Vulnerability of Crop Pollination
Ecosystem Services to Climate Change
Mohamed A. M. Osman and Mohamed A. Shebl
Abstract Crop pollination is one of the most valuable ecosystem services. It plays
an important part in human food security. Pollination services are mainly provided
by wild pollinator species as solitary bees and by commercially managed honeybees.
Pollinators also have a key role in maintaining other ecosystem services including
ensuring biodiversity. Declines in bee diversity over the last two decade have been
recorded in many countries worldwide. Some drivers generate many stressors for
pollinators such as loss of habitat, nest fragmentation, urbanization, reduced floral
resource supply, increasing of pests and diseases, extensive use of pesticides and
climate change. Climate change is potentially the most serious threat to pollinator
biodiversity, reducing crop productivity and negatively impacting global food security. This chapter focuses on explaining the evidence of the biotic responses to the
slight climate changes that occurred recently. In Egypt, many studies have proven that
many bee species including honeybees are under huge threats affecting the agriculture production and plant vegetation. To mitigate this great problem, several attempts
were conducted in order to conserve and propagate the most vulnerable solitary bee
species through re-nesting them in artificial nests to be used for crop pollination.
Keywords Pollination · Bees · Decline · Climate change · Conservation
1 Introduction
The pollination of flowering plants is one of the most important ecological services
in natural and agricultural ecosystems. The majority of angiosperm plants rely on
animals for pollination [1]. Not all insects are pollinators, nor all pollinators are
insects. Most insect pollinators are Hymenopteran (Bees), Dipteran (flies), Lepidopteran (butterflies and moths) and Coleopteran (beetles and weevils). Bees and
sphecid wasps belong to the superfamily Apoidea are considered the major plant
M. A. M. Osman (B) · M. A. Shebl
Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
e-mail: naeim70@hotmail.com
M. A. Shebl
e-mail: mohamedshebl2002@hotmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
E.-S. E. Omran and A. M. Negm (eds.), Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture and Food
Security in Egypt, Springer Water, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41629-4_11
223
Ecosystem Services to Climate Change
Mohamed A. M. Osman and Mohamed A. Shebl
Abstract Crop pollination is one of the most valuable ecosystem services. It plays
an important part in human food security. Pollination services are mainly provided
by wild pollinator species as solitary bees and by commercially managed honeybees.
Pollinators also have a key role in maintaining other ecosystem services including
ensuring biodiversity. Declines in bee diversity over the last two decade have been
recorded in many countries worldwide. Some drivers generate many stressors for
pollinators such as loss of habitat, nest fragmentation, urbanization, reduced floral
resource supply, increasing of pests and diseases, extensive use of pesticides and
climate change. Climate change is potentially the most serious threat to pollinator
biodiversity, reducing crop productivity and negatively impacting global food security. This chapter focuses on explaining the evidence of the biotic responses to the
slight climate changes that occurred recently. In Egypt, many studies have proven that
many bee species including honeybees are under huge threats affecting the agriculture production and plant vegetation. To mitigate this great problem, several attempts
were conducted in order to conserve and propagate the most vulnerable solitary bee
species through re-nesting them in artificial nests to be used for crop pollination.
Keywords Pollination · Bees · Decline · Climate change · Conservation
1 Introduction
The pollination of flowering plants is one of the most important ecological services
in natural and agricultural ecosystems. The majority of angiosperm plants rely on
animals for pollination [1]. Not all insects are pollinators, nor all pollinators are
insects. Most insect pollinators are Hymenopteran (Bees), Dipteran (flies), Lepidopteran (butterflies and moths) and Coleopteran (beetles and weevils). Bees and
sphecid wasps belong to the superfamily Apoidea are considered the major plant
M. A. M. Osman (B) · M. A. Shebl
Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
e-mail: naeim70@hotmail.com
M. A. Shebl
e-mail: mohamedshebl2002@hotmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
E.-S. E. Omran and A. M. Negm (eds.), Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture and Food
Security in Egypt, Springer Water, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41629-4_11
223