case study title about agriculture

• Browse All Articles
• Newsletter Sign-Up

Agribusiness →

• 15 Nov 2018

Can the Global Food Industry Overcome Public Distrust?

The public is losing trust in many institutions involved in putting food on our table, says Ray A. Goldberg, author of the new book Food Citizenship. Here's what needs to be done. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 17 Oct 2016

Business Solutions That Help Cut Food Waste

Up to 40 percent of food grown in the United States for human consumption is wasted. But solutions are starting to come together from retailers, farmers, academics, policy makers, and social service organizations, according to José Alvarez. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 09 Apr 2012
• Research & Ideas

Who Sways the USDA on GMO Approvals?

Government agencies can be "captured" by the very companies or industries they regulate. Looking at how genetically altered food products are approved, Assistant Professor Shon R. Hiatt finds unexpected influencers on the US Department of Agriculture. Key concepts include: "Regulatory capture" describes the phenomenon whereby regulatory agencies tasked with serving the public instead end up advancing the interests of the companies they regulate. Traditional theories of capture such as lobbying and campaign contributions had little effect on whether the US Department of Agriculture approved any particular genetically altered agriculture product. What did seem to affect the approval process was the influence of third-party groups such as associations and even related regulatory agencies. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 19 Jun 2009
• Research Event

Business Summit: The Evolution of Agribusiness

Agribusiness has come to be seen not just as economically important, but as a critical part of society. The future for this massive industry will be both exciting and complex. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

• 03 Nov 2008

Economics of the Ethanol Business

What happens when a group of Missouri corn farmers gets into the energy business? What appears to be a very lucrative decision quickly turns out to be much more risky. Professor Forest Reinhardt leads a case discussion on what the protagonists should do next. From HBS Alumni Bulletin. Key concepts include: The case examines the complex political and economic underpinnings of the ethanol industry. By investing in corn-based ethanol, farmers reduce their exposure to corn prices, but at the expense of exposure to the oil market. The case promotes greater understanding of the way materials and energy flow in the modern U.S. agricultural system. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

• 02 Jul 2001

Internet of Things for the Future of Smart Agriculture: A Comprehensive Survey of Emerging Technologies

Doi:  10.1109/jas.2021.1003925.

• Othmane Friha 1 ,  , 
• Mohamed Amine Ferrag 2 ,  , 
• Lei Shu 3, 4 ,  ,  , 
• Leandros Maglaras 5 ,  , 
• Xiaochan Wang 6 , 

Networks and Systems Laboratory, University of Badji Mokhtar-Annaba, Annaba 23000, Algeria

Department of Computer Science, Guelma University, Gulema 24000, Algeria

College of Engineering, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China

School of Engineering, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN67TS, UK

School of Computer Science and Informatics, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK

Department of Electrical Engineering, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China

Othmane Friha received the master degree in computer science from Badji Mokhtar-Annaba University, Algeria, in 2018. He is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in the University of Badji Mokhtar-Annaba, Algeria. His current research interests include network and computer security, internet of things (IoT), and applied cryptography

Mohamed Amine Ferrag received the bachelor degree (June, 2008), master degree (June, 2010), Ph.D. degree (June, 2014), HDR degree (April, 2019) from Badji Mokhtar-Annaba University, Algeria, all in computer science. Since October 2014, he is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Computer Science, Guelma University, Algeria. Since July 2019, he is a Visiting Senior Researcher, NAULincoln Joint Research Center of Intelligent Engineering, Nanjing Agricultural University. His research interests include wireless network security, network coding security, and applied cryptography. He is featured in Stanford University’s list of the world’s Top 2% Scientists for the year 2019. He has been conducting several research projects with international collaborations on these topics. He has published more than 60 papers in international journals and conferences in the above areas. Some of his research findings are published in top-cited journals, such as the IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials , IEEE Internet of Things Journal , IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management , IEEE Access , Journal of Information Security and Applications (Elsevier), Transactions on Emerging Telecommunications Technologies (Wiley), Telecommunication Systems (Springer), International Journal of Communication Systems (Wiley), Sustainable Cities and Society (Elsevier), Security and Communication Networks (Wiley), and Journal of Network and Computer Applications (Elsevier). He has participated in many international conferences worldwide, and has been granted short-term research visitor internships to many renowned universities including, De Montfort University, UK, and Istanbul Technical University, Turkey. He is currently serving on various editorial positions such as Editorial Board Member in Journals (Indexed SCI and Scopus) such as, IET Networks and International Journal of Internet Technology and Secured Transactions (Inderscience Publishers)

Lei Shu (M’07–SM’15) received the B.S. degree in computer science from South Central University for Nationalities in 2002, and the M.S. degree in computer engineering from Kyung Hee University, South Korea, in 2005, and the Ph.D. degree from the Digital Enterprise Research Institute, National University of Ireland, Ireland, in 2010. Until 2012, he was a Specially Assigned Researcher with the Department of Multimedia Engineering, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, Japan. He is currently a Distinguished Professor with Nanjing Agricultural University and a Lincoln Professor with the University of Lincoln, U.K. He is also the Director of the NAU-Lincoln Joint Research Center of Intelligent Engineering. He has published over 400 papers in related conferences, journals, and books in the areas of sensor networks and internet of things (IoT). His current H-index is 54 and i10-index is 197 in Google Scholar Citation. His current research interests include wireless sensor networks and IoT. He has also served as a TPC Member for more than 150 conferences, such as ICDCS, DCOSS, MASS, ICC, GLOBECOM, ICCCN, WCNC, and ISCC. He was a Recipient of the 2014 Top Level Talents in Sailing Plan of Guangdong Province, China, the 2015 Outstanding Young Professor of Guangdong Province, and the GLOBECOM 2010, ICC 2013, ComManTel 2014, WICON 2016, SigTelCom 2017 Best Paper Awards, the 2017 and 2018 IEEE Systems Journal Best Paper Awards, the 2017 Journal of Network and Computer Applications Best Research Paper Award, and the Outstanding Associate Editor Award of 2017, and the 2018 IEEE ACCESS. He has also served over 50 various Co-Chair for international conferences/workshops, such as IWCMC, ICC, ISCC, ICNC, Chinacom, especially the Symposium Co-Chair for IWCMC 2012, ICC 2012, the General Co-Chair for Chinacom 2014, Qshine 2015, Collaboratecom 2017, DependSys 2018, and SCI 2019, the TPC Chair for InisCom 2015, NCCA 2015, WICON 2016, NCCA 2016, Chinacom 2017, InisCom 2017, WMNC 2017, and NCCA 2018

Leandros Maglaras (SM’15) received the B.Sc. degree from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1998, M.Sc. in industrial production and management from University of Thessaly in 2004, and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical & computer engineering from University of Volos in 2008 and 2014, respectively. He is the Head of the National Cyber Security Authority of Greece and a Visiting Lecturer in the School of Computer Science and Informatics at the De Montfort University, U.K. He serves on the Editorial Board of several International peer-reviewed journals such as IEEE Access , Wiley Journal on Security & Communication Networks , EAI Transactions on e-Learning and EAI Transactions on Industrial Networks and Intelligent Systems . He is an author of more than 80 papers in scientific magazines and conferences and is a Senior Member of IEEE. His research interests include wireless sensor networks and vehicular ad hoc networks

Xiaochan Wang is currently a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Nanjing Agricultural University. His main research fields include intelligent equipment for horticulture and intelligent measurement and control. He is an ASABE Member, and the Vice Director of CSAM (Chinese Society for Agricultural Machinery), and also the Senior Member of Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering. He was awarded the Second Prize of Science and Technology Invention by the Ministry of Education (2016) and the Advanced Worker for Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering (2012), and he also gotten the “Blue Project” in Jiangsu province young and middle-aged academic leaders (2010)

• Corresponding author: Lei Shu, e-mail: [email protected]
• Revised Date: 2020-11-25
• Accepted Date: 2020-12-30
• Agricultural internet of things (IoT) , 
• internet of things (IoT) , 
• smart agriculture , 
• smart farming , 
• sustainable agriculture

Proportional views

通讯作者: 陈斌, [email protected].

沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院 沈阳 110142

Figures( 12 )  /  Tables( 9 )

Article Metrics

• PDF Downloads( 2084 )
• Abstract views( 10991 )
• HTML views( 1392 )
• We review the emerging technologies used by the Internet of Things for the future of smart agriculture.
• We provide a classification of IoT applications for smart agriculture into seven categories, including, smart monitoring, smart water management, agrochemicals applications, disease management, smart harvesting, supply chain management, and smart agricultural practices.
• We provide a taxonomy and a side-by-side comparison of the state-of-the-art methods toward supply chain management based on the blockchain technology for agricultural IoTs.
• We highlight open research challenges and discuss possible future research directions for agricultural IoTs.
• Copyright © 2022 IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica
• 京ICP备14019135号-24
• E-mail: [email protected]  Tel: +86-10-82544459, 10-82544746
• Address: 95 Zhongguancun East Road, Handian District, Beijing 100190, China

Export File

• Figure 1. The four agricultural revolutions
• Figure 2. Survey structure
• Figure 3. IoT-connected smart agriculture sensors enable the IoT
• Figure 4. The architecture of a typical IoT sensor node
• Figure 5. Fog computing-based agricultural IoT
• Figure 6. SDN/NFV architecture for smart agriculture
• Figure 7. Classification of IoT applications for smart agriculture
• Figure 8. Greenhouse system [ 101 ]
• Figure 9. Aerial-ground robotics system [ 67 ]
• Figure 10. Photovoltaic agri-IoT schematic diagram [ 251 ]
• Figure 11. Smart dairy farming system [ 254 ]
• Figure 12. IoT-based solar insecticidal lamp [ 256 ], [ 257 ]

• Publications
• Conferences & Events
• Professional Learning
• Science Standards
• Awards & Competitions
• Instructional Materials
• Free Resources
• American Rescue Plan
• For Preservice Teachers
• NCCSTS Case Collection
• Partner Jobs in Education
• Interactive eBooks+
• Digital Catalog
• Regional Product Representatives
• e-Newsletters
• Bestselling Books
• Latest Books
• Popular Book Series
• Prospective Authors
• Web Seminars
• Exhibits & Sponsorship
• Conference Reviewers
• National Conference • Denver 24
• Leaders Institute 2024
• National Conference • New Orleans 24
• Submit a Proposal
• Latest Resources
• Professional Learning Units & Courses
• For Districts
• Online Course Providers
• Schools & Districts
• College Professors & Students
• The Standards
• Teachers and Admin
• eCYBERMISSION
• Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision
• Junior Science & Humanities Symposium
• Teaching Awards
• Climate Change
• Earth & Space Science
• New Science Teachers
• Early Childhood
• Middle School
• High School
• Postsecondary
• Informal Education
• Journal Articles
• Lesson Plans
• e-newsletters
• Science & Children
• Science Scope
• The Science Teacher
• Journal of College Sci. Teaching
• Connected Science Learning
• NSTA Reports
• Next-Gen Navigator
• Science Update
• Teacher Tip Tuesday
• Trans. Sci. Learning

MyNSTA Community

• My Collections

Case Studies: Agriculture

All agriculture case studies.

