Importance of hedgerows for wild bee abundance and richness in Kashmir Valley

Abstract

The investigations on value of various landscapes categories as a foraging habitat for wild bees were carried out in mosaics of small scale agriculture and natural vegetation areas of Kashmir valley during the spring seasons of year 2013 and 2014. In present study we tested the importance of habitat area, landscape composition and configuration on wild bees in valley. The habitats selected were hedgerows, agricultural fields, grasslands, and native woodland. We observed that bee differ in their response to many factors of landscapes. The hedgerows were attractive foraging habitat for native bees. The total species richness was highest in hedgerows. The overall bee faunas overlapped among habitats, bee assemblages in hedgerows were more similar to those in fields than to those woodlands. The flowering shrubs were important in attracting bees. Species richness and abundance of wild bees were surveyed on with independent gradients in local and landscape factors. Total wild bee richness was positively affected by complex landscape configuration, large habitat area and high habitat quality which provide them with assured nesting sites.