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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Southeast Watershed Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #348655
Research Project: Ecology and Biologically-based Management Systems for Insect Pests in Agricultural Landscapes in the Southeastern Region

Location: Southeast Watershed Research

Title: Habitat management utilizing native wildflowers to foster pollinator abundance

Author
item XAVIER, SHEREEN - University Of Georgia
item Olson, Dawn
item Coffin, Alisa
item SCHMIDT, JASON - University Of Georgia

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/15/2018
Publication Date: 2/17/2018
Citation: Xavier, S., Olson, D.M., Coffin, A.W., Schmidt, J. 2018. Habitat management utilizing native wildflowers to foster pollinator abundance. Meeting Abstract. [abstract]. Georgia Organics Conference.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Pollinators provide essential ecosystem services to agricultural crops, however their population has come under threat globally as a result of intensive agricultural practices and landscape simplification. Designing diverse heterogeneous agricultural landscapes to provide optimal resources serves as a feasible solution for pollinators to persist, and also to recover their services in the landscape. In our study, we aim to assess the effects of local-scale habitat enrichment on the population of pollinators by incorporating small areas of wildflowers in agricultural landscapes. We examined the potential of different commercial wildflower mixes, native to the southeastern United States, to support diverse arthropods including pollinators within contrasting landscape and management contexts during the summers of 2016 and 2017. Flower mixes were sown in 20 plots in Tifton, Georgia, in four landscape treatments: irrigated vs. non-irrigated, combined with adjacent to agricultural fields vs. woodland. The arthropod communities were sampled visually and with a suction sampler. The floral resources were simultaneously quantified by carrying out quadrat sampling as well as classification of UAV imagery. The visual samples indicated a positive relationship between the density of floral resources and pollinator visits. The pollinator population was detected to be similar and much higher in all the three mixes than in the control, whereas, variable response was observed for the different landscape and management contexts. These preliminary results demonstrate the importance and the ability of these small areas of native floral resources towards rebuilding the pollinator community assemblages and conserving their services in agricultural landscapes.