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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Booneville, Arkansas » Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #404579
Research Project: Sustainable Small Farm and Organic Grass and Forage Production Systems for Livestock and Agroforestry

Location: Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center

Title: Sheep grazing influences the abundance, diversity, and community composition of wild bees and other insects in livestock pastures

Author
item ACHARYA, ROSHANI - University Of Arkansas
item LESLIE, TIMOTHY - Long Island University
item Burke, Joan
item NAITHANI, KUSUM - University Of Arkansas
item FITTING, EMILY - University Of Maine
item LOFTIN, KELLY - University Of Arkansas
item JOSHI, NEELENDRA - University Of Arkansas

Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2024
Publication Date: 5/1/2024
Citation: Acharya, R.S., Leslie, T., Burke, J.M., Naithani, K., Fitting, E., Loftin, K., Joshi, N. 2024. Sheep grazing influences the abundance, diversity, and community composition of wild bees and other insects in livestock pastures. Journal of Environmental Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.111839.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.111839

Interpretive Summary: Pollinators contribute to the establishment of perennial native forages, but little is known about the effect of grazing practices on pollinator abundance and diversity in livestock pasture ecosystems. Collaborators from the USDA Agricultural Research Service, University of Arkansas, and Long Island University determined that a diverse array of bees (59 species) and other insects (at least 93 species) were found in the livestock-grazed pastures, but the abundance, diversity, and evenness of bee communities and other insects were greater in non-grazed plots. This enabled scientists to understand that reduction in bee and insect diversity in grazed areas highlight the importance of rotational grazing regimes to allow for sufficient floral resources for pollinators which is important to entomologists, food scientists, environmentalists and ecologists.

Technical Abstract: Pollinators contribute to the establishment of perennial native forages, but little is known about the effect of grazing practices on pollinator abundance and diversity in livestock pasture ecosystems. Grazing reduces floral resources available to bees and other insects, and as a result, may influence their communities. The main objective of this study was to examine the impact of sheep grazing on bees and other non-bee insects in livestock pasture established with seed mixes of native forb/legume/grass and warm season grasses. Each pasture was divided into two halves (in a split-plot design) using an electric fence in which one plot was grazed and the other plot was non-grazed. Blue vane traps and a pair of yellow and blue pan traps were used for sampling bees and other insects. A diverse array of bees (59 species) and other insects (at least 93 species) were found in the livestock pastures. The abundance, diversity, and evenness of bee communities and other insects were greater in non-grazed plots as compared to grazed plots. However, species richness, as measured by rates of species accumulation relative to sampling effort, was not different among treatments. Results show that a diverse community of bees and other insects may be found in livestock pasture systems, but that reduction in bee and insect diversity in grazed areas highlight the importance of strategic grazing and pasture management to support persistence of native forages to allow for sufficient floral resources for pollinators at relevant scales.