Influence of Wetland Restoration and Adjacent Watersheds on...
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Influence of Wetland Restoration and Adjacent Watersheds on
Native Pollinator Communities in the Rainwater Basin
Project Proposal
Cynthia Park
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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
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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
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Importance of Pollinators
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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
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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
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Reasons for Decline
• Low biodiversity o Poor diet
• Stress o Frequent moving long
distances
o Sudden changes in
environment
• Parasites
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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
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Potential Habitat
• Highly mobile species
• Can persist in small,
fragmented areas
• Pollinators can benefit
from adjacent areas of
natural habitat
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Acknowledgements • Environmental
Protection Agency
• Nebraska Game and
Parks
• Oklahoma State
University
• Loren Smith
• Angie Begosh
• Dale Daniel
• Lydia Horne
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Questions?