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Climate and weather are decisive factors for plant protection. Already 100 years ago, scientists dedicated themselves to this topic in the newsletter of the German Plant Protection Service. The effects of climate change are ambivalent and there will be an overall change in the pest spectrum. Damage caused by insects, pathogens and heat-tolerant weeds will tend to be favoured. The risk of invasive species becoming established increases. Similarly, the effectiveness of biological crop protection may be compromised and new methods may be required. In the case of chemical pesticides, the spectrum of active substances will shift and the demands on application technology and timing will increase. Heavy rains can increase the risk of pesticide run-off into the environment. There may be increased infestation with storage pests already in the field in Central Europe too, and the quality and storage stability of harvested products may decline. Overall, the importance of preventive plant protection measures will increase. The consequences of climate change increase operational and economic risks and pose considerable challenges for all levels of stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bees are essential pollinators and their protection is relevant to secure biodiversity and agricultural production. MonViA-project members and partners collaborate in monitoring projects to develop effective policies to support biodiversity in Germany. In the current case-study, the impact of climate on honey bee population performance was assessed. We modeled year-to-year Central-European honey yield changes and found + 1°C temperature change to stimulate annual honey yield by + 0.9 kg per colony, and + 100 mm precipitation to reduce honey yields -- 0.4 kg. In regard to different climate change scenarios for Germany, our modelling suggests a potential + 0.4 to + 0.8 kg honey yield gain per colony in 2050, as compared to 2020. We conclude that the German honey bee population may benefit by rising temperatures. We discuss how bee performance is linked to weather and how our analysis would be strengthened by including more data, with a higher temporal and spatial resolution, i.e., intra-annually and -nationally. Pollinator trend monitoring should be extended with analyses that include e.g., extreme weather conditions, disease loads, availability of floral resource, beekeeping practice, land use and landscape structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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