The Effect of Land Cover on the Nectar Collection by Honeybee Colonies in Urban and Rural Areas
In the context of increasing urbanisation, the question arises as to whether urban environments can provide honeybee colonies with floral resources comparable to those available in rural areas. The present study sought to evaluate the impact of land cover on nectar collection by bees in urban and ru...
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| author | Dariusz Gerula Jakub Gąbka |
| author_facet | Dariusz Gerula Jakub Gąbka |
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| description | In the context of increasing urbanisation, the question arises as to whether urban environments can provide honeybee colonies with floral resources comparable to those available in rural areas. The present study sought to evaluate the impact of land cover on nectar collection by bees in urban and rural apiaries. To this end, changes in the mass of 10 hives located in five urban–rural site pairs were monitored over two years (2021–2022) to assess nectar yield, weight loss, and the number of foraging days. The 3 km surroundings of each apiary were analysed using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery from the S2GLC-PL (National Satellite Information System 2025). The analysis identified eight distinct land cover classes: anthropogenic, agricultural, broad-leaved forest, coniferous forest, grassland, shrubs, wetlands, and water bodies. The findings revealed no statistically significant variation in the total nectar collected between urban and rural colonies (72.9 kg vs. 64.5 kg; <i>p</i> > 0.6). However, urban colonies exhibited a significantly higher number of foraging days (67 vs. 56). No significant correlations were identified between specific land cover types and nectar yield. Principal component analysis (PCA) and clustering revealed distinct landscape gradients, yet these did not influence nectar collection. The findings of this study indicate that diverse urban environments have the capacity to support beekeeping to a similar extent as rural areas and may even have superior conditions, provided that the continuity and diversity of nectar plants are maintained. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | DOAJ |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-0c9ddfb391744822be31ae2e2209f7b02025-08-20T03:14:19ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-04-01158449710.3390/app15084497The Effect of Land Cover on the Nectar Collection by Honeybee Colonies in Urban and Rural AreasDariusz Gerula0Jakub Gąbka1Apiculture Division, The National Institute of Horticultural Research, 24-100 Pulawy, PolandDepartment of Animal Environment Biology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-787 Warsaw, PolandIn the context of increasing urbanisation, the question arises as to whether urban environments can provide honeybee colonies with floral resources comparable to those available in rural areas. The present study sought to evaluate the impact of land cover on nectar collection by bees in urban and rural apiaries. To this end, changes in the mass of 10 hives located in five urban–rural site pairs were monitored over two years (2021–2022) to assess nectar yield, weight loss, and the number of foraging days. The 3 km surroundings of each apiary were analysed using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery from the S2GLC-PL (National Satellite Information System 2025). The analysis identified eight distinct land cover classes: anthropogenic, agricultural, broad-leaved forest, coniferous forest, grassland, shrubs, wetlands, and water bodies. The findings revealed no statistically significant variation in the total nectar collected between urban and rural colonies (72.9 kg vs. 64.5 kg; <i>p</i> > 0.6). However, urban colonies exhibited a significantly higher number of foraging days (67 vs. 56). No significant correlations were identified between specific land cover types and nectar yield. Principal component analysis (PCA) and clustering revealed distinct landscape gradients, yet these did not influence nectar collection. The findings of this study indicate that diverse urban environments have the capacity to support beekeeping to a similar extent as rural areas and may even have superior conditions, provided that the continuity and diversity of nectar plants are maintained.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/8/4497urban beekeepingrural beekeepingenvironmental impactnectar gatheringland coverbeehive weight gain |
| spellingShingle | Dariusz Gerula Jakub Gąbka The Effect of Land Cover on the Nectar Collection by Honeybee Colonies in Urban and Rural Areas Applied Sciences urban beekeeping rural beekeeping environmental impact nectar gathering land cover beehive weight gain |
| title | The Effect of Land Cover on the Nectar Collection by Honeybee Colonies in Urban and Rural Areas |
| title_full | The Effect of Land Cover on the Nectar Collection by Honeybee Colonies in Urban and Rural Areas |
| title_fullStr | The Effect of Land Cover on the Nectar Collection by Honeybee Colonies in Urban and Rural Areas |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effect of Land Cover on the Nectar Collection by Honeybee Colonies in Urban and Rural Areas |
| title_short | The Effect of Land Cover on the Nectar Collection by Honeybee Colonies in Urban and Rural Areas |
| title_sort | effect of land cover on the nectar collection by honeybee colonies in urban and rural areas |
| topic | urban beekeeping rural beekeeping environmental impact nectar gathering land cover beehive weight gain |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/8/4497 |
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