Data and R code from:Honey bee hives and oilseed rape crops in combination mitigated the negative impacts of honey bee spillover on plant reproduction in alpine meadows

Independent of introduction treatment, honey bees visited plants more frequently (2.52 times) in near plots than in far plots, indicating proximity to hives and/or crop edges resulted in honey bee spillover into adjacent meadows. The spillover of honey bees had negative impacts on the reproduction of wild plants, such that in meadows with hives or crops only, proximity to either hives or crop edges resulted in a general decrease in seed set of wild plants.

However, in meadows with both hives and crops, the seed set was similar between near and far plots, indicating that oilseed crops and hives in combination mitigated the negative impacts of honey bee spillover. Further analysis suggested that this mitigation was associated with a higher complementary specialization of wild pollinators in crop+hive meadows. </p><p dir="ltr">4. Synthesis and applications.

During bloom, mass-flowering crops can mitigate the otherwise negative impacts of hive introductions on plant reproduction by improving niche partitioning among wild pollinators. This study improves our understanding of the context-dependent responses of natural plant-pollinator communities to the introduction of hives in agricultural landscapes, and provides a framework for optimized agricultural planning in high-altitude ecosystems that balance food production with biodiversity conservation.</p>