Natural habitats may not boost crop pollination as much as previously believed, according to new research that challenges long-held assumptions about how bees and other insects interact with farmland.
Conventional wisdom suggests that farms located near forests or other wild areas attract more pollinators and enjoy better fruit and seed production.
But a large meta-analysis of tropical smallholder farms has found that proximity to natural habitats does not reliably increase pollinator numbers or improve pollination success.
Smallholder farms – typically family-run and operating on small plots – account for 84% of farms worldwide and depend heavily on ecosystem services such as pollination.
Many of these communities already struggle to secure nutritious food year-round, making a better understanding of how pollination works critical for both livelihoods and global food-security goals.
While the study focused on tropical regions, researchers say the findings may help inform debates about habitat management and farm diversification in the UK.
Drawing on data from over 500 smallholder farms across Central America, Brazil, East Africa and India, the researchers found no consistent link between distance from natural habitats and pollination outcomes. This included forests, wetlands, woodlands and other areas of native vegetation.
Lead author Ennia Bosshard, a conservation scientist at the University of Exeter, said the findings run counter to earlier work, noting that “our findings stand in contrast to previous studies which have shown consistent declines in pollinators and pollination services, especially in the tropics.”
The researchers suggest that differences between smallholder farms and large industrial systems may explain the discrepancy. Larger-scale farms often grow vast areas of a single crop, whereas smallholders typically maintain mixed landscapes with trees, flowers and varied vegetation interwoven with crops. This built-in ecological complexity may sustain pollinators even when natural habitat is further away.
The team believes this diversity effectively buffers small farms from the negative effects usually associated with being far from wild habitats. As the study notes, this “ecological complexity of the farms themselves” appears to help maintain pollination services despite distance.
The findings highlight the value of traditional smallholder farming practices in supporting biodiversity and food security. According to the authors, “smallholder farms with their more traditional ecological practices may provide a sustainable way of farming.”
