| dc.contributor.author | Zralka, Kimberly | |
| dc.description.abstract | Declines in pollinator populations are a concern globally, and more information is needed to help conserve them. We studied how post-Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands could be managed as pollinator habitat. Our study occurred in Hettinger, ND from 2017-2021. We assessed the effects of patch-burn grazing on butterflies and floral resources. We also assessed the success of over-seeding to enhance flowering resources utilized by butterflies. We found that different butterfly species exhibited site selection based on time-since-fire, indicating that patch-burn grazing may be an effective grassland management method for creating diversity. We also found that grazer species (sheep or cattle) was influential on butterfly and vegetative communities. Our over-seeding efforts yielded low seedling establishment, but models indicated that drought and herbivory potentially influenced this. Overall, our results suggest that post-CRP working landscapes may benefit pollinators, but there are many challenges to create more forb-rich environments in these low diversity landscapes. | en_US |
| dc.publisher | North Dakota State University | en_US |
| dc.rights | NDSU policy 190.6.2 | en_US |
| dc.title | Creating Better Working Landscapes in Post-Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Lands: Promoting Butterfly and Floral Resource Populations Through Patch-Burn Grazing (PBG) and Over-Seeding | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-12-20T17:43:19Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-12-20T17:43:19Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2022 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10365/33396 | |
| dc.rights.uri | https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf | en_US |
| ndsu.degree | Master of Science (MS) | en_US |
| ndsu.college | Agriculture, Food Systems and Natural Resources | en_US |
| ndsu.department | Range Science | en_US |
| ndsu.program | Range Science | en_US |
| ndsu.advisor | Hovick, Torre | |
