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In this study pollinators visiting highbush blueberry fields set in landscapes with differing land use pattern in south-central Chile were investigated. Effects of spatial buffers from 0.5 to 8 km around each blueberry field on the abundance of the main wild pollinator, Bombus terrestris queens, were tested. Wild B. terrestris abundances were positively affected by natural forest area and negatively affected by high-food resource area, and these effects were strongest at a buffer radius of 1 and 3.5 km, respectively. Possibly, continuous food resources provided by natural forest areas favor colony establishment and growth, and/or increase overwintering survival of bumblebee queens. Also, pollinator dependent crop area can generate a “transient dilution effect” by decreasing the density of bumblebees in simultaneously flowering crops. Management strategies might increase crop pollination services by considering the importance of nesting and overwintering habitat quality/amount and area of simultaneously flowering crops requiring insect pollination.

Pollination services are affected by landscape context, farming management and pollinator community structure, all of which impact flower visitation rates, pollen deposition and final production. We studied these processes in Argentina for highbush blueberry crops, which depend on pollinators to produce marketable yields.We studied how land cover and honeybee stocking influence the abundance of wild and managed pollinators in blueberry crops, using structural equation modelling to disentangle the cascading effects through which pollinators contribute to blueberry fruit number, size, nutritional content and overall yield.All pollinator functional groups responded to landscape changes at a spatial scale under 1000 m, and the significance or direction of the effects were modulated by the field‐level deployment of honeybee hives.Fruit diameter increased with pollen deposited, but decreased with honeybee abundance, which, had indirect effects on fruit acidity. Honeybees had a positive effect on the number of fruit produced by the plants and also benefited the overall yield (kg plant−1) through independent effects on both the quality and quantity components of fruit production.Synthesis and applications. Deployment of beehives in blueberry fields can buffer, but not compensate for the negative effects on honeybee abundance produced by surrounding large scale none‐flowering crops. Such compensation would require high‐quality beehives by monitoring their health and strength. The contribution of honeybees to crop production is not equal across production metrics. That is, higher abundance of honeybees increases the number of berries produced but at the cost of smaller and more acidic fruits, potentially reducing their market value. Growers must consider this trade‐off between fruit quantity and quality when actively managing honeybee abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Conventional farming presented the highest environmental impacts. • Agroecological management achieved the highest yield and lowest production costs. • Organic based on agroecological principles was the most efficient blueberry production. Certified organic agriculture stipulates a set of principles and standards which run farmer practices. The current global demand for organic food has raised new challenges for organic agriculture, which can be difficult to address when management is subject to the forces of conventionalisation. Using production of highbush blueberry (V accinium corymbosum L.) as a target crop, we analyze environmental impacts comparing three different types of management in south-central Chile: conventional orchards (CO), orchards with organic management based on input substitution (OI), and orchards with organic management based on agroecological principles (OA). We compare these production systems from an environmental and economical perspective using four blueberry orchards for each type of management. Impacts in global warming (referred to as greenhouse gas emissions), acidification, and freshwater eutrophication were estimated using Life Cycle Analysis. Production costs and fruit yields were also quantified for each orchard studied. Blueberry yields were not different among farming systems, although OA achieved the highest one (8.47 ton/ha), with the lowest both cost of production (2265 US $/ha yr.). All environmental impacts were higher for CO. Overall, OA turned out as the most efficient production systems both from an environmental and economic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]