IN A FEW WORDS .
REFERENT
Bike & Flowers is a three-year project, running from 2024 to 2027, which aims to promote ecological regeneration along an existing 19 km cycle path located in the Po river area. It was created in response to the global pollinator crisis, whose decline is threatening biodiversity and food security.
The project involves interventions on 3.5 hectares to increase biodiversity, improve habitats for pollinators, and promote sustainability by involving local communities and farmers.
Conceived and coordinated by the ZOOM Foundation - in partnership with the Agrion Foundation, the Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology (DBIOS) and the Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences (DISAFA) of the University of Turin - the project has received funding from the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation as part of the second edition of the call for proposals 'Symbiosis: Together with Nature for the Future of the Planet', which aims to support projects designed to protect and enhance natural heritage and biodiversity, as well as to raise public and individual awareness of the role that environmental degradation plays in human health.
FROM FLOWER TO FLOWER,
BIODIVERSITY TAKES FLIGHT.
Apoids
Bees, which vary in shape, size, and color, have yellow and black striped abdomens and hairs covering almost their entire bodies, which they use to transport pollen. There are solitary, gregarious, and social species, which mainly nest in the ground or in natural and artificial cavities.
They play a crucial role in pollination, ensuring the reproduction of over 80% of plants and proving to be the most efficient insects in this task. Honey bees, in particular, are excellent bioindicators of environmental quality, exploring territories up to 10 km from the hive.
They adapt to a variety of environments, but their connection to the plants from which they collect nectar and pollen makes them vulnerable to habitat fragmentation and loss. Based on the plant species they visit, they are divided into monolectic (a single species), oligolectic (a few species), and polylectic (several species).
Hoverflies
Many species of hoverflies are skilled mimics of bees, bumblebees, and venomous wasps, a strategy that protects them from predators. They are known for their ability to fly motionless in midair, similar to helicopters, hence their name “hoverfly.”
These insects play a crucial role in pollination, visiting over 70% of wild flower species. Their larvae contribute significantly to the balance of ecosystems and pest control, feeding on aphids, bulbs, or decaying plant material.
Thanks to their ability to adapt and specialize in a wide variety of environments, hoverflies are considered excellent bioindicators of environmental quality.
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera, commonly known as butterflies and moths, are distinguished by their wings covered with scales, which often create very bright colors. They are equipped with a spirotromba, a sort of proboscis, which allows them to feed on nectar even from flowers with deep corollas.
These insects are crucial to the balance of ecosystems, as at every stage of their life cycle (egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult) they are a vital food source for spiders, other insects, reptiles, and birds. They also play an important role as pollinators.
Although they adapt to a wide range of environments, particularly grasslands from sea level up to 2,500 meters, their survival is closely linked to the presence of specific host plants for the caterpillars. To survive the winter, about two-thirds of species enter a state of hibernation called diapause, usually during the caterpillar stage, which shows remarkable resistance to low temperatures. Other species, however, face winter as eggs, pupae, or, in some cases, as adults.
WHERE GRASS GROWS, BIODIVERSITY TAKE SHAPE.
What is permanent grassland?
According to Regulation (EU) 1307/2013, permanent grassland is land where grass and other herbaceous forage crops, either natural or sown, grow and remain so for at least five consecutive years, without being converted to other crops.
Its most important characteristic is continuity: no plowing and no crop rotation, i.e., no change in the species cultivated over time. This allows the vegetation to develop naturally and form, year after year, a stable and highly biodiverse community.
In the Piedmontese Po Valley, an area dominated by intensive farming and artificial areas, permanent grasslands are now one of the few remaining semi-natural habitats. For this reason, they continue to support numerous ecosystem services, i.e., those natural processes that provide essential benefits to humans, such as pollination, which is indispensable for many plants, including agricultural ones.
Why are they important?
Permanent grasslands provide abundant and diverse nutrition for insects. Thanks to the variety of herbaceous species, often rich in legumes and nectar-producing plants, flowering continues throughout most of the growing season.
This continuity is essential for wild pollinating insects, such as apoids, lepidoptera, and syrphids, which need stable sources of nectar and pollen to complete their life cycle.
Unlike fields that are cultivated every year or areas that are mowed frequently, permanent grasslands maintain a diverse plant structure, ensuring resources even at the most critical times of the year, such as summer or fall, when they become scarcer.
