BACKGROUND: Proper management of bee pastures is considered an important activity for diversity of pollinators and
conservation of the population size. In the present study, the floral composition and diversity, flowering spectrum and
availability of food resources in natural and man-made habitats in four rural municipalities in Lublin Upland, SE Poland were
evaluated. The connection between pollinator-friendly biotopes was also determined and some suggestions are made on
creation/supplementation of bee pastures adapted to the arable land structure in eastern Poland (mean acreage 7.65 ha).
RESULTS: Forage species richness (S) differed among vegetation types: the highest S value was found in field margins, while
mixed forests represented the lowest species richness (mean ± standard deviation = 37.8 ± 9.5 vs 16.5 ± 2.3). In all habitats, the
most abundant flowering was recorded in May. Then the blooming abundance decreased until a complete decline at the end
of summer. The mean distance between pollinator-friendly biotopes is 2.4 ± 1.53 km, which is out of the flying range/foraging
distance of most pollinators.
CONCLUSION: Shortages of nectar and pollen resources in the agricultural landscape of SE Poland are evident. Therefore it is
assumed that the landscape structure requires support in terms of food niches for pollinators and creation/supplementation of
bee pastures is necessary, e.g. six to nine patches of 0.025–0.3 ha each within an area of 100 ha