Deep in the Weeds of Organic Farming

By Matthew S. Taylor, Mariëlle H. Hoefnagels, Mark E. Walvoord

The Stakeholders of Gorongosa National Park

By Andrea M.-K. Bierema, Sara D. Miller, Claudia E. Vergara

Are Oxpeckers Friends or Foes?

By Andrea M.-K. Bierema

Fishing Midst the Morning Dew

By Adela M. Acosta

Fields of Gold

By Gokhan Hacisalihoglu, Courtenay C. Strickland

Too Hot to Trot?

By Ashley E. Rhodes, Timothy G. Rozell

The Canadian Canola Controversy

By Susan E. Gass, Danielle Scriven

Aisles of Confusion

By Justin A. Pruneski, Enya J. Granados, Kaylee M. Wilburn

The Demise of the Forest People

By Katherine A. Kurth, Tomika M. Haller, Annalisa L. Sharkey

Could Grazing Be Dangerous? Ask the Cows!

By Kevin Pyatt, Michelle C. Pyatt, Michael I. Rule

Content Type: Case Study

Case Study : Food Security & Nutrition , Market Access

How Digital Innovation Will Unlock the Potential of Africa’s Livestock Producers

Enrique Pando & Tom Osebe

Africa & Middle East : New animal health platforms are being developed to unleash the commercial potential of livestock producers in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Case Study : Climate , Food Security & Nutrition

Measuring Water Security Through Lived Experiences Matter

Joshua Miller & Audrey Nepveu

Global : To effectively address water security issues, organisations need to understand whether water infrastructure is meeting people's needs.

Case Study : Gender , Market Access

Women Agripreneurs Need Gender-Responsive Interventions

Swati Mantri & Bhumika TV

Global : Promoting women’s engagement in agribusiness can be an important factor in their empowerment. Learn how from a new CGIAR Gender Impact Platform evidence explainer.

Case Study : Climate

Strong Governance Makes Smallholder Farmer Organisations Vital Partners

Stephen Mwangi

Africa & Middle East : With proper governance, smallholder farmer organisations can become important partners to funders in combating poverty and climate change.

Case Study : Climate , Market Access

Climate-Resilient Farming Success for Rwandan Refugees and Farmers

Practical Action

Africa & Middle East : A climate-resilient farming project by Practical Action shows how refugees and local farmers in Rwanda are reducing hunger and combating climate change through regenerative agriculture.

Case Study : Gender

Tenure Security Can Empower Women Farmers and Increase Food Security

Maja Schling

Latin America & the Caribbean : Increased tenure security for women farmers can lead to more diversified crop production and better food security, according to new research.

Strengthening Potato Value Chains in Pakistan by Breaking Gender Stereotypes

Umair Safdar

Asia : A CABI-led project is changing women’s role in agriculture by helping them build technical knowledge and skills in potato value chains.

Case Study : Food Security & Nutrition , Gender

Women Farmers in Tanzania Work in Unity to Grow Vegetables

Farm Africa

Africa & Middle East : The Juhudi women farmers from Tanzania established a community garden to grow tomatoes and green vegetables with help from Farm Africa.

Case Study : Climate , Food Security & Nutrition , Market Access

Using AI for Agriculture: How Farmers in India Could Inspire the World

Purushottam Kaushik & Jeremy Jurgens

Asia : An AI for Agriculture initiative in India is already showing promising results for farmers, from planting to harvesting and selling of chilli.

Climate Smart Agriculture Interventions Must Be Gender-Responsive

Ranjitha Puskur & Ashrita Saran

Africa & Middle East : Increasing women's participation in climate smart agriculture requires inclusion in decision-making and equal access to resources, research shows.

Case Study : Food Security & Nutrition

Self-Sufficient Farming for Better Health in the Remote Pacific

International Fund for Agricultural Development

Oceania : Using self-sufficient farming techniques that nurture natural resources, rural people are leading the way in sustainable farming.

Could Integrated Aquaculture-Agriculture be the Future of Farming? 

Asia : Integrated Aquaculture-Agriculture shows significant improvements in nutrient and economic productivity, a new WorldFish study in Bangladesh reveals.

Stay Informed

Sign up for the Farming First newsletter.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

The role of culture in farmer learning and technology adoption: A case study of farmer field schools among rice farmers in central Luzon, Philippines

2006, Agriculture and Human Values

Related Papers

Crop Protection

Florencia G Gonzaga-Palis

Journal of Agricultural Economics

Rinku Murgai , G. Feder

Daniel Deybe

Journal of Environmental Extension

Social Research Conference, …

Social capital is a concept that can be utilized in any delivery approaches for the efficient transfer of agricultural technologies. Over the decades, technology adoption and diffusion in agriculture have always been a problem with no leap forward solutions in sight. Adoption ...

Chiemela Ferdinand Anyanwu

Abstract: A survey study was carried out to assess the knowledge and awareness level in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technology and concepts among corn farmers in Alfonso Lista in the Province of Ifugao Philippines. Fifteen barangays constituting the major corn planting areas of the municipality were chosen. The sample size was 400 respondents. The results indicated that 67% of the respondents are between the ages of 31-50 years old with 69% as male and 31% female. Less than half of the respondent (28%) have high school graduate diploma while 6% are college graduates. The findings of the study indicated that the respondents have low levels of knowledge and awareness in integrated pest management technology and concepts hence they relies more on chemicals in combating insect and weeds infestations. The findings of study showed that the respondent have also low levels in terms of training and access to information and publications regarding IPM. The correlation and regression analyses indicated that age and knowledge/awareness level are negatively correlated. This indicates that the respondents who are 31-50 years ofage lack trainings which played a major role in their low levels of IPM knowledge and awareness.

Case Study presented to the Workshop on Scaling Up …

Andrew Bartlett

Hadi Moumenihelali

Muhammad Humayun Kabir

Currently the technologies which are available in Bangladesh agriculture, integrated pest management (IPM) are one of the most important to them. Reasonably, the objectives of the study were to determine the adoption extent of IPM practices by the rice farmers and to determine the influencing factors of IPM adoption. The study was conducted at Mymensing district. One hundred and sixteen (116) rice farmers were asked about the use of IPM practices and it was found that majority of the farmers (82.3 percent) were under medium to high group in aspect of adoption extent of IPM practices. The factors that significantly influenced farmer's adoption of IPM were training exposure, experience of IPM practices, extension media contact and knowledge on IPM. Among Original Research Article

Journal of International Agricultural and …

Serlie Jamias

RELATED PAPERS

Strategic Analysis

Smruti S Pattanaik

Revista de Ensino de Engenharia

Elnatan Ferreira

Sandra Houszka

Oliver Ujah

2021 5th International Conference on Trends in Electronics and Informatics (ICOEI)

Anuradha Kanade

Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing

Luis Rodríguez Baena

Journal of Oral Medicine, Oral Surgery, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology

Chakit Maheshwari

South African Journal of Business Management

Materials Science and Engineering: C

Mitsuo Niinomi

Shafira Ramadhanty Adityaningsih

Journal of Physics: Conference Series

Marcos Hugo Martell Avila

David Hérisson

Scientific Reports

Yu Yokokawa

Revista Brasileira de Agropecuária Sustentável

Eliete Ferreira da Rosa

Muhammad Asyhari

Sergio Roberto Teixeira

KỶ YẾU HỘI NGHỊ KHOA HỌC CÔNG NGHỆ QUỐC GIA LẦN THỨ XI NGHIÊN CỨU CƠ BẢN VÀ ỨNG DỤNG CÔNG NGHỆ THÔNG TIN

IEEE Access

bahrul amin

SSRN Electronic Journal

Paul Cichello

Ana Segadães

Heinz-Günther Nesselrath

Alberto Cambrosio

New Trends in Qualitative Research

Ana Rita Figueiredo

Frontiers in Oncology

Ramadhani Chambuso

RELATED TOPICS

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

Advertisement

Evaluating the Impact of Agricultural Product Geographical Indication Program on Rural Income: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Delta Region in China

• Published: 29 April 2024

Cite this article

• Hongkai Qie 1 ,
• Hui Chen 1 ,
• Yong Lu 1 ,
• Xiaoyu Zhao 1 &
• Zhiwei Wang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1615-1220 1 , 2  

In the pursuit of high-quality agricultural development and rural vitalization, China has embarked on an ambitious journey with its Agricultural Product Geographical Indication Program. This research paper delves into the multifaceted effects of this policy initiative, focusing on the dynamic Yangtze River Delta region. The study employs a robust difference-in-differences (DID) model to analyze the policy’s net impact on rural residents’ income within Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui Provinces from 2017 to 2020. Our findings reveal that the program implementation has yielded tangible benefits, significantly increasing rural residents’ per capita disposable income in these provinces. This positive outcome can be attributed to the program’s funding allocation, accelerating agricultural infrastructure development, enhancing product productivity and quality control. Consequently, this amplifies the market premium effect, contributing substantially to income growth. However, the research also underscores the importance of considering regional heterogeneity. While Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces have experienced significant gains, Anhui Province lags due to varying resource endowments and development stages. Moreover, the time-lagged effect of policy implementation plays a role in these disparities. Based on these insights, we propose a set of policy recommendations. First, continued implementation of the Agricultural Product Geographical Indication Program should be prioritized, focusing on enhanced funding management and multi-party participation. Second, harnessing regional cooperation and resource sharing is vital for optimizing policy outcomes. Finally, the establishment of a comprehensive risk prevention and control mechanism is crucial for the industry’s resilience in the face of unforeseen challenges. This research provides empirical evidence of the program’s economic benefits and valuable policy implications for China’s journey towards high-quality agricultural development and rural prosperity, aligning with the overarching goals of innovation, entrepreneurship, and societal progress.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Data Availability

The data can be obtained according to the requirements.

Since most parts of Shanghai are metropolitan, villages only take up a very small percentage. (Even though rural areas take up a large percentage in Qingpu District and Congming District, these districts are not comparable with counties in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui.) Thereby, to ensure the quality of data, we choose some cities from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui in the Yangtze River Delta city cluster as research objects.

Huoshan News Network, Huoshan Mengya Geographical Indication Protection Program is Taking Effect, Retrieved from http://www.huoshannews.com/system/2021/07/22/011885793.shtml on July 22, 2021, and March 30, 2022.

Ullah, Subhan; Zaefarian, Ghasem; Ullah, Farid. How to use instrumental variables in addressing endogeneity? A step-by-step procedure for non-specialists[J]. Industrial Marketing Management. 2021.

In 2016, the National Development and Reform Commission issued Development Planning for Yangtze River Delta City Cluster as a major guidance for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta city cluster.

Addor, F., & Grazioli, A. (2002). Geographical Indications beyond Wines and Spirits - A Roadmap for a Better Protection for Geographical Indications in the WTO TRIPS Agreement., 5 , 865–897.

