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/es/
© 2025 The Authors.
Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 3.0 España
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
instname:Universidad del País Vasco
instname_str Universidad del País Vasco
reponame_str Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
collection Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
repository.name.fl_str_mv
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spelling Green infrastructure provides important wild bee refuges in intensive agricultural landscapes: The case of Spanish drove roadsSolascasas, P.Azcárate, F.M.González, J.A.Manzano, P.Michez, D.Wood, T.J.Hevia, V.Cañada Real ConquenseEcological corridorIberian PeninsulaLandscape heterogeneityLivestock routesPan trapsPollinatorsTranshumanceAgricultural intensification and reduced proximity to natural habitats and their associated resources negatively impact wild bee diversity. The Spanish network of drove roads, a series of traditional routes which have been maintained through the practice of transhumant grazing and livestock movements, plays a fundamental role in mitigating some of these negative impacts. This network, functioning as a form of green infrastructure, provides permanent semi-natural grasslands that serve as refuges for pollinators in particularly intensively managed agricultural landscapes. To explore the effect of the Conquense drove road –over 400 km long and one of the most frequently used transhumant drove roads in Castilla-La Mancha (central Spain)– on the wild bee community, we sampled a 240 km section that extends across three distinct ecoregions (Campo de Calatrava, Llanura Manchega and Mancha Alta), which differ biogeographically in terms of geology and geomorphology, likely resulting in differences in bee communities. We collected wild bee specimens using pan traps across three land use types present within each ecoregion: drove road grasslands, patches of semi-natural vegetation and intensive crop fields. Wild bee community composition showed significant differences between the three ecoregions. Drove roads showed a significant positive effect on species richness and Shannon’s diversity when the availability of semi-natural habitat was low. Functional richness of wild bees was significantly higher in drove road grasslands compared to the other two land use types (semi-natural vegetation and crops). Moreover, the interaction between semi-natural cover and drove roads revealed a significant positive effect of drove roads on both functional richness and dispersion, particularly under conditions of low semi-natural habitat cover. Our study highlights that drove road grasslands can offer suitable habitat resources that support bee taxonomic and functional diversity, particularly in landscapes heavily transformed by intensive agriculture and with reduced availability of semi-natural areas. The EU Pollinators Initiative emphasizes the need of restoring natural habitats in agricultural landscapes and creating a network of ecological corridors for pollinators. In this context, the preservation of the Spanish network of drove roads is highly relevant. Drove road grasslands, when maintained through traditional transhumant grazing, can provide feeding and nesting resources to wild bees and other pollinators, especially within a highly intensified agricultural matrix.The authors thank the Dirección General de Medio Natural y Biodiversidad (Consejería de Desarrollo Sostenible, Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha) for providing permission to work in the drove road network. Special thanks to Juan Castro for helping measure traits, and to Tom Wood, Sara Reverté, Paolo Rosa and Romain Le Divelec, for their help with bee taxonomy. This work was financially supported by the European Union Life Program (project LIFE CA˜ NADAS, LIFE 18 NAT/ES/000930). Pablo Manzano is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through a María de Maeztu excellence accreditation 2023–2026 (Ref. CEX2021–001201-M, funded by MCIN/AEI/1013039/ 501100011033); by the Basque Government through the BERC 2022–2024 programme and through a Fellowship of Ikerbasque—Basque Foundation for Science; and by IUBS through the project “Pastoralism as a global herbivory socio-ecosystem”.Agriculture Ecosystems and EnvironmentBasque GovernmentBasque Foundation for ScienceIUBSEuropean Union Life ProgramSpanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and UniversitiesBERC202620262025info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10810/78146reponame:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigacióninstname:Universidad del País VascoInglésinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MCIN/CEX2021-001201-M/info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/LIFE18NATEUS/BERC/BERC.2022-2025https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109777info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/es/© 2025 The Authors.Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 3.0 Españaoai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/781462026-06-18T09:23:17Z
score 15,812429

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