2022 - Four new studies and two reviews relevant to #rxfire and #pollinators in tallgrass prairies
Friday, December 16, 2022 at 1:45PM "2022 - Four new studies and two reviews relevant to prescribed fire and pollinators in tallgrass prairies"
Looking back, 2022 was a productive year for new peer-reviewed science on fire and pollinator management.
We shared new science from Manitoba, which assessed factors affecting the endangered Poweshiek skipperling. This study included time since the last burn as a factor, and the species was found in highest abundance at sites burned 4-6 years earlier. "Poweshiek skipperling is at high risk of imminent extirpation, and we recommend that the management regimes be adjusted to plan for a consistent supply of habitat conditions and plant species composition exemplified by our intermediate burn sites" (Dupont-Morozoff, et al).
There is new science from southern Wisconsin that focused on bumble bees. A restrospective study from Minnesota concluded that, in general, bees and butterflies respond differently to burn history, and the authors stressed, "These findings highlight the challenges of designing management plans tailored to wide groups of pollinators and the potential pitfalls of using one group of pollinators as indicators for another" (Leone, et al).
The majority of new pollinator-focused papers we highlighted in 2022 were from grasslands, but we did include the review "Fire and Insect Interactions in North American Forests." The review included 30 publications focused on pollinators, including research conducted across North America as well as in our region's tallgrass prairies, oak savannas, and oak barrens (e.g. research on the endangered Karner blue butterfly). The authors addressed six variables that affect pollinators (and other species) - "...[t]hese include fire severity (low vs. high), fire interval (short vs. long), fire size (small vs. large), vertical spread (ground vs. crown), horizontal spread (patchy vs. continuous), and seasonality (summer/autumn vs. winter/spring)."
Is there new science on fire and pollinators relevant to our region that we missed? Please let us know via @strictlyfiresci on Twitter or email - tpos.firescience (at) gmail.com.
Six pollinator-focused articles from 2022
From Wisconsin
“Within-Year Effects of Prescribed Fire on Bumble Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and Floral Resources”
This open access article was published in January 2022 in the Journal of Insect Science.
Access the article through the permanent web address (DOI) (https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieab107)
From Oklahoma (Flint Hills tallgrass prairie)
“The Impact of Fire on Nectar Quality and Quantity for Insect Pollinator Communities”
This article was published April 2022 in the journal The American Midland Naturalist.
Access the article through the permanent web address (DOI) (https://doi.org/10.1674/0003-0031-187.2.268)
From Manitoba (tallgrass prairie)
“An Assessment of Prairie Management Practices for Maintaining Habitat Quality for the Endangered Poweshiek Skipperling Butterfly in Canada”
This article was published in August 2022 in the journal The American Midland Naturalist. Access the article via the permanent web address (DOI) (https://doi.org/10.1674/0003-0031-188.1.74)
Regional review
"The Birds and the Bees: Producing Beef and Conservation Benefits on Working Grasslands"
This open access article was published Aug. 17, 2022, in the journal Agronomy. Access the article through the permanent web address (DOI) (https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12081934)
Review
"Fire and Insect Interactions in North American Forests"
This review article was published Aug. 19, 2022, in Current Forestry Reports. Access the article for free from the USDA Forest Service’s Treesearch database (https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/64856)
From Minnesota (tallgrass prairie)
“Divergent responses of butterflies and bees to burning and grazing management in tallgrass prairies”
This open access article was published Dec. 4, 2022, in the journal Ecology and Evolution. Access the article via the permanent web address (DOI) (https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9532)