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ARS Home » Northeast Area » University Park, Pennsylvania » Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #390627
Research Project: Sustainable Intensification of Integrated Crop-Pasture-Livestock Systems in Northeastern Landscapes

Location: Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research

Title: Putting flowers on the map: quantifying landscape floral resources for bees

Author
item KAMMERER, MELANIE - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item IVERSON, AARON - Lawrence University
item LI, KEVIN - University Of Michigan
item Goslee, Sarah

Submitted to: US-International Association for Landscape Ecology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/21/2022
Publication Date: 4/13/2022
Citation: Kammerer, M., Iverson, A.L., Li, K., Goslee, S.C. 2022. Putting flowers on the map: quantifying landscape floral resources for bees[abstract]. US-International Association for Landscape Ecology. P.1.

Interpretive Summary: No Interpretive Summary is required for this Abstract Only. JLB

Technical Abstract: Adequate nutrition is critical for reproduction, learning, memory, and resilience of wild-bee communities that provide pollination to crops and wild plants. Although bees frequently collect pollen and nectar from numerous habitat patches, there are surprisingly few studies documenting floral resources at the landscape scale. For the Northeast USA, we addressed this research gap by developing a generalizable, data-driven method to estimate floral resources at the landscape scale. To characterize plant communities in agricultural, developed, and semi-natural habitats in the Northeast, we utilized regional and national datasets including the LANDFIRE program reference database and Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data from the United States Forest Service. Focusing specifically on forests in the Northeast USA, we documented spatial variation in county-level abundance of floral resources and diversity of flowering trees. From 2005-2019, we found relatively little change in the total area of flowers from forest trees in the Northeast, but substantial variation in which species were the most abundant source of flowers. Generally, we highlight the utility of existing monitoring datasets to map flowers for bees and inform decisions about conservation, restoration, and agricultural management.