Bee diversity across taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional dimensions jointly explains global crop pollination

Understanding the link between biodiversity, ecosystem function, and ecosystem services is critical to human well‐being. While the positive relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services is well established, the shape of this relationship (e.g., linear, saturating, or threshold‐based) and how it varies with different biodiversity metrics remain poorly understood. To address this gap, we examine the impact of multiple dimensions of bee diversity (taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional) on crop production, a vital ecosystem service. We combine field data from 73 pollination experiments in 30 crops in 25 countries with information on bee functional traits and phylogenetics. Our results indicate that crop yield is best explained by aspects of all three dimensions of biodiversity: Shannon diversity, Faith’s phylogenetic diversity index, and functional richness all have significant nonlinear relationships with crop yield. These patterns persist across various crops, climates, and degrees of pollinator dependence. In particular, phylogenetic and functional diversity remain significant predictors of crop yield, even when we consider taxonomic diversity, demonstrating the complex role of biodiversity in agroecosystems. Our study advances our understanding of the biodiversity‐ecosystem function nexus and highlights the importance of protecting multiple dimensions of biodiversity to sustain essential ecosystem services such as crop pollination. Incorporating these insights into landscape planning could improve the conservation of ecosystem services and ensure the well‐being of both human populations and the ecosystems on which they depend.