Influence of Wetland Restoration and Adjacent Watersheds on

Native Pollinator Communities in the Rainwater Basin

Project Proposal

Cynthia Park

Overview • Introduction

o Importance of pollinators

o Concern about pollinator decline

o Wetlands and prairie as pollinator habitat

• Playa wetlands in the Rainwater Basin

• Effects of land use on habitat

• Objectives and methods

• Implications of study

Importance of Pollinators • 75 – 90% of our planet’s angiosperms rely on

pollinators to assist with reproduction o 25,000-30,000 species of bees alone are obligate flower visitors

• Contribute to the biodiversity of the planet

• Humans rely on many pollinated plant species o Food

o Fiber

o Drugs

o Fuel

o Recreation

o Aesthetics

Importance of Pollinators

Importance of Pollinators • Economic value

• Many crops require

direct pollinator

services

• Indirect pollinator

services such as forage

material for livestock

• Global value estimated

at $122-200 billion/year o $15.12 billion in the United

States alone

Concern about Pollinators • The need is only increasing

• Pollinator populations cannot keep up

• Massive loss of domestic honeybee populations o 59% in one year alone

• Decreasing trends of wild pollinator populations o Serious need for documentation of species declines

Reasons for Decline

• Low biodiversity o Poor diet

• Stress o Frequent moving long

distances

o Sudden changes in

environment

• Parasites

Reasons for Decline

• Loss of complex floral

communities and

nesting habitat

• Agricultural cultivation

• Potentially harmful

pesticides o Can directly weaken or kill

o Indirectly harms by removing

food and habitat

Potential Habitat

• Highly mobile species

• Can persist in small,

fragmented areas

• Pollinators can benefit

from adjacent areas of

natural habitat

Rainwater Basin Habitat • Great Plains grasslands

are one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world

• Landscape has completely been altered o Soy and corn production

• Playa wetlands and prairie uplands may be some of the only areas with necessary resources

Playa Wetlands • Crucial ecosystems for the Great Plains

o Recharges the aquifer

o Improves water quality

o Carbon sequestration

o Source of biodiversity

• Each playa exists in its own watershed

• Only receive water from precipitation and

catchment runoff

• Highly influenced by upland usage

Wetland Reserve Program • <10% of playa wetlands remain

• Crucial in protecting natural habitat

• Takes land out of crop production

• Enhances, restores, or protects wetlands and

immediate watersheds

• RWB focuses on habitat and food resources for

migrating waterfowl

• Secured > 17,265 ha of playas o > 75% are WPAs and WMAs

Effects of Land Use • Hydroperiods are effected by watershed size/slope,

vegetation, and soil

• Row crop agriculture has led to more sediment

accumulation than can be naturally removed o Exposed sediment

o Reduces floral biodiversity in catchment

o Fewer pollinator resources leads to less pollination and an even greater

decline in some plant species

Effects of Land Use • Uplands of undisturbed grassland can provide the

necessary habitat requirements o More beneficial forbs

o Nesting habitat

• Creates a buffer strip around the wetland o Reduces erosion

o Increases soil permeability

o Less runoff

Comparison with WRP sites • Engineered restoration

o Sediment removal for seed bank

o Planted buffer strip

• Similar species richness, but different plant guilds o More mud-flat annuals

o Less wet prairie and deep emergent perennials

• Doesn’t seem to be moving towards reference

conditions o Inability for perennials to disperse as easily

o Current annual plant community preventing establishment

o Maybe restored sites haven’t had enough time

• How does this affect the pollinator community?

Objective 1 • Examine the effects of watershed land use and

wetland presence on pollinator populations across

three different land use types o Cropland

o WRP sites

o Reference state

Hypothesis • Pollinator diversity is going to depend on floral

communities

• Agricultural sites will

contain the least amount

of pollinator biodiversity

• Reference state and WRP

sites will contain the

greatest abundance and

biodiversity o Different pollinator communities

Methods • 27 sites across 3 land uses

• Sample 28 times over 2 years

• Bi-monthly from April - October

• Each site will contain 3 wetland and 3 upland

transects o 25 m long by 0.5 m wide

Methods • Blue vane traps

o Set half way down each transect

o Set out in the morning (0900-1100) for 24 hour exposure

o Set at the height of the vegetation with wooden stakes and galvanized

wire

o Place lid on trap to contain insects

Methods • Sweep netting

o Walk the transect, randomly sweeping back and forth (0.5 m)

o 30.5 cm hoop aerial insect net

o All insects were placed in a kill jar, then into a single collection bag

• Selective sweeping o Adjacent transects placed 10 m next to sweep net transects (25 m long

by 2 m wide)

o Collect individual pollinators on individual plants

o 6 minutes for each transect

o Pollinators collected are placed in individual vials with each plant species

Objective 2 • Compare seasonal changes in the floral community

and pollinator populations in playas and their

uplands among native grassland, WRP and

cropland

• Track seasonal shifts in pollinator important plants

throughout the season

Methods • Step point intercept method

o Walk the general sweep netting transect and identify plants found

touching the tip of my right boot at each step

• Twice a season o Mid-June and mid-August

• Observe water level differences

• Herbarium presses were used to collect unknown

species o Identified using The Flora of Nebraska or with the help of Nebraska Game

and Parks employees

Objective 3 • Integrate information with past and on-going

research on major ecosystem services provided by

depressional wetlands in Great Plains o Comprehensive understanding of playas

• Integrate Land Model with USGS o Forecast change in ecosystem services

• Collaborated protocols with other studies o North Dakota and Texas

Implications • Determine if RWB wetlands and surrounding uplands

are providing pollinator habitat

• Provide decision makers information to direct

conservation and restoration efforts o Encompass all ecosystem services

• Develop a better understanding of pollinator

communities and habitat needs

Acknowledgements • Environmental

Protection Agency

• Nebraska Game and

Parks

• Oklahoma State

University

• Loren Smith

• Angie Begosh

• Dale Daniel

• Lydia Horne

Questions?