permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

Orchard Flower Strips Can Save Wild Bees, Study Shows - Buzz Feed
https://buzz-feed.news/orchard-flower-strips-can-save-wild-bees-study-shows/

Flower strips alongside apple orchards have been found vital to the
existence of wild bees in a new study by scientists in Germany.

Dr Vivien von Koenigsloew from Freiburg University’s Department of Nature
Conservation and Landscape Ecology said wild bees have become a rare
species around non-organic agricultural projects due to the low number of
available sources of pollen and nectar.

The scientist underlined: “This is an issue for farmers as crop systems
like apples are dependent on pollination.”

The Freiburg University research group examined 18 conventional apple
orchards in the Lake Constance region, where Germany borders Austria and
Switzerland, for three years.

Von Koenigsloew pointed out that perennial flowers such as viper’s bugloss
and mallow should be favoured over annual mixtures.