Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXVII, Issue 1
Written by Otilia BOBIŞ, Victoriţa BONTA, Adela Ramona MOISE, Claudia PAŞCA, Alexandru Ioan GIURGIU, Daniel Severus DEZMIREAN
Lately, there have been increasing efforts to stimulate the strategic role of the bees in biodiversity protection, in agriculture & horticulture. European Union (EU) has invested in the beekeeping sector in the last years by funding Farm to Fork strategy. The aim of this strategy is to protect them and preserve their contribution in sustainable environmental models. Biodiversity is decreasing by using intensive agriculture, chimization and automatization and consequently a decline in ecosystem services in many parts of the world, most representatives being pollination. Over the past three decades, there was an increasing in atmospheric temperature. Because of changes in plant flowering times patterns, the interaction between pollinators and their food sources is also affected. The challenges facing bee health have multiple sources, including poor nutrition due to less nectar source, heat stress resulting from global warming, agrochemicals used in agriculture, and pathogens becoming increasingly resistant to conventional treatments. However, thermal stress can negatively affect hive activity, which can affect foraging activity, immunocompetence, reproductive capacity, and the growth and development of bees. This, in turn, will affect pollination services and hive production overall.
[Read full article] [Citation]
