Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39833499›Full record

Articlenpj biodiversity2025

Trade-off between pollinator-wildflower diversity & grassland yields.

Nicholas J Balfour, Ciaran Harris, Jonathan Storkey, Francis L W Ratnieks

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in npj biodiversity, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Seed mixes of intermediate grass:forb ratio create vegetation of greater ecosystem service provision in restorations.Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Nicholas J Balfour *Laboratory of Apiculture & Social Insects, Department of Ecology & Evolution, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. n.balfour@sussex.ac.uk.
Ciaran Harris *Laboratory of Apiculture & Social Insects, Department of Ecology & Evolution, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
Jonathan StorkeyProtecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, UK.
Francis L W RatnieksLaboratory of Apiculture & Social Insects, Department of Ecology & Evolution, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.

Funding

NERC Environmental Bioinformatics Centre NE/X018172/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This is a critical moment for land use policy globally, with many countries (e.g. the UK and the European Union) currently undertaking significant green reforms of their agricultural policies. Despite their importance for maintaining agricultural outputs and plant diversity, the effects of artificial soil enrichment on pollinators remain poorly understood. Our two-year study at the world's longest-running ecological experiment, Park Grass, Rothamsted, examines the relationship between soil fertilisation, grassland yield and biodiversity. Our data show a large and significant negative effect of the major plant nutrients (NPK) on the abundance, species richness and functional diversity of both pollinators and flowering plants. The results also indicate a large and significant trade-off between productivity and biodiversity. Our findings are a salutary reminder of the challenge in reconciling conflicting aims in farmland management and strongly suggest that financial incentives are necessary to offset yield reductions to improve biodiversity outcomes in agricultural grasslands.

Identifiers

PMID39833499
PMCPMC11756424

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.