1. business and industrial
2. agriculture and forestry
3. crops and seed

Influence of Wetland Restoration
and Adjacent Watersheds on
Native Pollinator Communities in
the Rainwater Basin
Project Proposal
Cynthia Park
Overview
• Introduction
o Importance of pollinators
o Concern about pollinator decline
o Wetlands and prairie as pollinator habitat
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Playa wetlands in the Rainwater Basin
Effects of land use on habitat
Objectives and methods
Implications of study
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
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Food
Fiber
Drugs
Fuel
Recreation
Aesthetics
Importance of Pollinators
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
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
Reasons for Decline
• Low biodiversity
o Poor diet
• Stress
o Frequent moving long
distances
o Sudden changes in
environment
• Parasites
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
Potential Habitat
• Highly mobile species
• Can persist in small,
fragmented areas
• Pollinators can benefit
from adjacent areas of
natural habitat
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
Playa Wetlands
• Crucial ecosystems for the Great Plains
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Recharges the aquifer
Improves water quality
Carbon sequestration
Source of biodiversity
• Each playa exists in its own watershed
• Only receive water from precipitation and
catchment runoff
• Highly influenced by upland usage
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
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o > 75% are WPAs and WMAs
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
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
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?
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
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
Methods
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Acknowledgements
• Environmental
Protection Agency
• Nebraska Game and
Parks
• Oklahoma State
University
• Loren Smith
• Angie Begosh
• Dale Daniel
• Lydia Horne
Questions?