Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Programme 2014 - 2020 INTERREG VB North Sea

Date of latest update: 2024-09-18

Description

Description (EN):

Insect pollination is worth €15 Billion in the EU but wild pollinators are declining because of loss in flower-rich habitats. In response the EU adopted a pollinator initiative in 2018. The NSR is one of the most productive agricultural areas but pollinators are in decline across the region. The overall objective is to increase levels of pollinators and crop pollination at local and landscape scales by providing land managers and policy makers with new expertise, tools and financial knowledge to create more sustainable and resilient agroecosystems. BEESPOKE brings together a wide range of partners from policy makers, research institutes, advisory and end users from 6 NSR countries to develop new products and approaches to increase the diversity of insect pollinators and crop yields by 10%. We will develop bespoke seed mixes and habitat management guidelines to support the suite of pollinators required for 14 crop types across 72 demonstration sites. Sites for each crop will showcase best management practices and training materials will be developed for biodiversity monitoring and measuring pollination. The same agroecosystems occur across the NSR and transnational cooperation will also give economies of scale for development of these novel tools. The approach will empower land managers to adopt pollinator management as a routine practice, fostering a bottom-up, land manager approach, creating a legacy to ensure continuing improvements for insect pollination of food crops.

Achievements (EN):

The BEESPOKE project aimed to increase the abundance and diversity of wild pollinating insects in farmed landscapes. This was needed because of widespread declines in pollinators and associated threat to levels of crop and wild plant pollination. In addition, despite opportunities being available to land managers to encourage pollinators by establishing new habitats and better managing existing ones using agri-environment scheme funding, uptake was low. We therefore set out out to gain a better understanding of what the barriers were to adoption of such practices and how better use could be made of the available land and resources. A potential additional incentive for land managers could be the financial benefits from improved crop pollination leading to higher yields and quality. Therefore studies investigated the potential for improved pollination for a range of crops and developed ways of measuring this that farmers could use. Different insect pollinated crops are pollinated by different groups of pollinators, for example bumblebees are the most effective pollinators of strawberries. The most effective way to encourage pollinators is to provide more flower-rich habitat and to improve crop pollination habitats must provided the types of flowers needed by each crop specific suite of pollinators. A total of 47 novel wildflower seed mixes were tested involving 300 sites across the NSR region of which led to the design of seed mixes for eight crops (apple, pear, strawberry, sweet cherry, raspberry, blackcurrant, oilseed rape and broad bean) and herb-rich grassland. Monitoring of these showed that they were attractive to targeted pollinators. Our work highlighted that seed mixes should whenever possible be tailored to the types of pollinators that need supporting and the local conditions (eg soil type). To help with this an interactive, online tool was developed to allow users to select the flower species needed for their crop and country. Guidelines and recommendations on how to establish and manage wildflower areas and other habitats with flowering plants were also produced along with accompanying videos. A key recommendation was to reduce the amount of grass seed in mixes thereby aiding wildflower establishment. A cost-benefit analysis of incorporating wildflower areas in apple crops was provided. These outputs all freely available on the project website. Training events, webinars and social media were used to help spread this knowledge to practitioners. Methods for measuring of pollination in seven crops were developed and guides produced. These were promoted to farmers with the aim that this should become routine practice so that any declines can be detected. In some situations we were able to show that provision of wildflower areas improved numbers of pollinators and pollination but not always. Pollination in hawthorn, was used as a barometer of wild plant pollination levels and was measured on regenerative agriculture and conventional farms. Higher fruit set occurred on regenerative agriculture farms attributed to greater numbers of hedgerow flowers. Our trials work with seed mixes, investigations of current agri-environment scheme options for pollinators and barriers to adoption led to us providing a comprehensive set of recommendations for improvement to make them more attractive to land managers and improve the quality of wildflower areas. Another online tool was developed to predict the pollination service provided by wild bees based upon provision of floral and nesting resources in the landscape. This can be used at local and landscape scales to identify areas needing improvement.

Website: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Thematic information

Managing natural and man-made threats, risk management Agriculture and fisheries and forestry

Specific Objective: Develop new methods for the long-term sustainable management of North Sea ecosystems

Thematic Objective: (06) preserving and protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency by:

Investment Priority: (06d) Protecting and restoring biodiversity and soil and promoting ecosystem services, including through Natura 2000, and green infrastructure

Partners (14)

Lead Partner: Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust

Address: Loddington House. Main Street, LE7 9XE Loddington, United Kingdom

Legal status: public

Website: https://www.gwct.org.uk/

Total budget: EUR 996 250.00

ERDF budget: EUR 498 125.00

Provincie Fryslan

Name: Provincie Fryslan

Address: PO Box 20120, 8900 HM Leeuwarden, Netherlands

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.fryslan.frl

Total budget: EUR 231 000.00

ERDF budget: EUR 115 500.00

Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg

Name: Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg

Address: Carl von Ossietzky-Str. 9-11, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.uol.de/plant-evol

Total budget: EUR 418 710.00

ERDF budget: EUR 209 355.00

Grünlandzentrum Niedersachsen / Bremen e.V.

