Extreme weather events, such as bushfires and floods, are important features of the Australian environment and are predicted to increase in frequency with climate change. However, little is known about how this may impact crop pollination.

This investment is conducting a case study of the impact of a major bushfire on wild pollinator communities and the pollination services they provide to an apple crop. The case study approach will be extrapolated to understand the value of wild pollinators to the horticulture sector, enabling growers to better understand their reliance on wild pollinators and the potential impact of Varroa mite to their pollination security.

Key activities include:

• Measurement of the immediate impact of an extreme bushfire event on pollinator communities, floral resources and crop pollination services for apples, and communication of these effects to researchers, industry and growers.

• Understanding of how pollinator communities, floral resources and crop pollination services change, and recover, over three years post-fire, along with recommendations for on-ground measures to mitigate impacts for apple and other horticultural crop pollination following an extreme bushfire event.

• Estimation of the relative contribution of managed honey bees in on-farm hives versus wild honey bees to apple pollination in Bilpin as a methodological case study, using a mark-recapture survey approach on the bees from on-farm hives.

• Integration of multiple lines of evidence from this project and PH15001 to estimate the likely impact of a Varroa mite incursion (and establishment) on pollination services.

• Presentation of findings and recommendations to commercial beekeepers, growers and bee pollination researchers through workshops, factsheets, and online materials.