New project will inventory the landscape's availability of flowering flora for pollinators
The Flora & Fauna citizen research project takes advantage of local knowledge with the goal of developing measures that can ensure both food and habitat for pollinators throughout the season.
The initiator of Flora & Fauna citizen research, Lotta Fabricius Kristiansen, has extensive experience as a beekeeper and the initiative is part of her doctoral project at SLU, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
– We are testing citizen research as a tool to investigate and inventory our different landscapes and the availability of food and habitats for pollinating insects in general. Together, beekeepers, associations, farmers and the general public interested in nature can collaborate and create local measures that benefit pollination and biodiversity.
The Flora & Fauna project wants to strengthen the beekeeping sector by researching how to develop sustainable landscapes and secure the availability of pollen and nectar throughout the season. This is an important prerequisite for good bee health. The beekeepers' knowledge is important in the work of evaluating the landscape.
In addition to creating a basis for a dialogue about what supportive measures can be taken for honeybees' food supply throughout the season, the inventory can also provide a picture of the situation for other pollinators in the same area.
Local involvement in four locations in the country:
SMÅLAND
Gränna Beekeepers Association
ÖSTERGÖTLAND
Linköping Nature Center
Vreta Kluster
Hushållningssällskapet
VÄRMLAND
Kristinehamnsorten Beekeepers Association
MEDELPAD
Sundsvall Beekeepers Association
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Contact
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PersonLotta Fabricius Kristiansen, PhD StudentDepartment of People and Society