Researchers make incredible find that could revolutionize farming: 'Effective and practicable'

A more diverse pollinating ecosystem benefits everyone. It encourages the growth of native plants while keeping those plants healthy and our fields lush.

But as more pollinators are becoming endangered, researchers in Germany looked at what could be done to boost their numbers. The answer may just lie in how we manage our land.

The study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B and reported on by Phys.org, found that the size of arable fields — those that can be farmed — and how they are maintained had the biggest impact on the number of pollinators and how diverse the group is.

To conduct the study, researchers spent months walking across 40 grassland areas in the southern German state of Bavaria. They counted and collected the number of pollinators, specifically bees, hoverflies, and butterflies, along with the number of flowers and nesting sites.

The size of the fields mattered, with bee populations increasing by 30% for every 2.5 acres that a field size increased. But that wasn't the only factor.

"If only an additional 10% of the annual arable land was farmed organically, the abundance of bumblebees increased by 10% and the abundance of endangered butterflies on the valuable nature conservation areas by 20%," noted Andrea Holzschuch, one of the study's authors, according to Phys.org.

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Roughly one-quarter of the 231 bee species and one-third of the 90 butterfly species the scientists recorded were endangered, giving hope that people who follow organic farming practices may be able to help give more life to endangered pollinators.

Other recent news about pollinators hasn't been as encouraging. One 2024 study found that air pollution was making it harder for certain pollinators to detect scents, reducing their visits to wildflower fields. Another discovered that deforestation has led to a decline in the Amazon rainforest's orchid bee population.

This makes this study a potential breath of fresh air.

"Overall, the study shows that an improvement in habitat quality and adapted management of the surrounding landscape can be effective and practicable methods for preserving the biodiversity of pollinators," researcher Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter said, according to Phys.org.