Google Scholar  

Bardaji, I., Iraizoz, B., & Rapun, M. (2009). Protected geographical indications and integration into the agribusiness system [with respect to the beef supply chain]. Agribusiness, 25 (2), 198–214. https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.20198

Article   Google Scholar  

Barham, E. (2003). Translating terroir: The global challenge of French AOC labeling. Journal of Rural Studies, 19 (1), 127–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0743-0167(02)00052-9

Barjolle, D., Quiñones-Ruiz, X. F., Bagal, M., & Comoé, H. (2017). The role of the state for geographical indications of coffee: Case studies from Colombia and Kenya. World Development, 98 , 105–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.12.006

Belletti, G., Marescotti, A., Sanz-Canada, J., & Vakoufaris, H. (2015). Linking protection of geographical indications to the environment: Evidence from the European Union olive-oil sector. Land Use Policy, 48 , 94–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.05.003

Belletti, G., Marescotti, A., & Touzard, J. (2017). Geographical indications, public goods, and sustainable development: The roles of actors’ strategies and public policies. World Development, 98 , 45–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.05.004

Berard, L., & Marchenay, P. (2006). Local products and geographical indications: Taking account of local knowledge and biodiversity. International Social Science Journal, 58 (187), 109–116. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2451.2006.00592.x

Bertrand, M., Duflo, E., & Mullainathan, S. (2004). How much should we trust differences-in-differences estimates? The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 119 (1), 249–275. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25098683

Biénabe, E., & Marie-Vivien, D. (2017). Institutionalizing geographical indications in southern countries: Lessons learned from Basmati and Rooibos. World Development, 98 , 58–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.04.004

Blakeney, M. (2017). Geographical indications and environmental protection. Frontiers of Law in China, 12 (2), 162–173. https://doi.org/10.3868/s050-006-017-0011-9

Boland, B. (2020). Social capital and the diffusion of learning management systems: A case study. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 9 (1), 27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-020-00139-z

Boncinelli, F., Contini, C., Romano, C., Scozzafava, G., & Casini, L. (2017). Territory, environment, and healthiness in traditional food choices: Insights into consumer heterogeneity. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 20 (1), 143–157. https://doi.org/10.22434/IFAMR2015.0177

Bowen, S. (2010). Embedding local places in global spaces: Geographical Indications as a territorial development strategy. Rural Sociology, 75 (2), 209–243. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1549-0831.2009.00007.x

Bowen, S., & Zapata, A. V. (2009). Geographical indications, terroir, and socioeconomic and ecological sustainability: The case of tequila. Journal of Rural Studies, 25 (1), 108–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2008.07.003

Cei, L., Stefani, G., Defrancesco, E., & Lombardi, G. V. (2018). Geographical indications: A first assessment of the impact on rural development in Italian NUTS3 regions. Land Use Policy, 75 , 620–630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.01.023

Dentoni, D., Menozzi, D., & Capelli, M. G. (2012). Group heterogeneity and cooperation on the geographical indication regulation: The case of the ‘Prosciutto di Parma’ Consortium. Food Policy, 37 (3), 207–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2012.02.003

Deselnicu, O. C., Costanigro, M., Souza-Monteiro, D. M., & McFadden, D. T. (2013). A meta-analysis of geographical indication food valuation studies: What drives the premium for origin-based labels? Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 38 (2), 204–219.

Desquilbet, M., & Monier-Dilhan, S. (2015). Are geographical indications a worthy quality label? A framework with endogenous quality choice. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 42 (1), 129–150. https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbu008

Domi, S., & Belletti, G. (2022). The role of origin products and networking on agritourism performance: The case of Tuscany. Journal of Rural Studies, 90 , 113–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.01.013

Egelyng, H., Bosselmann, A. S., Warui, M., Maina, F., Mburu, J., & Gyau, A. (2017). Origin products from African forests: A Kenyan pathway to prosperity and green inclusive growth? Forest Policy and Economics, 84 , 38–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2016.09.001

Fracarolli, G. S. (2021). Mapping online geographical indication: Agri-food markets on e-retail shelves. Agronomy-Basel, 11 . https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11122385

Ibele, E. (2009). The nature and function of geographical indications in law. Estey Centre Journal of International Law and Trade Policy, 10 (1), 36–49.

Irshad, R., & Mehr-un-Nisa, G. N. (2023). Infrastructure and economic growth: Evidence from lower middle-income countries. Journal of the Knowldege Economy., 14 (1), 161–179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-021-00855-1

Jean-Marc, C. (2006). Quality labels and rural development: A new economic geography approach. Cahiers D’economie Et Sociologie Rurales, 78 , 31–51.

Jena, P. R., & Grote, U. (2012). Impact evaluation of traditional Basmati rice cultivation in Uttarakhand State of Northern India: What implications does it hold for geographical indications?[J]. World Development, 40 (9), 1895–1907. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2012.04.004

Jena, P. R., Ngokkuen, C., Rahut, D. B., & Grote, U. (2015). Geographical indication protection and rural livelihoods: Insights from India and Thailand. Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, 29 (1), 174–185. https://doi.org/10.1111/apel.12092

Lence, S. H., Marette, S., Hayes, D. J., & Foster, W. (2007). Collective marketing arrangements for geographically differentiated agricultural products: Welfare impacts and policy implications. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 89 (4), 947–963. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8276.2007.01036.x

Likudis, Z., Costarelli, V., & Vitoratos, A. (2014). Determination of pesticide residues in olive oils with protected geographical indication or designation of origin. International Journal of Food Science & Technology, 49 (2), 484–492. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijfs.12326

Lopez-Bayon, S., Fernandez-Barcala, M., & Gonzalez-Diaz, M. (2020). In search of agri-food quality for wine: Is it enough to join a geographical indication? Agribusiness, 36 (4), 568–590. https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.21665

Marie-Vivien, D., & Biénabe, E. (2017). The multifaceted role of the state in the protection of geographical indications: A worldwide review. World Development, 98 , 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.04.035

Menapace, L., Colson, G., Grebitus, C., & Facendola, M. (2011). Consumers’ preferences for geographical origin labels: Evidence from the Canadian olive oil market. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 38 (2), 193–212. https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbq051

Menapace, L., & Moschini, G. (2012). Quality certification by geographical indications, trademarks and firm reputation. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 39 (4), 539–566. https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbr053

Neilson, J., Wright, J., & Aldimawati, L. (2018). Geographical indications and value capture in the Indonesia coffee sector. Journal of Rural Studies, 59 , 35–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2018.01.003

Nizam, D., & Tatari, M. F. (2022). Rural revitalization through territorial distinctiveness: The use of geographical indications in Turkey. Journal of Rural Studies, 93 , 144–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.07.002

Penker, M., Scaramuzzi, S., Edelmann, H., Belletti, G., Marescotti, A., Casabianca, F., & Quiñones-Ruiz, X. F. (2022). Polycentric structures nurturing adaptive food quality governance - Lessons learned from geographical indications in the European Union. Journal of Rural Studies, 89 , 208–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.11.023

Sepúlveda, W. S., Maza, M. T., Pardos, L., Fantova, E., & Mantecón, Á. R. (2010). Farmers’ attitudes towards lamb meat production under a Protected Geographical Indication. Small Ruminant Research, 94 (1–3), 90–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2010.07.005

Sgroi, F. (2021). Territorial development models: A new strategic vision to analyze the relationship between the environment, public goods and geographical indications. Science of the Total Environment, 787 (147585). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147585

Staten, T. L. (2005). Geographical indications protection under the TRIPS Agreement: Uniformity not extension. Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society, 87 , 6–11.

Suh, J., & MacPherson, A. (2007). The impact of geographical indication on the revitalization of a regional economy: A case study of ‘Boseong’ green tea. Area, 39 (4), 518–527. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4762.2007.00765.x

Tashiro, A., Uchiyama, Y., & Kohsaka, R. (2019). Impact of Geographical Indication schemes on traditional knowledge in changing agricultural landscapes: An empirical analysis from Japan. Journal of Rural Studies, 68 , 46–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.03.014

Ullah, S., Zaefarian, G., & Ullah, F. (2021). How to use instrumental variables in addressing endogeneity? A step-by-step procedure for non-specialists. Industrial Marketing Management, 96 , A1–A6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2020.03.006

Vecchio, Y., Iddrisu, A. L., Adinolfi, F., & De Rosa, M. (2020). Geographical indication to build up resilient rural economies: A case study from Ghana. Sustainability, 12 (5), e2052. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12052052

Wang, H. Y., Anh, D. T., & Moustier, P. (2021a). The benefits of geographical indication certification through farmer organizations on low-income farmers: The case of Hoa Vang sticky rice in Vietnam. Cahiers Agricultures, 30 , 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1051/cagri/2021032

Wang, J. Y., Xue Y. J., Wang, P., Chen, J. C., Yao L. (2021b). Participation mode and production efficiency enhancement mechanism of Geographical Indication products in rural areas: A meta-frontier analysis. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 121 , N.PAG.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2021.102982

Wang, K., Lei, L., Qiu, S., & Guo, S. (2020). Policy performance of green lighting industry in China: A DID analysis from the perspective of energy conservation and emission reduction. Energies, 13 (22), 5855. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13225855

Williams, R. M., & Penker, M. (2009). Do geographical indications promote sustainable rural development. Journal of the Austrian Society of Agricultural Economics, 18 (3).  http://hdl.handle.net/10182/585

Winfree, J. A., & Mccluskey, J. J. (2005). Collective reputation and quality. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 87 (1), 206–213. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0002-9092.2005.00712.x

Wing, C., Simon, K., & Bello-Gomez, R. A. (2018). Designing difference in difference studies: Best practices for public health policy research. Annual Review of Public Health, 39 , 453–469. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040617-013507

Wongprawmas, R., & Canavari, M. (2017). Consumers’ willingness-to-pay for food safety labels in an emerging market: The case of fresh produce in Thailand. Food Policy, 69 , 25–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2017.03.004

Zhan, H. B., Liu, S. F., & Yu, J. L. (2017). Research on factors influencing consumers’ loyalty towards geographical indication products based on grey incidence analysis. Grey Systems-Theory and Application, 7 , 397–407. https://doi.org/10.1108/GS-10-2016-0037

Download references

Acknowledgements

This manuscript was not funded, but I would like to thank the anonymous reviewers whose comments and suggestions helped improve this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

College of Humanities & Social Development, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

Hongkai Qie, Hui Chen, Yong Lu, Xiaoyu Zhao & Zhiwei Wang

Kunming University, Kunming, 650214, China

Zhiwei Wang

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

Hongkai Qie was responsible for study conception and design. Hui Chen was responsible for data collection and analysis. Yong Lu was responsible for interpretation of results. Xiaoyu Zhao was responsible for the project administration. Zhiwei Wang was responsible for draft manuscript preparation. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhiwei Wang .

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval.

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Consent to Participate

The authors declare that all the authors have informed consent.

