Honey bees ensure the pollination of Parkia biglobosa in absence of bats

by Kristin Marie Lassen et al.

Honey bees gathering pollen from Parkia biglobosa

Fruit trees are important components of the West African agroforestry parklands supplying people with fruits when food supplies are scarce. Even so, only little is known about the pollination ecology of the economically and nutritionally important fruit tree African locust bean (Parkia biglobosa).

The main objective of the present paper was thus to investigate the pollination ecology of the study species. Central objectives were to compare the pollination ecology at two sites with differences in annual precipitation, and to discuss how future pollination is likely to be affected by potential climate change and how beekeeping may influence fruit production.

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Read the scientific publication in JPE.