What is it about?
Use of current and freely available remote sensing imagery has enabled the mapping of fine-scaled honeybee habitats in semi-arid regions in Kenya, thereby quantification of these habitats has been carried out. Landscape fragmentation metrics have been thereafter computed and will be linked with honeybee colony data to determine the effect of the landscape matrix on honeybee colony performance in these regions.
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Why is it important?
Habitat loss is posing a threat to honeybees globally, which poses a threat to food security at all levels since the honeybee plays such a critical role in the ecosystem by way of pollination. In Africa, very little work has been done to examine the affect of the landscape on honeybee performance and this study aims to fill this gap by providing landscape metrics relating to levels of landscape degradation based on mapped honeybee habitats. The results show that freely available high-resolution satellite images can map fine-scaled honeybee habitats and derived fragmentation.
Perspectives
The role of honeybees has often been overlooked in the critical areas of food security and sustainable livelihoods. This article aims to highlight the importance of mapping honeybees habitats and monitoring their performance in relation to their environment. Ultimately, this work aims to provide information for making policy decisions as regards farmers livelihoods and environmental conservation.
Pamela Ochungo
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Multi-sensor mapping of honey bee habitats and fragmentation in agro-ecological landscapes in Eastern Kenya, Geocarto International, June 2019, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/10106049.2019.1629645.
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