Competing Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This article is part of the Topical Collection on  Innovation Management in Asia

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Qie, H., Chen, H., Lu, Y. et al. Evaluating the Impact of Agricultural Product Geographical Indication Program on Rural Income: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Delta Region in China. J Knowl Econ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-024-01935-8

Download citation

Received : 14 December 2023

Accepted : 22 March 2024

Published : 29 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-024-01935-8

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Agricultural development
• Geographical indication
• Rural income
• Policy impact
• Economic development
• Quality improvement
• Difference-in-differences (DID) Model
• Yangtze River Delta
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• My Account Login
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Open access
• Published: 28 April 2024

Ecological amplitude and indication potential of mining bees ( Andrena spp.): a case study from the post-agricultural area of the Kampinos National Park (Poland)

• Katarzyna Szczepko-Morawiec   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3687-4060 1 ,
• Bogdan Wiśniowski   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7101-9233 2 ,
• Ewelina Motyka 3 ,
• Waldemar Celary   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6395-2680 4 &
• Andrzej Kruk   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1452-7906 5  

Scientific Reports volume  14 , Article number:  9738 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

47 Accesses

1 Altmetric

Metrics details

• Biodiversity
• Conservation biology

The mining bee ( Andrena spp.) play a key role in ensuring plant and animal diversity. The present study examines their diversity in a post-agricultural landscape exemplified by the Kampinos National Park (KNP), a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Poland. The following hypotheses were addressed: (H1) the mining bees demonstrate a narrow ecological amplitude, (H2) there are no indicator species for particular habitats, and (H3) the studied mining bees have the same ecological preferences to those presented in the literature. A total of 40 catch per unit effort samples (CPUE) were collected across various habitats with different soil humidity. Forty-six species were recorded, representing 46% of mining bees and approximately 10% of the known Polish bee fauna. Nineteen of the recorded species (41%) were assigned to CR-NT threat categories, indicating that the national park plays a significant role in preserving mining bee species diversity and their conservation. None of the hypotheses (H1, H2, H3) were confirmed. The mining bees were found to demonstrate a wide ecological amplitude. Surprisingly, habitats located in dry and wet soils were both characterised by high abundance and species richness. Seventeen indicators were distinguished among the dominant and rarer species. Our findings suggest that Andrena nigroaenea and A . ventralis (lower humidity), as well as A . alfkenella and A . minutuloides (higher humidity), have different significant relationships with habitat soil humidity to those reported in the literature.

Similar content being viewed by others

A long-term dataset on wild bee abundance in Mid-Atlantic United States

A large-scale dataset reveals taxonomic and functional specificities of wild bee communities in urban habitats of Western Europe

Predicting changes in bee assemblages following state transitions at North American dryland ecotones

Introduction.

The bees (Apoidea, Anthophila) are a monophyletic group with approximately 20,000 species described worldwide 1 . The genus Andrena Fabr. (family Andrenidae), comprising short-tongued, solitary bees ranging in length from 6 mm to almost 20 mm 1 , is one of the largest of all bee genera, with more than 1500 described species in the world fauna 1 , 2 , and about 400 in Europe 3 . It comprises more than 20% of the bees of Poland, with 100 of the currently-known species in the country 4 . Andrena is distributed throughout North and Central America, North Africa and Eurasia, including the Far East; the group is absent from South America, Australia and Oceania 1 .

Wild bees, including Andrena species, are the main plant pollinators in many ecosystems 5 . As they are needed for the pollination of many entomophilous species and the successful commercial production of fruits and vegetables 6 , they are often considered keystone species 7 . Some species are oligolectic, i.e. they collect nectar and pollen from a single plant family, and sometimes only a single genus or species. Most andrenids are early spring species; however, some have later flight periods, and some spring species have a second generation in late summer 8 . They emerge when relatively few pollinators are active, making them very important pollinators of early blooming plants, as well as commercially-grown apples, blueberries, strawberries and a few other early-flowering crops 6 . Furthermore, wild bee pollinators improve the fruits of crops and their quality, regardless of the abundance of honeybees 9 .

Some Andrena species have been awarded the common name mining bees or miner bees , due to their nesting preferences. The females dig nests in soil, mostly in areas with bare or sparse vegetation 2 . The nests are provisioned with pollen and/or nectar 8 , and then the cells are closed, and larvae develop while feeding on the stored food. Some mining bees show a clear preference for a particular habitat such as sandy areas, forest edges, or midforest clearings 2 , 10 .

Ecological studies of this group of bees have previously been concerned mainly with descriptions of andrenid assemblages in various plant communities and ecosystems; they therefore lack analyses of the environmental factors determining their diversity. Also, andrenids have been treated as indicators of biodiversity e.g. 11 , 12 . Other studies have regarded them as a component of Aculeata or Apoidea assemblages occurring in certain habitats, such as fallows 13 , meadows 14 , forests 15 , 16 , limestone, sand quarries and mines 17 , clay and sand pits 18 , off-road motorcycle circuits 19 , urban, suburban and nonurban zones under different degree of human pressure 20 , urban parks and forests 21 and agricultural landscapes 22 . Both semi-natural (man-made) and natural habitats have been studied in national parks such as the Kampinos National Park, Białowieża National Park, and Wielkopolska National Park in Poland, as well as the Pinnacles National Park in California (USA) 10 , 23 .

Bees require three key factors to thrive: food resources, the availability of suitable microhabitats protected from unfavourable biotic (predators, parasitoids) and abiotic (moisture, rain, drought) factors, and the availability of space and material for nest construction 8 . Bee populations have decreased significantly in recent decades 24 . While multiple causes have been identified, the most influential are believed to be loss of floral resources and the reduced availability or suitability of open areas resulting from urbanisation, agricultural intensification or afforestation 15 , 25 , 26 , 27 .

Throughout the temperate zone of Central Europe, including Poland, the natural succession of plant communities results in the establishment of forested areas. In natural conditions, only a small area in any forest consists of open ground, and its distribution changes quite rapidly over time as a result of vegetative succession 28 . Human activity causes disturbances in the natural environment; while this may lead to the disappearance of suitable habitats, it may also produce many new ones, which may have a positive influence on the biodiversity of bees, including mining bees of the genus Andrena 8 , 27 .

Wild bees are considered endangered in Europe. According to the European Red List of Bees 29 , 0.4% of species are Critically Endangered, 2.4% are Endangered, and 1.2% Vulnerable. Another 5.2% are classified as Near Threatened. Furthermore, for more than half (56.7%) of the species in Europe, insufficient data exists to evaluate their risk of extinction: these have hence been classified in the Red List as Data Deficient . As more data becomes available, many of these species may also prove to be threatened. Among these, ground-nesting species are particularly endangered, due to the environmental changes associated with vegetation succession 26 , 30 . For example, in Belgium, ground-nesting bees are more threatened (32.5%) than those nesting in existing cavities above ground (23.6%) 31 . In Europe, studies suggest that among the entire Anthophila group, only 34.2% of species appear to be nonthreatened 29 , ranging from 41.7% of the family Megachilidae to only 23.3% of the Andrenidae. In the subfamily Andreninae, represented in Europe mainly by bees of the genus Andrena , this percentage is even lower, i.e. 22.3%. Thus, it can be concluded that the Andreninae, including in particular the genus Andrena , is the most endangered European bee taxon.

Many wild bee species in Poland are considered rare and only occur locally 32 . The Red List of Vanishing and Endangered Animals in Poland in 2002 included half of the species recorded in the country 33 , with most of these records assessed as Data Deficient. The list of the genus Andrena was more preliminary in character, because no species was listed in the categories EX/RE (extinct/regionally extinct) or CR (critically endangered), although some taxa were not recorded in Poland for a relatively long period of time 34 . According to the verified Red List of the genus Andrena 10 , over 87% of the species that occur in the country are more or less endangered. An updated Red List of threatened wild bees in Poland is clearly necessary. In selected Andrena species, verification of their threat status has mostly led to the reclassification of the species into higher categories of threat 10 , 34 compared to the previous Red List 33 .

To successfully conserve andrenid species, it is first necessary to understand their habitat preferences. Hence, the present study examines the ecology of andrenids in the Kampinos National Park (KNP), Central Poland, an eminently suitable site for this purpose. This area was selected for three main reasons: (1) the availability of the study area, (2) national parks play an important role in biodiversity protection, (3) the KNP is characterised by changes in habitats due to natural succession. The KNP itself is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It has a number of open areas, which naturally arise as a result of processes that temporarily destroy tree cover, such as fires, windfalls, or outbreaks of folivorous insects, or as a consequence of human activities 35 , 36 . The latter has been the most significant factor shaping the KNP. Its territory has been managed consistently in a varied manner (hay-making, cattle grazing, agriculture), which provides a mosaic of habitats and ensures suitable conditions for many bee species 37 , 38 . However, continued abandonment of traditional management leads to the development of forest communities in formerly open areas, which can threaten various hymenopteran groups, such as pompilid, chrysidid, and vespid wasps 39 , 40 , 41 .

The conducted research was based on the following hypotheses: (H1) the mining bees demonstrate a narrow ecological amplitude, (H2) there are no indicator species for particular habitats, and (H3) the studied mining bees have the same ecological preferences to those presented in the literature.

The Kampinos National Park (KNP) (52° 25′–52° 15′ 30″ N; 20° 17′–20° 53′ E) is located on the Mazovian Lowland in Central Poland. It is one of two national parks in Europe and of three in the world directly adjacent to the capital of the country. The park was created in 1959 to protect the unique complex of inland dunes and wetland areas, natural forest communities and rich fauna 35 . In 2000, the park was declared a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, “Puszcza Kampinoska”, and since 2004, it has also been part of the Nature 2000 network (site 'Puszcza Kampinoska' PLC 140,001) 42 . More than 73% of the Park is covered with forests. Infertile dune lands are covered with fresh coniferous forest, usually inhabited by pine and silver birch. Forest communities are dominated by mixed pine forests, mostly Querco roboris-Pinetum , occurring together with Peucedano-Pinetum or Molinio-Pinetum pine forests on wetter habitats, Fraxino-Alnetum alder-ash riparian forests occurring along watercourses and on the edges of Ribo nigri-Alnetum swamp alder forests, Tilio-Carpinetum oak-hornbeam forests covering elevations among wetlands, and small patches of Potentillo albae-Quercetum thermophilous oak forests on some slopes of dunes 35 .

The KNP covers 38,544 ha, including 4636 ha of strict protection areas (12% of the Park) and 37,756 ha of a buffer zone. The park has a belt-like structure consisting of wide belts of swampy depressions (the Łasica Canal depression and bipartite southern belt of the Olszowiecki and Zaborów Canals) separated by belts of sand dunes running parallel to the Vistula River, i.e. from east to west (Fig.  1 ). The swampy belts are covered by meadows, reed beds, willow shrubberies, alder-ash and alder forests. The sand dunes are among the best preserved inland dunes in Europe. They are mainly covered by woodland, mainly pine forests 35 .

Study area with sampling sites marked with black circles. The names of the localities are given in bold.

The area of the current park has been depopulated and incorporated into the KNP by degrees since the late 1970s. During this period, the land was gradually forested or left to natural succession, and as such, its landscape is highly heterogeneous. Natural (forests) habitats are interspersed with semi-natural ones (grasslands, dunes, meadows, fallow fields), and both abandoned and inhabited human settlements (buildings and/or farms) 35 .

The Kampinos National Park is located in the temperate zone of moderate mean latitudes. In this area, six seasons can be distinguished during the year, among which the longest is winter, with an mean duration of 101 days. The growing season, i.e. with temperatures exceeding 5 °C, lasts approximately 185 days a year. The mean annual air temperature is 7.7 °C, which is 1.1 °C lower than that of neighbouring areas. A high number of days are characterised by ground frost: a mean number of 38.6 in the summer half of the year. The mean total annual precipitation is around 550 mm, with precipitation occurring on a mean number of 124.5 days per year. The distribution of rainfall in the KNP is distinctly uneven, with lower total amounts noted in the west and higher amounts in the central and eastern parts. Westerly winds prevail 35 .

