Wild bee diversity and land use: A case study in a mountain agroecosystem of the Serranía de Ronda, southern Spain

Abstract Mediterranean agroecosystems in the mountainous regions of the southern Iberian Peninsula have experienced major land use changes in recent decades, including intensification and abandonment. These changes have resulted in significant declines in the abundance and diversity of insect pollinators. This study assesses the effects of three land use types (family orchards, chestnut forests and Mediterranean forests) on wild bee communities in the Serranía de Ronda, southern Spain. Generalized linear mixed‐effects models were used to evaluate how land use and landscape heterogeneity influence wild bee taxonomic and functional diversity. Results show that orchards support higher wild bee richness and functional diversity than chestnut or Mediterranean forests, and that landscape heterogeneity positively affects functional evenness and dispersion. These findings underscore the importance of maintaining diverse land uses and landscape heterogeneity to conserve wild bee communities in Mediterranean agroecosystems.