2020/03/05 by Coline Kouchner, Rodolphe Sabatier, Kouchner, Coline +11
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Adaptive capacity #Apiculture Keywords Adaptive capacity #Bee Products Chemical Analysis #Beekeeping #Capacité d'adaptation #Colony management #Gestion du renouvellement #Insect and Pesticide Research #Mots-clefs Capacité d'adaptation #Plant and animal studies #Théorie de la viabilité #Viability theory
paper · doi:10.15454/k4kv-k303
openalex publication_date 2020/03/05 · openalex created_date 2022/07/31 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
As in most farming systems, the adaptive capacity is a key factor for bee farming operations to cope with an uncertain environment. This adaptive capacity is based on several components of the farm: the commercial choices, the work organisation or the colony management practices. This study focuses on the flexibility of the management practices: can this flexibility be easily reconciled with other sustainability goals of the beekeeper, as work organisation issues or economic expectations? To address this question, we developed a model of the main management practices and dynamics of a colony stock under the mathematical framework of viability theory. An economic goal and a work time constraint are considered along with an increasing flexibility goal. Different technical choices in the management practices are simulated. The economic goal and work time constraint were not always compatible with the flexibility goal, partly depending on the technical choices. Flexibility thus appears as an additional constraint that can be difficult for the beekeeper to comply with.