This study was carried out at 23 sites in the western part of the KNP (Fig.  1 , Table 1 ).

Materials and methods

The samples were collected in 2002–2006, between early April and the beginning of October. Each sample was assigned a code consisting of (i) site number (two digits), (ii) two letters indicating the habitat sampled (AF—abandoned farm, FA—fallow, FR—forest, FT—fruit trees, ME—meadow, PG—psammophilous grassland, SD—sand dune), (iii) two digits indicating the year of sample collection and (iv) a letter for the level of soil humidity (for open areas only): D—autogenic (dry), S—semihydrogenic, H—hydrogenic (humid) (Tables 2 , 3 ). For example: the sample 21FA06D was collected in 2006 at site No 21 located in a fallow on autogenic soils.

Samples were planned to be collected from each site 2–3 times, i.e. in 2–3 successive years (Table 2 ). However, this was not always possible, especially since our research included only "full" samples covering the cycle from the beginning of April to the beginning of October. The reason for the inability to collect samples was (1) destruction or theft of traps, which eliminated the result for a given year, (2) destruction of the habitat, e.g. as a result of mowing the meadow, its flooding, plowing the field or planting it with tree seedlings, (3) entry ban due to the decision of the farmer or the KNP administration due to forest maintenance treatments, cutting trees or removal of wood. We decided to include the sites sampled in a single year in the study because they increased the variation observed in the dataset and thus allowed a broader perspective in the analysis of preferences of Andrena species.

The sampling methods were standardized. Catching was carried out per unit effort (CPUE) using water-filled pan traps (coloured bowls, 20 cm in diameter, filled with soapy water); these are regarded as a standard and effective technique for collecting flying insects, including bees, in open and forest habitats 11 , 16 . The traps were two-thirds filled with a mixture of water (95%), glycol (5%) as a preservative, and a detergent to break the surface tension. At each site, three traps (two yellow and one white) were used. Depending on the type of site, they were either hung on trees, placed on the ground, or hung on poles at a height similar to the mean height of the surrounding vegetation. Each trap was emptied every 10 days, 19 times in a given season. The 19 aggregated catches from three traps at a site were treated as a sample.

In the field, the bees were preserved in 75% ethanol. Following this, in the laboratory, they were mounted, labelled, and deposited in the Department of Biodiversity Studies, Didactics and Bioeducation of the University of Lodz. Their identification was based on Amiet et al. 43 , Dylewska 44 , Schmid-Egger and Scheuchl 45 .

The bees were classified according to nomenclature of the Fauna Europaea 3 . IUCN threat categories were adopted according to Głowaciński 46 . The Polish Red List of Bees was published in 2002 33 as part of the Red list of threatened animals in Poland 46 , and repeated unchanged in 2004 32 . The list included 42 species of the 93 known at that time from Poland. The published lists were unreliable, because no species were listed in either categories EX/EX? nor CR, although some species were not recorded in Poland for a fairly long period of time. The species identified during the present study were characterized in terms of their threat status in Poland according to IUCN criteria, based on the revised list of threatened Andrena species from Poland 10 ; the list includes the status of 95 species of this genus, including seven species evaluated as probably extinct (EX? category of threat), 12 critically endangered (CR), nine endangered (EN), 15 vulnerable (VU), 20 near threatened (NT), 16 least concern (LC), and four data deficient (DD). In addition, 12 species were evaluated as unthreatened in Poland (category UT proposed by Motyka 10 ).

Based on their diet specialization, the mining bee species were classified as either oligolectic, i.e. collecting pollen from several closely-related species or genera of a single family of flowering plants, and polylectic, i.e. collecting pollen from a wide range of flowering plant species. No monolectic species were identified in the collected material. The specimens were also grouped according to their environmental preferences: (a) eurytopic, occurring from lowlands to high mountains, both in open and forested areas, (b) polytopic, inhabiting a wide range of habitats, but preferring either open or forested areas, and (c) oligotopic, associated with a particular type of habitat, mostly dry and on sand, or of steppe character. The bees were also classified into four groups based on their nesting preferences connected with soil moisture: (a) dry, (b) dry and moderately moist; (c) moderately moist, (d) moderately moist and moist. They were also classified into two groups according to the beginning of the foraging season: (a) early spring and, (b) late spring. Only one summer species was recorded in the collected material, and this was included in the late spring group for the sake of the analysis. The above traits for each bee species were collected from literature 43 , 45 , 47 , 48 .

A Kohonen artificial neural network (ANN), also referred to as a self-organizing map (SOM), was used to recognize patterns in the abundances of mining bee species. ANNs are simple structural and functional models of a human brain. They consist of processing units called neurons. They do not require any a priori specification of the model underlying a studied phenomenon because they can learn it based on the processed data 49 . ANNs easily deal with wild organism counts which are non-linearly related and often have a skewed distribution (because of many zeroes).

A few studies have previously employed Kohonen ANNs to examine hymenopterans including ants 50 , polistinae wasps 51 , spider, cuckoo and vespid wasps 39 , 40 , 41 . However, the present study is the first to use Kohonen ANNs to examine patterns in mining bee (andrenid) assemblages.

Kohonen ANNs are built of two layers of neurons (input and output). The number of input neurons was equal to the number of input variables (i.e. the abundances of 46 species of mining bees) because each log-transformed variable was received by a single input neuron. The output layer consisted of 30 neurons that were arranged on a two-dimensional 6 × 5 grid (Fig.  2 ); the grid size was determined based on the heuristic principle that the number of output neurons should be close to 5√n, where n in this case is number of mining bee samples, i.e. n = 40 (result: 32; see 52 ). Each input neuron was connected to all output neurons, and repeatedly transmitted information to them during the training process. The input neurons had no further significance for pattern recognition 53 .

Forty samples of mining bees in 30 SOM output neurons, which are arranged in a two-dimensional grid (6 × 5). Clusters (X and Y) and subclusters (X1, X2, Y1 and Y2; shaded) of neurons and respective sample models were determined by hierarchical cluster analysis. The code for each sample consists of the site number and two letters for the habitat (AF—abandoned farm, FA—fallow, FT—fruit trees, FR—forest, ME—meadow, PG—psammophilous grassland, SD—sand dune); each code ends with two digits indicating the year the sample was collected, and a letter for the level of soil humidity: D—autogenic (dry), S—semihydrogenic, H—hydrogenic (humid).

Based on strengthened or weakened intensity (weight) of the received signals, a model of a virtual mining bee sample (MBS) was created in each output neuron. The similarity of the sample models was related to the topology of the SOM, i.e., the virtual MBSs in distant neurons differed more from each other than in the neighbouring neurons. Following this, the clusters of the virtual MBSs, and thus the respective output neurons, were identified by hierarchical cluster analysis based on the Ward algorithm and Euclidean distance measure 52 , 54 .

Finally, each real MBS was assigned to the best matching virtual MBS and the respective output neuron. When a respective virtual MBS was not the best match for any real MBS, the given output neuron remained ‘empty’, i.e. without any real MBS assigned (although with a virtual MBS). However, if the given virtual MBS was the best match for more than one real MBS, the respective output neuron contained two or more real MBSs. Thus, the Kohonen ANN progressively recognized patterns in mining bee assemblages, distinguished classes of virtual MBSs, and assigned real MBSs to them.

A batch training algorithm was chosen to train the network, because it does not require any training rate factor to be specified 55 . The network training procedure was performed using the SOM Toolbox 56 , developed in the Laboratory of Information and Computer Science at the Helsinki University of Technology ( http://www.cis.hut.fi/projects/somtoolbox/ ).

The SOM Toolbox allows the associations between mining bee species and SOM regions to be visualised in the form of greyness gradients over a two-dimensional grid 49 . This visualization may be very helpful in formulating ecological conclusions, as species with the same greyness pattern in the SOM usually have similar habitat preferences. However, as the SOM Toolbox does not provide any statistical verification of those associations, the untransformed mining bee abundance data were also subjected to Indicator Species Analysis (ISA), which is based on indicator values (IndVals) 57 .

The IndVal (range 0–100%) of the mining bee species i in the (sub)cluster j is a product of three values: (1) A ij —the mean abundance of the species i in real MBSs assigned to the subcluster j , divided by the sum of its average abundances in all subclusters (%), (2) F ij —the constancy of occurrence of the species i (%) in real MBSs assigned to the subcluster j , and (3) the constant 100, used to obtain the percentages as follows:

A ij  = abundance ij /abundance i . , F ij  = N real samples ij /N real samples . j

The maximum IndVal (100%) was observed when all MBSs with the species i were assigned to a single subcluster of output neurons, and when the species i was recorded in all MBSs assigned to that subcluster 57 .

The significance level of the maximum observed IndVal for each species was calculated using a Monte Carlo test. Hence, the IndVals and SOM species planes express both numerically and respectively, in the form of a gradient greyness, the significance of each subcluster of output neurons to a species. As such, the values complement each other: both enable identification of the subclusters of neurons in which a given species is most frequent and abundant, and hence the abiotic conditions it prefers.

At each sampling site, the percentage of bare ground site was determined and ranked as either 1 (0–25% of exposed surface), 2 (26–50%), 3 (51–75%) or 4 (76–100%). Similarly, the soil was classified into one of the three following types: autogenic (dry), i.e. podzolized soil or podzol; semihydrogenic, i.e. brown soils or black earth; hydrogenic (humid), i.e. moorsh or muckous soil. Soil humidity was ranked as 1—autogenic (dry), 2—semi-hydrogenic or 3—hydrogenic (humid) soil. The soil type was determined in ArcGIS ver. 9.3.1 software by superimposing geographic GPS coordinates (Garmin GPSMap, 60Cx) of sites on GIS soil maps 58 . This analysis was supplemented with descriptive information on soil types 35 , 59 .

Using the Kruskal–Wallis test and the post hoc Dunn test 60 , 61 , the SOM subclusters were compared according to the following four dimensions: total abundance, number of mining bee species, availability of bare land and soil humidity.

During the study, 40 samples were collected. A total of 4335 mining bee individuals belonging to 46 species were recorded. Among them: (1) one species had the category CR ( Andrena gallica ), (2) one had the category EN ( Andrena symphyti ), (3) seven species had the category VU, (4) 10 species had the category NT, (5) 13 species had the category LC, and 6) two species had the category DD; 12 species were defined as unthreatened (category UT; all according to Motyka 10 ) (Tables 4 , 5 and 6 ).

The dominants were early spring mining bees with a wide environmental tolerance: eurytopic Andrena haemorrhoa (22.8% of the total abundance) and polytopic A . ventralis (16.6%), A . vaga (12.6%), A . nigroaenea (11.2%) and A . cineraria (12.7%) (Table 4 ). Two of the dominants, Andrena ventralis and A . vaga , are pollen specialists (oligolectic).

The hierarchical cluster analysis identified two clusters of neurons (X and Y) in the output layer of the SOM (Fig.  2 ). Each cluster included two subclusters, which were ordered according to the gradients observed in the total abundance of mining bees: X1 (neurons A1–A3, B1–B3, C1–C4 and D1–D3) and X2 (neurons A4, A5, B4, B5) in cluster X, and Y1 (neurons C5, D4, D5, E3–E5 and F3–F5) and Y2 (neurons E1, E2, F1 and F2) in cluster Y (Figs.  2 , 3 ).

