Flower strips: A new element of agricultural landscapes

Modern agricultural landscapes are highly complex multifunctional systems. They are not only used for food and energy production, but are also expected to provide various ecosystem services within the agroecosystems. Industrial agriculture, which is practised on large areas, has led to increased productivity, but due to its high intensity, it is also responsible for numerous environmental problems. The loss and fragmentation of natural habitats, coupled with the widespread use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, as well as the spread of invasive species, have led to the loss of biodiversity. In recent years, there has been a dramatic decline in the abundance and diversity of all groups of wild insect pollinators, including wild bees, hoverflies, butterflies and moths, with many pollinator species being threatened with extinction. The introduction of flower strips into agricultural landscapes on small areas, can contribute to the creation of new habitats that support existing wild pollinators and promote increases in their abundance and diversity at both local and landscape scales. This practice has also been shown to benefit other beneficial organisms, such as predatory insects, pest parasitoids, birds, and plants - leading to greater species richness and abundance. Such an approach can enhance biodiversity and overall ecosystem functioning, including crop pollination, suppression of pests and invasive weed populations, improved soil fertility through erosion control, and climate change mitigation via carbon sequestration in soils. In this context, flower belts can be used as a multifunctional agronomic tool for increasing functional biodiversity, as well as protecting the quality and function of soil in agricultural areas. The aim of the paper is to analyze the role of flower belts in the improvement of functional biodiversity, as well as the possibility of their application in Serbia.