Effects of farmland heterogeneity on pollination potential of agricultural landscapes in Eastern Ontario

Increasing farmland heterogeneity (spatial heterogeneity of crop cover) may enhance the pollination potential of agricultural landscapes, without taking arable land out of production. We tested the predictions that increasing the compositional heterogeneity of crop cover (measured as increasing crop diversity) and/or increasing the configurational heterogeneity of crop cover (measured as decreasing mean field sizes) will increase pollination potential of agricultural landscapes. We deployed flowering, self-incompatible plant species in landscapes selected to minimize the correlation between crop diversity and mean field size, and used their reproductive success as a metric for the pollination potential. We did not find any support for the prediction that increasing crop diversity and/or decreasing mean field size increased pollination potential of agricultural landscapes. Based on our results, we suggest that policies aimed at increasing farmland heterogeneity may not enhance pollination services in agricultural landscapes.