The species richness and abundance of mining bees, the availability of bare land and the soil humidity in SOM subclusters X1–Y2. Ranks used for bare ground: 1: ≤ 25%, 2: 26–50%, 3: 51–75%, and 4: > 75%. Ranks used for soil humidity: 1—autogenic (dry), 2—semi-hydrogenic, and, 3—hydrogenic (humid). Point—median, whiskers—inter-quartile range, H—Kruskal–Wallis test statistic (df = 3, N X1  = 18, N X2  = 5, N Y1  = 11, N Y2  = 6), which was used for inter-subcluster comparisons. The subclusters underlined by the same line were not found to be significantly different in post hoc comparisons.

Subcluster X1 contained only samples from open habitats, i.e. fallow lands, meadows, sandy grasslands and sand dune, which were mainly (> 80%) located on autogenic (dry) and semihydrogenic (semihumid) soil; however, this cluster also included one exception, i.e. from alder forest (Fig.  2 , Table 3 ). Subcluster X2 grouped samples from mixed forests, fruit trees, a meadow and the abandoned farm (with willow species); these were situated on autogenic (dry), hydrogenic (wet) and semihydrogenic (semihumid) soils (Fig.  2 , Table 3 ). Subcluster Y1 included only samples from open habitats (fallow lands and a meadow), on hydrogenic soil (with two exceptions), while all the samples in subcluster Y2 were collected from open habitats (fallow lands) on autogenic (dry) soil (Fig.  2 , Table 3 ).

The abundance of mining bees increased through subsequent subclusters, i.e. from X1 to X2, Y1 and Y2, with a significant difference observed between subcluster X1 and subclusters Y1 and Y2 (Fig.  3 ). An upward trend was also observed in the first three subclusters (X1, X2 and Y1) in the species richness, with significant difference observed between X1 and Y1 (Fig.  3 ).

Significant differences were also observed in (1) the availability of bare ground (exposed surface) between X2, Y1 (lowest medians) and Y2 (highest median), and (2) the soil humidity between X1, Y2 (driest) and Y1 (most humid) (Fig.  3 ).

It should be noted that the highest values of species richness and abundance were observed both in subcluster Y2, characterised by low ground humidity (dry), and in subcluster Y1, with the highest median humidity (wet) (Fig.  3 ). Therefore, hypothesis (H1) “the mining bees demonstrate a narrow ecological amplitude” was not confirmed.

Among the recorded 46 species, 17 (37%) were found to be indicators in terms of the Indicator Species Analysis, i.e. they exhibited significant ( p  ≤ 0.05) maximum IndVals. In subcluster X1 no species exhibited significant maximum IndVal. The numbers of indicator species were similar in the remaining three subclusters (X2, Y1 and Y2), i.e. five for X2, and six both for Y1 and Y2 (Fig.  4 , Table 4 ); this resembles the trend observed for the species richness of mining bees (Fig.  3 ). As the result, hypothesis (H2) “there are no indicator species for particular habitats” was not confirmed.

Mining bee species that were associated at p  ≤ 0.1 with the self-organising map (SOM) subclusters X1, X2, Y1 and Y2. The shading was scaled independently for each species; the depth of the shading indicates the strength of the associations (based on virtual mining bee samples). Species with the same pattern occurred in similar habitats. The highest indicator value (IndVal; based on real mining bee samples) observed for a given species, and its significance level (**** p  ≤ 0.0001; *** p  ≤ 0.001; ** p  ≤ 0.01; * p  ≤ 0.05) are presented above the plane of each species. A smaller p -value indicates stronger evidence of association. Information in superscript next to the species name refers to the threat category (NT—near threatened); species without such information have lower threat categories.

Some species were recorded exclusively (but sporadically) in the samples assigned to the subclusters (those with A = 100% in Table 4 ). Of these, three species recorded only in X1 have an endangered status in Poland: Andrena symphyti (EN category), A . gelriae and A . ruficrus (both VU categories) (Tables 5 , 6 ).

Five species were significantly associated with subcluster X2: Andrena fulva , A . praecox , A . subopaca , A . varians and A . clarkella (Fig.  4 , Table 4 ). Two other species, A . nycthemera and A . denticulata , each represented by a single specimen, were recorded only in samples assigned to X2 (Table 4 ). Both species occur in early spring and summer. Andrena nycthemera has the threat category VU, and A . denticulata is regarded NT (Tables 5 , 6 ).

The following six species were recorded to be indicators in cluster Y1: Andrena tibialis , A . flavipes , A . dorsata, A . minutoloides , A . alfkenella and A . falsifica (Fig.  4 , Table 4 ). Two last species are near threatened (NT). Moreover, Andrena alfkenella and three other species were recorded only in samples assigned to Y1 (Tables 4 , 5 ). Among them, Andrena gallica is critically endangered (CR), while A . chrysopyga and A . limata are regarded as vulnerable (VU) in Poland (Tables 5 , 6 ).

Six species exhibited significant IndVals in subcluster Y2: Andrena nigroaenea , A . ovatula , A . pilipes , A . ventralis , A . cineraria and A . wilkella (Fig.  4 , Table 4 ). The associations of Andrena ovatula, A . nigroaenea, A . pilipes and A . ventralis with Y2 were highly significant ( p  < 0.0001) (Fig.  4 ), and A . wilkella was recorded exclusively in the samples of this subcluster. None of the species was threatened (Table 6 ).

Out of the species found sporadically (at 1–2 sites), 67% belonged to the threat categories CR-NT (Tables 4 , 5 ).

The 46 species recorded during this study represent approximately 10% of all bee species and about 46% of Polish andrenids ( Andrena spp.), which currently constitute 100 species 4 . This latter proportion is similar to that recorded for other Aculeata taxa in the Kampinos National Park ( ca . 50% pompilids, 46% chrysidids, 40% vespids) 39 , 40 , 41 . The number of mining bee species known currently to exist within the KNP is 59, as noted previously 10 and in the present study. This value outnumbers almost all other national parks in Poland 10 , 62 . This richness of andrenid bee species can be attributed to the presence of diversified open areas mixed with various types of forests, and reflects the status of the KNP, together with its buffer zone, as one of the most important faunal refugia in the Polish lowlands 35 . This positive effect of the diversity of the KNP landscape has also been observed for other groups of Aculeata 39 , 40 , 41 .

Among the species observed in the KNP in the present study, Andrena florivaga was recorded for the first time in the Polish fauna 10 . Its presence might due to climate change, as the records in KNP are at the northernmost part of its range. Furthermore, the occurrence of Andrena gallica in Poland was also confirmed after more than 50 years, based on a specimen collected in KNP 34 .

The verified list of threatened Andrena species in Poland, based on Motyka 10 and Wiśniowski et al. 34 , shows that 19 mining bee species (41%) recorded in the KNP are threatened, namely one species has the category CR ( Andrena gallica ), one species has the category EN ( A . symphyti) , seven species are assigned as VU and 10 species as NT (Table 6 ). The percentage of endangered species (i.e. CR-NT) in the genus Andrena (41%) is much higher than those recorded in the other Aculeata studied in the KNP: e.g. only 13.6% of Pompilidae (out of 44 species previously identified in the KNP) 39 , 63 , 15.9% of Chrysididae 64 (out of 44) 40 , and 4.5% of Vespidae 46 (out of 22) 41 . This relative abundance of threatened species in the studied habitats highlights the role of the KNP in preserving mining bee species diversity and their conservation. All the noted dominant andrenid species are on the European Red List of Bees with LC and DD categories 29 . These dominants are early spring flying bees with a wide food and habitat tolerance; most are widespread in Poland and are often dominant in many habitats, including urban and suburban areas 20 . The exceptions are two pollen specialists, Andrena ventralis and A . vaga , foraging mainly on willow species ( Salix spp.). Moreover, more than half of the oligolectic species found in KNP ( Andrena apicata, A . clarkella, A . denticulata, A . fulvago, A . gallica, A . gelriae, A . humilis, A . lapponica, A . mitis, A . nycthemera, A . praecox, A . ruficrus, A . symphyti, A . vaga, A . ventralis, A . viridescens ) specialize on Salix spp. Species that can use multiple resources are more likely to meet their resource needs in a greater diversity of habitats 65 , including anthropogenic ones 66 , whilst species with restricted diets may only meet their requirements in a limited subset of patches. The mosaic (of post-agriculture) habitats in KPN allows species to function, both those with broad tolerance and narrow habitat and food specializations. Willow thickets found in the KNP in or near the fallows and meadows, located on moist and moderately moist soils 35 , ensure the persistence of large populations of early spring andrenas 38 , including the oligolectic species 67 .

Among the oligolectic species, almost half are oligotopic, associated both with (1) open habitats such as fallows, grasslands, forest margins ( Andrena gallica , A . gelriae , A . mitis ) , flood-controlled sandbars, gravel pits ( A . nycthemera ), riverbanks, floodplains, river valleys, gravel pits ( A . symphyti ), (2) forested habitats: forests, forest edges, bogs ( A . ruficrus , A . lapponica ) 47 . The last species, Andrena lapponica , oligolectic on Ericaceae 47 , belongs to a group of species that in the KNP are relict of biocenoses from early post-glacial periods 38 . These species, with boreal-mountain distribution, occur mainly in very poor pine forests, with heather and blueberry. Plewka 38 recommends that the KNP authorities should support these bees by clearing pine forests, especially on the southern slopes of the dunes, and not allowing heath and high and transitional bogs to overgrow. Michener 1 and Westrich 68 indicate that depending on the habitat, between 15 and 60% of the local bee species are strictly specialist (oligolectic) and collect pollen from only few plant species belonging to one plant family or genus. Specialist species must be able to find their specific plants in a complex environment. It is essential that food sources can be located to ensure reproductive fitness, because the availability of food is one of the major factors limiting the development of offspring and survival of adults 69 .

The highest species richness and abundance of andrenids were recorded in open habitats; the greatest abundance was noted in cluster Y2, which included only samples from fallow fields on autogenic (dry) soil, and the highest number of species was found in cluster Y1, containing samples from fallow fields and meadow, located mainly on hydrogenic (humid) soil (Figs.  2 , 3 ). Earlier studies have shown that, for example, pompilids and chrysidids avoid wet habitats (open habitats on hydrogenic soils) 39 , 40 , but the highest abundance and richness of vespid wasps were recorded in open habitats on semihumid (semihydrogenic) soil 41 . Dry and warm areas are generally considered preferred habitats for most pollinators, especially bees, while wet marshy areas appear to be more species-poor 1 . However, some studies show that wet habitats are also important for bees. For example, Moroń et al. 14 recorded 105 bee species, including 32 andrenid bees, on a wet/moist meadow in the Kraków-Wieluń Upland. The authors also found that the proportion of ground nesting bees and particular bee families (including Andrenidae) did not differ between study sites (wet/moist meadows) and xerothermic meadows in Ojców National Park, which resembles our results for subclusters Y1 (wet habitats) and Y2 (dry habitats) (Figs.  3 , 4 ). Moreover, 35 andrenid species were noted in Ojców National Park on xerothermic grasslands, while 23 species were recorded in moist/wet (herbaceous) meadows in valleys (Wiśniowski unpublished data ). Moroń et al. 14 also showed that Molinietum meadows are characterised by diverse bee assemblages fauna with numerous rare and specialized species: these comprised 74% ground nesting species, 34% oligolectic, and 8% from the Polish Red List 32 , 33 . In the present study in the KNP, five rare species, i.e. with CR and VU threat categories, were associated with habitats located on moist and medium-humid soils (Tables 4 , 5 ). It can be seen, therefore, that moist/wet habitats are very valuable for bees and are sometimes as species-rich as semi-natural grasslands. Moroń et al. 14 emphasise the need to perform further investigations on the bee communities in wet habitats (wetlands and marshy areas) that belong to habitats that are particularly threatened by current climate change 70 . Unfortunately, wetlands are being degraded and lost due to pollution, overexploitation, climate change and human population growth. In recognition of these challenges, the RAMSAR Convention, an international treaty, was adopted in 1971 with the aim of addressing global concerns regarding wetland loss and degradation 71 .

