Dr Lynn Dicks in the Department of Zoology is an advisor to part of a large-scale University of Leeds/Insect Pollinators Initiative project to explore how insect pollinator communities, and the pollination service they provide, are affected by land management.
This project used 96 field sites across the UK, including 16 in Cambridgeshire, and measured pollination at each site using arrays of potted California poppies (Eschscholzia californica). These are known as “phytometer” plants because their seed set is a useful measuring device for estimating pollinator service. This year the Garden was pleased to provide horticultural support, maintaining 144 potted Eschscholzia plants in transit to the local field sites.
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