Work packages

The overall structure of STEP is organised around 8 work packages.

WP 1 Documenting the status and trends of pollinator and animal pollinated plant populations

(William Kunin, WP Leader, Leeds)

WP 1 will compile distributional and trait data for European pollinators and animal-pollinated plants, and use this to document changes in honeybees, wild bees, hoverflies and wild flowering plants from local to continental scales. Further, this WP will compile the first ever European Red Data book for European bees and develop protocols and a roadmap for a pan-European pollinator monitoring programme including automated identification methods.

WP 2 Multiple pressures on pollinators and animal-pollinated plants

(Oliver Schweiger, WP Leader, UFZ)

WP2 will identify and quantify the relative importance of the main environmental pressures on pollinators and animal-pollinated plants at multiple spatial scales using combined empirical and modelling approaches. It will also analyse the interactions between various pressures and develop predictive models for pollinator and animal-pollinated plant species, functional groups and pollination-relevant species traits.

WP 3 Impacts of pollinator change on wild plants and crops

(Riccardo Bommarco, WP Leader, SLU)

WP 3 will synthesize existing knowledge on the impacts of pollinator shifts on wild plant reproduction, crop productivity, and society, including economic and nutritional aspects. It will also identify important knowledge gaps, where data is lacking, to be addressed empirically in WP 5.

WP 4 Strategies to mitigate the impacts of changes in pollinators and animalpollinated plants

(David Kleijn, WP Leader, Alterra)

WP 4 will review and synthesize information on the effectiveness of current measures mitigating pollinator and pollination loss in Europe. Based on this, WP 4 will formulate recommendations for future interventions and develop strategies for improving the effectiveness of mitigation actions in Europe. WP 4 will also identify novel interventions which will be tested in WP 5.

WP 5 Empirical assessment of multiple pressures on pollinators and pollination services across Europe

(Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, WP Leader, UBT)

WP 5 will provide an integrated empirical approach across a network of sites in Europe to investigate the effects of multiple pressures on pollinators, pollination services to wild plants and crops, and test the effectiveness of potential mitigation actions. The empirical work will address in tandem genetic, population, community, ecosystem and socio-economic responses to multiple pressures on plant-pollinator communities.

WP 6 Policy tools and integration of knowledge

(Peter Sorensen, WP Leader, AU)

WP 6 will integrate the findings from WP1-5 to develop quality assured evidence-based decision tools that take into account uncertainty. It will also assess the current European and global policy instruments affecting pollinators and pollination services and identify new policies and instruments which could be used to better conserve and sustainably manage Europe’s pollinators.

WP 7 Communication, dissemination and training

(Lyubomir Penev, WP Leader, Pensoft)

WP 7 will communicate the findings form WP1-6 to the widest range of specialist and non-specialist stakeholders and end-users. WP7 will provide targeted training for managers, beekeepers, farmers, and researchers, and also use attitude surveys to better understand public awareness and increase public education relating to pollinators and pollinations services.

WP 8 Coordination

(Simon Potts, Co-ordinator, Reeding)

WP 8 will ensure effective management, implementation and administration of the STEP project by coordinating knowledge flow within STEP, and between STEP and external organizations and activities, and guaranteeing quality control throughout.