Wet habitats are regarded as not very attractive to aculeates and are used more for foraging than for nesting 30 . However, to impede water exchange with the surrounding soil, the lipid cell linings made by most ground-nesting bees are hydrophobic. Andrena females impregnate the cell walls with two classes of chemicals secreted by the Dufour gland 72 . The water-repellent membrane protects the brood provision mass of pollen and nectar and the moisture-sensitive bee larva, allowing it to withstand even several hours of flooding 73 . Thus, the impregnated lining allows nesting in wetter soil 74 .

The differences in the habitats exploited by andrenids were reflected in the number of species exhibiting significant maximum IndVals in particular subclusters, i.e. their preference for respective environmental conditions. The number of such species may serve as a bio-indicator of the environment quality for a given group of animals 39 , 40 , 41 , 75 ; this is supported by the fact that the number of the species with significant IndVals corresponded to the species richness of mining bees (Figs.  3 , 4 ).

In subcluster X1, no species exhibited significant maximum IndVals.

Five indicator species for X2 (Fig.  4 ) have a wide ecological tolerance (Table 7 ). Andrena fulva , recorded in 35% of samples in the current study, has not been recorded in the KNP area previously 37 . It is a Western European species with a tendency to spread eastward. It is synanthropic, nests in clusters, and can establish colonies even in busy urban centres 76 .

Six indicator species for Y1 (Fig.  4 ) have a wide environmental tolerance; they occur from lowlands to mountains, apart from the subalpine and alpine zones (Table 7 ). According to literature 43 , 45 , 47 , 48 , all are polylectic, early spring species, of which five prefer dry or moderately moist habitats, and Andrena minutuloides prefers dry habitats (Table 7 ). However, our present data indicates that Andrena alfkenella and A . minutuloides are significantly associated with Y1, resulting from their presence at humid sites assigned to this subcluster. This indicates a different habitat preference than reported in the literature. Therefore, hypothesis (H3) “the studied mining bees have the same ecological preferences to those presented in the literature” was not confirmed.

Six indicator species for Y2 (Fig.  4 ) avoid forests (Table 7 ). All but one are polytopic, preferring sites of different soil humidity (Table 7 ). Andrena nigroaenea and A . ventralis are reported in the literature 43 , 45 , 47 , 48 as being associated with moist habitats (Table 7 ), while our present data suggest they are highly significant indicators for the typically “dry” subcluster Y2 (Fig.  4 ); this contradicts hypothesis H3.

While insects are declining in many parts of the world, they constitute only 8% of the assessed species in the IUCN Red List. A key role in safeguarding many insect species could be played by protected areas 77 , 78 . In Poland, protected areas, especially national parks, are very important refuges for andrenid bees 10 , 62 . In the Kampinos National Park, 59 species noted in the present and previous studies 10 have been recorded, i.e. 85% of the taxa from the region. Nationwide, 86 of the 95 Andrena bee species (90%) known in Poland were identified in Polish national parks 10 , 62 .

There are still many gaps in knowledge about the species diversity of wild bees in key regions of the world, including Europe, especially its southern and eastern parts 79 . Current data suggests that fewer wild bee species are present in Poland than in neighbouring Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia or Ukraine 80 ; however, this number will probably increase with further intensive research (e.g. 81 , 82 ). This also applies to some challenging bee groups, such as the genus Andrena (e.g. 83 , 84 ). It should be stressed that more than 55% of all European known species of bees were described as ‘Data Deficient’ in the first, and only, IUCN Red List for the continent 29 . These understudied species should be prioritised in future sampling programmes, and in general, more taxonomic work is needed to provide a better understanding of their ecology, biogeography and conservation status 80 .

Conclusions

The studied mining bees were found to demonstrate a wide ecological amplitude. Habitats located in dry and wet soils were characterised by both high abundance and substantial species richness; however, generally speaking, dry and warm areas are considered to be preferred by most pollinators, while wet marshy areas are comparatively poor in species. As a result, hypothesis H1 was not confirmed.

Seventeen (37%) species were found to be indicators. They exhibited a significant preference for specific habitat conditions. Therefore, the hypothesis H2 was not confirmed.

The indicator species were distinguished in subclusters with sites located on autogenic (dry) and hydrogenic (humid) soils; this also contradicts hypotheses H1 and H2.

Compared to previous studies, Andrena nigroaenea and A . ventralis showed a greater preference for soil with lower humidity, while A . alfkenella and A . minutuloides preferred habitats with higher humidity. As a result, the hypothesis H3 was not confirmed.

Among the recorded 46 species, 19 (41%) were assigned to the CR-NT threat categories. Such a strong presence of threatened species in the KNP indicates the high quality of the studied habitats, and confirms the role of national parks in conserving mining bee species diversity.

The genus Andrena demonstrated a much higher percentage of endangered species than those recorded in the other taxa of Aculeata studied in Kampinos National Park.

Michener, Ch. The Bees of the World 2nd edn. (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007).

Book   Google Scholar  

Falk, S. & Lewington, R. Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland (Bloomsbury, 2015).

Google Scholar  

Polaszek, A. Fauna Europaea: Apidae. Fauna Europaea version 2017.06 https://fauna-eu.org (2021).

Celary, W. Digital Catalogue of Biodiversity of Poland—Animalia: Arthropoda: Hexapoda: Insecta: Hymenoptera: Apocrita: Apoidea: Apiformes. Polish Biodiversity Information Network. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/ht7mu7 accessed via GBIF.org (2023).

Ollerton, J., Winfree, R. & Tarrant, S. How many flowering plants are pollinated by animals?. Oikos 120 , 321–326 (2011).

Article   ADS   Google Scholar  

Potts, S. G. et al. Global pollinator declines: Trends, impacts and drivers. TREE 25 , 345–353 (2010).

PubMed   Google Scholar  

LaSalle, J. & Gauld, I. D. Hymenoptera and Biodiversity (CAB International, 1993).

Danforth, B. N., Minckley, R. L. & Neff, J. L. The Solitary Bees. Biology, Evolution, Conservation (Princeton University Press, 2019).

Garibaldi, L. A. et al. Wild pollinators enhance fruit set of crops regardless of honey bee abundance. Science 339 (6127), 1608–1611 (2013).

Article   ADS   CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Motyka, E. Genus Andrena Fabricius, 1775 in Poland (in Polish). Doctoral dissertation (Faculty of Natural Sciences, Kazimierz Wielki University, Bydgoszcz, 2014).

Westphal, C. et al. Measuring bee diversity in different European habitats and biogeographical regions. Ecol. Monograph. 78 , 653–671 (2008).

Article   Google Scholar  

Vieira, L. C., Oliveira, N. G. & Gayubo, S. F. On the use of Apiformes and Spheciformes (Insecta: Hymenoptera) populations as a management tool. Biodivers. Conserv. 20 , 519–530 (2010).

Gathmann, A., Greiler, H.-J. & Tscharntke, T. Trap-nesting bees and wasps colonizing set-aside fields: succession and body size, management by cutting and sowing. Oecologia 98 , 8–14 (1994).

Moroń, D. et al. Diversity of wild bees in wet meadows: implications for conservation. Wetlands 28 , 975–983 (2008).

Taki, H. et al. Succession influences wild bees in a temperate forest landscape: The value of early successional stages in naturally regenerated and planted forests. PLoS ONE 8 (2), e56678. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056678 (2013).

Article   ADS   CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Roberts, H. P., King, D. I. & Milam, J. Factors affecting bee communities in forest openings and adjacent mature forest. For. Ecol. Manag. 394 , 111–122 (2017).

Seitz, N., vanEngelsdorp, D. & Leonhardt, S. D. Conserving bees in destroyed landscapes: The potentials of reclaimed sand mines. Glob. Ecol. Conserv. e00642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00642 (2019).

Heneberg, P., Bogusch, P. & Řehounek, J. Sandpits provide critical refuge for bees and wasps (Hymenoptera: Apocrita). J. Insect Conserv. 17 , 473–490 (2013).

Heneberg, P., Bogusch, P. & Řezáč, M. Off-road motorcycle circuits support long-term persistence of bees and wasps (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) of open landscape at newly formed refugia within otherwise afforested temperate landscape. Ecol. Eng. 93 , 187–198 (2016).

Banaszak, J. Apoidea (Hymenoptera) of Warsaw and Mazovia. Memorabilia zool. 36 , 129–142 (1982).

Banaszak-Cibicka, W., Twerd, L., Fliszkiewicz, M., Giejdasz, K. & Langowska, A. City parks vs. natural areas—is it possible to preserve a natural level of bee richness and abundance in a city park?. Urban Ecosyst. 21 , 599–613 (2018).

Tucker, E. M. & Rehan, S. M. Wild bee community assemblages across agricultural landscapes. J. Agric. Urban Entomol. 33 , 77–104 (2017).

Meiners, J. M., Griswold, T. L. & Carril, O. M. Decades of native bee biodiversity surveys at Pinnacles National Park highlight the importance of monitoring natural areas over time. PLoS ONE 14 (1), e0207566. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207566 (2019).

Article   CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Zattara, E. E. & Aizen, M. A. Worldwide occurrence records suggest a global decline in bee species richness. One Earth 4 , 114-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.12.005 (2021).

Goulson, D., Nicholls, E., Botías, C. & Rotheray, E. L. Bee declines driven by combined stress from parasites, pesticides, and lack of flowers. Science 347 , 6229. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1255957 (2015).

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Rasmont, P., Gaspar, C., Leclercq, J., Jacob-Remacle, A. & Pauly, A. The faunistic drift of Apoidea in Belgium. In Bees for Pollination (ed. Bruneau, E.) 65–87 (Commission of the European Communities, 1993).

Antoine, C. M. & Forrest, J. R. K. Nesting habitat of ground-nesting bees: a review. Ecol. Entomol. 46 , 143–159 (2021).

Starkel, L. Geography of Poland. Natural environment (in Polish) (PWN, 1999).

Nieto, A. et al. European Red List of Bees (Publication Office of the European Union, 2014).

Westrich, P. Habitat requirements of central European bees and the problems of partial habitats. In The Conservation of Bees (eds Matheson, A. et al. ) 1–16 (Academic Press, NY, 1996).

Drossart, M. et al. Belgian Red List of bees Belgian Science Policy 2018 BRAIN-be—(Belgian Research Action through Interdisciplinary Networks) (Presse universitaire de l’Université de Mons, 2019).