Name: Grünlandzentrum Niedersachsen / Bremen e.V.

Address: Albrecht-Thaer-Str. 1, 26939 Ovelgoenne, Germany

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.gruenlandzentrum.org

Total budget: EUR 132 920.00

ERDF budget: EUR 66 460.00

HortiAdvice A/S

Name: HortiAdvice A/S

Address: Hvidkærvej 29, 5250 29 Odense SV, Denmark

Legal status: private

Website: http://www.hortiadvice.dk

Total budget: EUR 140 652.00

ERDF budget: EUR 70 326.00

KIVIKS MUSTERI AB

Name: KIVIKS MUSTERI AB

Address: Karakåsvägen 45, 277 35 Kivik, Sweden

Legal status: private

Website: http://www.kiviksmusteri.se

Total budget: EUR 102 650.00

ERDF budget: EUR 51 325.00

Københavns Universitet

Name: Københavns Universitet

Address: Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark

Legal status: public

Website: https://plen.ku.dk/english/

Total budget: EUR 256 510.00

ERDF budget: EUR 128 255.00

NIAB EMR

Name: NIAB EMR

Address: Huntingdon Road, CB3 0LE Cambridge, United Kingdom

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.emr.ac.uk/

Total budget: EUR 91 674.00

ERDF budget: EUR 45 837.00

Norsk senter for økologisk landbruk

Name: Norsk senter for økologisk landbruk

Address: Gunnars veg 6, NO-6630 Tingvoll, Norway

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.norsok.no

Total budget: EUR 20 000.00

Odling I Balans

Name: Odling I Balans

Address: Franzengatan 6, SE 105 33 Stockholm, Sweden

Legal status: private

Website: http://www.odlingibalans.com

Total budget: EUR 189 092.00

ERDF budget: EUR 94 546.00

Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet

Name: Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet

Address: Graabrodragatan 7, 532 31 Skara, Sweden

Legal status: public

Website: https://www.slu.se/en/Collaborative-Centres-and-Projects/radnu/

Total budget: EUR 70 134.00

ERDF budget: EUR 35 067.00

Universiteit Gent

Name: Universiteit Gent

Address: Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 25, B-9000 Gent, Belgium

Legal status: public

Website: https://www.ugent.be/

Total budget: EUR 526 202.00

ERDF budget: EUR 263 101.00

University of Kent

Name: University of Kent

Address: The University of Kent, The Registry,, CT2 7NZ Canterbury, United Kingdom

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.kent.ac.uk

Total budget: EUR 92 606.00

ERDF budget: EUR 46 303.00

Vlaamse Landmaatschappij

Name: Vlaamse Landmaatschappij

Address: Velodroomstraat 28, 8200 Brugge, Belgium

Legal status: public

Website: http://www.vlm.be

Total budget: EUR 743 810.00

ERDF budget: EUR 371 905.00

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

Province of Fryslan

Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Partners and Projects info

Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust

Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Partners and Projects info

Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg

Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Partners and Projects info

Centre for Grassland, Lower Saxony. Bremen

Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Partners and Projects info

HortiAdvice A/S

Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Partners and Projects info

KIVIKS MUSTERI AB

Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Partners and Projects info

University of Copenhagen

Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Partners and Projects info

NIAB EMR

Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Partners and Projects info

Norwegian Centre for Organic Agriculture

Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Partners and Projects info

Farming Balance

Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Partners and Projects info

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Partners and Projects info

Universiteit Gent

Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Partners and Projects info

University of Kent

Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Partners and Projects info

Vlaamse Landmaatschappij

Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Project acronym: BEESPOKE

Project start date: 2019-07-01

Project end date: 2023-06-30

Project status: closed

Relevant precedent projects:

B-RAP
EcoOrchard, European Union’s FP7
SymBIOse
Growing a Green Future
Soy2Grow, VLAIO
Cropexplore for farmers, VLAIO
Gold-of-pleasure, Department of agriculture
KIK-LOVE, EIP Operational group
KIKET, Flanders Relance-project

Relevant subsequent projects:

AgroBioCONNECT – ERA-NET (2023-2026), Horizon Europe
More nature for spicy fruit
HERBgrass, VLAIO
Kruisbestuvers, EU-funded (PDPO)

Relevant linked projects:

FRAMEWORK (2019-24), Horizon 2020
Delta Lady
Organic RDD, Research institution
QuESSA, FP7
BBSRC, IPA
AgroBioConnect, ERA-net
H3, BBSCR
PARTRIDGE
FABulous Farmers

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 4 847 560.00

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 2 413 780.00

Co-financing sources:

ERDF: Amount, .

