Pollination service to faba bean agroecosystem: quantifying and valuation using field experiment

Kazemi, Hossein; Nadimi, Ahmad; Fürst, Christine

doi:10.22034/jelsa.2025.475987.1083

Pollination service to faba bean agroecosystem: quantifying and valuation using field experiment

Document Type : Original research article

Authors

Hossein Kazemi ¹

Ahmad Nadimi ²

Christine Fürst ³

¹ Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Plant Production, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran

² Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Plant Production, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran

³ 1. Dept. Sustainable Landscape Development, Institute for Geosciences and Geography, Martin-Luther University Halle, Von-Seckendorff-Platz 4, 06120 Halle (Saale), Halle, Germany. 2. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstraße 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany

10.22034/jelsa.2025.475987.1083

Abstract

In this study, pollination service in the faba bean agroecosystem was evaluated and valued with a field experiment. For this purpose, a factorial experiment based on a randomized complete blocks design with three replications was carried out in the research farm of Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (Golestan province, Iran), during 2020-2021. The treatments of this experiment included cultivar as the first factor in four levels, including Feyz, Mahta, Barkat and Shadan and the second factor in two levels, including open-pollinated plants by insects and limitation of pollination by a cage. In this experiment, each plot included five planting rows with a distance between plants on each row of 15 cm, a planting depth of 5 cm and a distance between rows of 50 cm. Also, each plot had a size of 2×2.5 m and the distance between of plots was 75 cm. During the growing season, with the onset of warmer temperatures and insect activity in late March 2021, plots with limited open pollination are wholly trapped by the nets until the end of pollination. Simultaneously with the activity of insects in the field, samples of insects are collected using lattice nets. At the time of crop maturing, green yield and plant biomass were harvested. Finally, we quantified the value of pollination service by marketing price and alternative cost methods. In this study, we collected 13 pollinator species from the faba bean agroecosystem. The share of insects in the pollination of faba bean cultivars was obtained between 3.81 and 17.06 %. Results showed that the economic value of pollination in the faba bean agroecosystem was between 38,056,136 to 161,000,000 Rls.ha^-1. Generally, the role of pollinating insects in new faba bean cultivars was more than in the old cultivars, especially, the cultivars such as Mahta that use more pollination service than other cultivars. It is necessary that faba bean growers promote and protect pollination service to enhance their economic benefits in agroecosystems.

Highlights

Faba bean pollination by 13 insect species boosts yield by 3.81-17.06% in Gorgan, Iran.
Economic value of pollination ranges from 38M to 161M Rls/ha in faba bean fields.
New cultivar Mahta relies most on insects (17.06%) vs. old cultivar Barkat (3.81%).
Feyz and Barkat cultivars yield highest profit; Mahta benefits most from pollination.
Study urges protecting pollinators for sustainable faba bean agroecosystem gains.

Keywords

Economic value

Faba bean cultivars

Insect

Pollination

Regulating service

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