Banaszak, J. Bees (Apidae). In Fauna of Poland— Characteristics and Checklist of Species (in Polish) (eds Bogdanowicz, W. et al. ) 346-350-358–362 (MiIZ PAN, 2004).

Banaszak, J. Apoidea Bees. In Red List of Threatened Animals in Poland (in Polish) (ed. Głowaciński, Z.) 69–75 (IOP PAN, 2002).

Wiśniowski, B., Motyka, E., Szczepko-Morawiec, K., Bystrowski, C. & Celary, W. Contribution to bee fauna (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila) of Poland. VII. The genus Andrena Fabricius, 1775. Part 3. Eur. Zool. J. 89 , 285–303 (2022).

Andrzejewski, R. (ed.) Kampinos National Park (in Polish) (Kampinoski Park Narodowy, 2003).

Kotowski, W., Matysiak, A., Dziekańska, I. & Sielezniew, M. Grasslands of the Kampinos National Park. In Grasslands in Europe of High Nature Value (eds Veen, P. et al. ) 95–103 (KNNV Publishing Zeits, 2009).

Szczepko, K., Pawlikowski, T. & Kowalczyk, J. K. Apoidea (Hymenoptera) in habitats of former agriculture area in a renaturization stage of Kampinos National Park (Poland). Fragm. Faunist. 45 , 115–122 (2002).

Plewka, T. Wild bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) fauna in different habitats of the Kampinos National Park and its buffer zone. In Kampinos National Park. Part I (in Polish) (ed. Andrzejewski, R.) 577–593 (Kampinoski Park Narodowy, 2003).

Szczepko, K., Kruk, A. & Bartos, M. The role of mosaicity of the post-agriculture area of the Kampinos National Park in determining the diversity of species of spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae). Eur. J. Entomol. 109 , 35–46 (2012).

Szczepko, K., Kruk, A., Bartos, M. & Wiśniowski, B. Factors influencing the diversity of cuckoo wasps (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae) in the post-agriculture area of the Kampinos National Park, Poland. Insect Conserv. Divers. 6 , 339–353 (2013).

Szczepko, K., Kruk, A. & Wiśniowski, B. Local habitat conditions shaping the assemblages of vespid wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in a post-agricultural landscape of the Kampinos National Park in Poland. Sci. Rep. 10 , 1424. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-57426-8 (2020).

UNESCO MaB. https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/eu-na/puszcza-kampinoska . (2023).

Amiet, F., Herrmann, M., Müller, A. & Neumeyer, R. Apidae 6 —Andrena, Melitturga, Panurginus, Panurgus. Fauna Helvetica 26, CSCF & SEG, Neuchâtel (2010).

Dylewska, M . Bees—Apidae . Subfamily Andrenidae . Keys for the identification of Polish insects . Volume XXIV . Hymenoptera . Part 68d . (in Polish) (Polskie Towarzystwo Entomologiczne, 2000).

Schmid-Egger, Ch. & Scheuchl, E. Illustrierte Bestimmungstabellen der Wildbienen Deutschlands und Österreichs unter Berucksichtigung der Arten der Schweiz. Band III: Schlüssel der Arten der Familie Andrenidae (in Deutsch) (Erschienen im Eigenverlag, 1997).

Głowaciński, Z. (ed.) Red List of Threatened Animals in Poland (in Polish) (IOP PAN, 2002).

Scheuchl, E. & Willner, W. Taschenlexikon der Wildbienen Mitteleuropas (in Deutsch) (Quelle & Meyers Verlag, 2016).

Macek, J., Straka, J., Bogusch, P., Dvořák, L., Bezdĕčka, P. & Tyrner, P. Blanokřídlí České republiky I.—Žahadloví (in Czech) (Academia, 2010).

Lek, S., Scardi, M., Verdonschot, P. F. M., Descy, J. P. & Park, Y. S. Modelling community structure in freshwater ecosystems (Springer, NY, 2005).

Groc, S. et al. Ant species diversity in the “Grands Causses” (Aveyron, France): In search of sampling methods adapted to temperate climates. C. R. Biologies 330 , 913–922 (2007).

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Corbara, B. et al. Diversity and nest site selection of social wasps along Guianese forest edges: Assessing the influence of arboreal ants. C. R. Biologies 332 , 470–479 (2009).

Vesanto, J. & Alhoniemi, E. Clustering of the self-organizing map. IEEE Trans. Neural Netw. 11 , 586–600 (2000).

Article   CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Lek, S. & Guégan, J. F. Artificial neural networks as a tool in ecological modelling, an introduction. Ecol. Model. 120 , 65–73 (1999).

Ward, J. H. Jr. Hierarchical grouping to optimize an objective function. J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 58 , 236–244 (1963).

Article   MathSciNet   Google Scholar  

Park, Y. S. et al. Application of a self-organizing map to select representative species in multivariate analysis: A case study determining diatom distribution patterns across France. Ecol. Inf. 1 , 247–257 (2006).

Vesanto, J., Himberg, J., Alhoniemi, E. & Parhankangas, J. SOM toolbox for Matlab 5 . Technical report A57 (Helsinki University of Technology, 2000).

Dufrêne, M. & Legendre, P. Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecol. Monograph. 67 , 345–366 (1997).

Piórkowski, H. et al . Result 17th . The current habitat-soil map presenting hydrogenic habitats and soils in the GIS standard . Project “Development of the method for reconstruction of primary hydrological conditions in Kampinos National Park in order to restrain nature degradation and improve biodiversity status” . http://kampinos.sggw.pl (2010).

Piórkowski, H., Domańska, M., Rycharski, M., Jakubowski, W. & Stefaniak, P. The soils of wetlands. In Protection and Renaturization of Wetlands in the Kampinos National Park (in Polish) (eds Okruszko, T. et al. ) 93–118 (SGGW, 2011).

Quinn, G. P. & Keough, M. J. Experimental Design and Data Analysis for Biologists (Cambridge University Press, 2002).

TIBCO Software Inc. Statistica (data analysis software system), version 13 http://statistica.io . (2017).

Wiśniowski, B. Order: Hymenoptera. In Catalogue of the Fauna of the Ojców National Park (ed. Klasa, A.) (Ojców National Park, 2011).

Wiśniowski, B. Spider-hunting wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) of Poland (Ojców National Park, 2009).

Wiśniowski, B. Cuckoo-wasps (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae) of Poland (Ojców National Park, 2015).

Bommarco, R. et al. Dispersal capacity and diet breadth modify the response of wild bees to habitat loss. Proc. Biol. Sci. 277 , 2075–2082 (2010).

PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Johnson, S. D. & Steiner, K. E. Generalization versus specialization in plant pollination systems. TREE 15 , 140–143 (2000).

CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Mosseler, A., Major, J., Ostaff, D. & Ascher, J. Bee foraging preferences on three willow ( Salix ) species: Effects of species, plant sex, sampling day and time of day. Ann. Appl. Biol. 177 , 333–345 (2020).

Westrich, P. Die Wildbienen Deutschlands (in Deutsch) (Eugen Ulmer, 2018).

Müller, A. et al. Quantitative pollen requirements of solitary bees: Implications for bee conservation and the evolution of bee–flower relationships. Biol. Conserv. 130 , 604–615 (2006).

O'Keeffe, J. et al. Modelling climate change’s impact on the hydrology of Natura 2000 wetland habitats in the Vistula and Odra River basins in Poland. Water 11 , 2191. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11102191 (2019).

UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/wnbr . (2023).

Hefetz, A. The role of Dufour’s gland secretions in bees. Physiol. Entomol. 12 , 243–253 (1987).

Visscher, P. K., Vetter, R. S. & Orth, R. Benthic bees? Emergence phenology of Calliopsis pugionis (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) at a seasonally flooded site. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 87 , 941–945 (1994).

Fellendorf, M., Mohra, C. & Paxton, R. J. Devasting effects of river flooding to the ground-nesting bee, Andrena vaga (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), and its associated fauna. J. Insect Conserv. 8 , 311–322 (2004).

Oertli, S., Müller, A. & Dorn, S. Ecological and seasonal patterns in the diversity of a species-rich bee assemblage (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes). Eur. J. Entomol. 102 , 53–63 (2005).

Banaszak, J. Contribution to the biology and ecology of Andrena ( Andrena ) fulva (Műller, 1766) (Hymenoptera, Apoidea). Pol. Pis. Entomol. 63 , 169–182 (1994).

Chowdhury, S. et al. Three-quarters of insect species are insufficiently represented by protected areas. One Earth 6 , 139–146 (2023).

Ricci, L. et al. A multitaxonomic assessment of Natura 2000 effectiveness across European biogeographic regions. Conserv. Biol. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14212 (2024).

Leclercq, N. et al. European bee diversity: Taxonomic and phylogenetic patterns. J. Biogeogr. 50 , 1244–1256 (2023).

Reverté, S. et al. National records of 3000 European bee and hoverfly species: A contribution to pollinator conservation. Insect Conserv. Divers.  16 , 758–775 https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12680 (2023).

Bogusch, P. et al. The spread of Colletes hederae Schmidt & Westrich, 1993 continues—first records of this plasterer bee species from Slovakia and the Czech Republic.  Biodivers. Data J. 9 , e66112. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.9.e66112 (2021).

Kierat, J. N. New records of Colletes hederae Schmidt & Westrich, 1993 (Hymenoptera, Apiformes) in Poland. Acta Zool. Cracov. 67 (1). https://doi.org/10.3409/azc.67.01 (2024).

Wood, T. J., Ghisbain, G., Michez, D. & Praz, C. Revisions to the faunas of Andrena of the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco with the descriptions of four new species (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae). Eur. J. Taxon. 758 , 147–193 (2021).

Praz, C. et al. Unexpected levels of cryptic diversity in European bees of the genus Andrena subgenus Taeniandrena (Hymenoptera, Andrenidae): implications for conservation. JHR 91 , 375–428 (2022).

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr hab. Dorota Michalska-Hejduk and Dr Anna Bomanowska for help with the botanical determination of the habitats, Prof. Dominik Kopeć for making available a GIS map of soils of the KNP, Dr Dariusz Pietraszewski for help with the drawing of the map of the study area, two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments, and Mgr Edward Lowczowski for English language assistance.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Biodiversity Studies, Didactics and Bioeducation, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland

Katarzyna Szczepko-Morawiec

Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Land Management and Environmental Protection, University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland

Bogdan Wiśniowski

Bukowiec, Poland

Ewelina Motyka

Institute of Biology, The Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland

Waldemar Celary

Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland

Andrzej Kruk

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

K.S-M. designed and performed all field studies, K.S-M., B.W developed collected insect material in the laboratory, K.S-M. and A.K. analyzed the data, K.S-M., B.W., E.M and W.C. performed taxonomic classifications. All authors wrote the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katarzyna Szczepko-Morawiec .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Supplementary information., rights and permissions.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Szczepko-Morawiec, K., Wiśniowski, B., Motyka, E. et al. Ecological amplitude and indication potential of mining bees ( Andrena spp.): a case study from the post-agricultural area of the Kampinos National Park (Poland). Sci Rep 14 , 9738 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59138-9

Download citation

Received : 28 October 2023

Accepted : 08 April 2024

Published : 28 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59138-9

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines . If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research, free to your inbox weekly.