Leave it messy

The value of additional habitats on farms

Helle Mathiasen, HortiAdvice, photos: Helle Mathiasen, HortiAdvice

What can farmers do on their farmland to enhance and support biodiversity? And how can they benefit from this increased biodiversity at farm level? Sometimes this is easier than expected. Not only new measures are supporting biodiversity are worth considering, but also what farmers are already doing and could continue doing. Initiatives to support biodiversity can be both: establishing new habitats but also to preserve and protect existing habitats.

Establishing new habitats by planting perennial seed mixes is one way of supporting pollinators by providing pollen and nectar (food resources). A wildflower strip can support pollinators on the long term if the seed mix contains a wide variety of species which differ in time of flowering providing food resources throughout the season.

But visits to apple orchards can sometimes reveal that farmers are already doing something for biodiversity without doing anything or by simply being a bit messy.

Apple orchards are perennial, less disturbed production systems with a higher degree of stability which offer the possibility of to provide a diverse environment to support and/or enhance biodiversity. Apple orchards often have quite a few marginal areas that are not cropped. These areas are important to preserve and restore as additional habitats to support biodiversity/pollinators - either by providing food resources or nesting habitats. The apple trees provide a lot of food during their bloom, but this supply only lasts for a short period. Pollinators need food resources from early spring, before the apple trees are flowering, until late summer. For this reason, additional habitats in the orchard, can support pollinators even better.

Our project partner Helle Mathiasen from HortiAdvice came across some examples of additional habitats providing food and nesting possibilities during a farmers’ meeting at an apple orchard in Denmark. Laust Spandet Jensen is the owner of the Vesterled frugtplantage (Vesterled fruit orchard) and grows apples, pears and plums on the small island Fejø in the southern part of Denmark.

Do you want to learn more about the orchard and the surrounding area? Have a look at the Visit Denmark video.

Nesting and forage possibilities

An example of a marginal spot between two sections of apples in the field with flowering trees and bushes and in front anything emerging is left to grow without being cut.

Early food resources

A closer look at the spot reveals trees of prunus which flower early and provide food for pollinators very early and before the apple trees do.

Nesting possibilities

An undisturbed spot with wood and bare soils which can be an important nesting habitat for ground nesting bees.

Nesting possibilities

Another potential nesting habitat with coarse sandy soil for ground nesting bees.

Nesting and forage possibilities

Another permanent and undisturbed habitat between two sections in the orchards. In front, stones which have been removed from the field and placed here over time and some flowering perennials. In the back, the hedgerow with differences trees and bushes. This habitat provides both food resources, shelter and nesting habitats for pollinators.

Nesting possibilities

During the meeting and field walk (June 2022), we looked for pollinators and observed this ground nesting bumble bee, white-tailed bumble bee, in the grass row between the rows of apple trees.