Investigating the Influence of Grazing Management Practices on Pollinators to Inform Biodiversity Conservation in Working Grassland-Landscapes

Abstract

Declines in pollinator populations worldwide are threatening pollination that supports native plant communities and global food production. Mitigating these impacts will require conservation actions that promote biodiversity and remain practical for private producers. We investigated the influence of grazing management practices on butterfly abundance and community composition in the Sheyenne National Grasslands in the summers of 2015 and 2016. We found that management did not influence floral community composition and thus butterfly communities remained similar between practices. Individual species’ abundance varied by management, with no practice optimal for all species. We also examined relationships between floral resources and native bee-plant interactions. We found floristic resource availability influenced bees’ selectivity across the growing season. Furthermore, native bee abundance was driven by availability of native flowers, whereas honey bees were attracted to dense patches of exotic resources. Overall, management which promotes spatial-temporal resource distribution can bolster ecosystem stability and promote pollinator diversity.