Documents

Documents on this project are listed below, and organised by category. Please note field "Data source", attached to each document. Keep.eu users are free to use these documents as long as they mention the data source and keep.eu.

Studies / surveys

A novel farmland wildflower seed mix attracts a greater abundance and richness of pollinating insects than standard mixes

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2022-12-07

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

Assessing flower-visiting arthropod diversity in apple orchards through metabarcoding of environmental DNA from flowers and visual census

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2022-08-12

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

BEESPOKE Frisian Clay area pollinators in flower strips, field borders and crops: pan traps and specialist findings.

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2023-06-30

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

BEESPOKE Frisian Clay area: grasslands, herb-richness and insect biodiversity.

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2023-06-30

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

BEESPOKE Frisian Clay area: Insect profiles measured with sticky traps in flower strips, ditch sides and crops (rape seed, cereals, broad beans, flax, potato).

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2023-06-30

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

BEESPOKE Frisian clay area: pan trap protocol and analysis.

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2023-06-30

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

BEESPOKE Frisian clay area: Pitfall trap protocol and analysis

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2023-06-30

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

BEESPOKE Frisian clay area: sticky trap protocol and analysis

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2023-06-30

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

Diversification of Intensively Used Grassland: Resilience and Good Fodder Quality across Different Soil Types

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2024-05-28

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

Effects of natural pollinators on broad bean pollination and crop yield in plots with a Frisian clay area BEESPOKE seed mix based flower strip.

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2023-06-30

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

Factsheet BEESPOKE Frisian clay area - pest insects and their natural enemies in cereal fields with a BEESPOKE flower strip.

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2023-06-30

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

Impacts of Wildflower Interventions on Beneficial Insects in Fruit Crops: A Review

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2022-03-18

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

The BEESPOKE project: increasing wild pollinators and crop pollination

Attachment type: file

Type of document: Study / survey

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2023-06-30

Languages: en

Attachment file: Download

Videos / films

All about BEESPOKE - in 3 minutes

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2021-10-05

Languages: en

Bee-friendly Agriculture - Advice from Inagro on a Selection of Farming Practices

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2023-01-26

Languages: nl, en

Enhancing Pollinating Insects and Natural Enemies

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2021-09-15

Languages: en

Estimating Pollination Potential in Orchard - Part 1

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2021-09-15

Languages: en

Estimating Pollination Potential in Orchard - Part 2

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2021-09-15

Languages: en

Final conference of BEESPOKE & PARTRIDGE: Policy Influencer Event in Brussels, May 2023

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2023-05-31

Languages: en

From farmer to farmer - Experiences with wildflower strips (Charlotte Hudson, Hugh Lowe Farms)

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2022-10-10

Languages: en

Ground Nesting Bees - An Overview

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2021-09-15

Languages: en

Growers Guide to Surveying Pollinators in Orchards

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2021-09-15

Languages: en

How to Establish a Perennial Wildflower Area - Part 1

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2021-09-15

Languages: en

How to Establish a Perennial Wildflower Area - Part 2

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2021-09-15

Languages: en

How to Establish a Perennial Wildflower Area - Part 3

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2021-10-25

Languages: en

Wildflower Area and Beetle Bank in Blackcurrant Plantations

Attachment type: link

Type of document: Video / film

Data source: https://northsearegion.eu/beespoke

Publication date: 2024-10-31

Document date: 2021-09-15

Languages: en

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2014 - 2020 INTERREG VB North Sea

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2023-02-14

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

73 / 73 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

871 / 871 (100%)

Notes on the data

Information provided by the Programme. Achievements were retrieved by Interact from the Programme website (http://www.northsearegion.eu/), or a website directly linked from it, on 2021-09-20 and 2023-01-12.

The financial data featured in keep.eu for this programme, it's projects and its partners is not exact and should be taken as a reference only.

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Benefitting Ecosystems through Evaluation of food Supplies for Pollination to Open up Knowledge for End users

Description

Thematic information

Partners (14)

Partners map

Summary

Documents

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Disclaimer