Apoids
For apoids, permanent grasslands are not only a source of food, but also an ideal place to build nests. The varied vegetation, with denser areas and more open areas, creates microhabitats and ecological niches where these insects can find suitable nesting sites. Small accumulations of plants and areas of bare ground offer additional opportunities for nest building.
Syrphids
Syrphids find permanent grasslands a favorable environment both for feeding as adults and for reproducing. Their larvae also feed on small insects that damage plants, thus contributing to natural pest control in grasslands and to the balance of the ecosystem.
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera benefit from the abundance of flowers, but also from the presence of specific plants that feed their larvae, which are often absent from cultivated fields or cities.
The key role in the survival of pollinating insects.
The stability of permanent grasslands over time, together with less intensive management than cultivated fields, creates ideal conditions for the survival and diversity of pollinating insects. The absence of deep plowing and the limited use of fertilizers and pesticides reduce direct mortality and maintain soil complexity, which is essential for many species living in the upper layers of the soil.
In the Piedmontese Po Valley, where natural habitats are fragmented and the landscape is very simplified, these meadows take on an even more important role. Although often small, they represent real ‘biodiversity hotspots’, connecting the few remaining natural areas and ensuring ecological continuity.
Thanks to this, permanent meadows help stabilize agricultural and peri-urban ecosystems, supporting populations of pollinating insects, which in turn are essential for the reproduction of many wild and cultivated plants.
IN THE GREEN THAT REST, BIODIVERSITY MULTIPLIES.
What are ecosystem services?
An ecosystem service is a benefit that nature, through its elements (such as plants, animals, water, soil), provides to humanity to support life and well-being.
Pollinating insects are a prime example. They are responsible for pollinating about 75% of the crops on which our food supply depends. By moving from flower to flower, they not only make the production of fruit, vegetables, and seeds possible, but also activate a network of benefits involving plants, animals, and, of course, humans.
They are true guardians, buzzing or silent, of an increasingly fragile ecosystem balance, contributing every day to maintaining and strengthening it, making possible the biodiversity on which we all depend.
European agriculture's commitment to pollinators
The European agricultural sector is increasingly aware of the serious decline affecting many species of pollinating insects. Among the main causes are the reduction in areas rich in flowers, which are essential for their nutrition, and the excessive or incorrect use of synthetic chemicals, such as pesticides.
In response to this emergency, the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy has introduced specific measures to make agriculture more sustainable and biodiversity-friendly.
These measures aim to:
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Reduce the environmental impact of agricultural practices.
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Encourage the creation of grazing areas for pollinators.
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Provide financial support to farmers who choose to set aside part of their land for flowering meadows and mow only once a year.
A concrete example of these initiatives is Ecoschema 5, a measure that provides an incentive for farmers who commit to creating and maintaining grazing and nesting areas for pollinating insects. This ensures a continuous source of food and a safe habitat, which are essential for their survival.
Cover crops to support pollinators
The Bike and Flowers project is part of a line of research already underway in Italy, focused on the strategic management of cover crops.
Cover crops are plant species sown between one main crop and another, not for production purposes, but to improve soil quality and environmental health.
The aim of the project is to explore how these crops, in addition to their already known benefits for agriculture and the environment, can become a valuable source of nutrition (grazing) for pollinating insects.
The many advantages of cover crops
Cover crops offer numerous benefits, mainly related to soil health and reducing the use of chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides, representing an effective strategy for making agriculture more sustainable.
The main benefits are:
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Improved soil quality: they increase the amount of organic matter, improving soil structure and its ability to retain water and store carbon (C Stock), with benefits also in terms of combating climate change.
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Soil protection: they keep the soil constantly covered, protecting it from erosion caused by rain and reducing nutrient loss; this limits the need for chemical interventions to support crops.
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Nutrient efficiency: some plant species, such as legumes (e.g., clover), have the ability to store atmospheric nitrogen and naturally enrich the soil, making it more fertile for subsequent crops.
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Weed control: They compete directly with weeds for light, water, and nutrients during the period between main crops, reducing the need for herbicides.
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Pest protection: Some species, such as brassicas, when integrated with targeted agricultural practices, can help control nematodes, small parasitic worms that attack plants.
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