Date of Award

Spring 5-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Environmental Science

First Advisor

Taygan Kohlman

Abstract

Land use and cover are increasingly changing due to climate change and anthropogenic activities with many of these changes negatively impacting biodiversity. However, ecosystem restoration may help reverse these patterns. Northern Louisiana was historically dominated by shortleaf pine-oak-hickory forests but has been converted largely to loblolly pine forests with little-to-no herbaceous ground cover. The objective of this study is to determine how different practices on a shortleaf pine-oak-hickory forest restoration site affect pollinator diversity. I sampled pollinators from locations within areas under three different management regimes: 1) prescribed burning with active herbicide treatments for non-desirable plant species, 2) burning only, and 3) no active management. I predicted prescribed burning would increase pollinator species diversity and abundance and increases will be highest when combined with herbicide treatments. For data collection I set out pan traps containing ~200 ml of water with soap. Pan traps were placed 5m apart in an “X” shape and left out for 24 hrs. Three plots in each of the three management regimes (n=9) were sampled once a month for 6 months. I found greater diversity, evenness, and richness where burning occurred compared to no management. Specifically, Burn+Herbicide sites had ~1.5 times higher diversity than no management sites, and Burn+Herbicide sites were similar to burn only sites. These results are useful for future restoration efforts and management practices of shortleaf pine-hardwood forests because they show prescribed fire alone has positive impacts on pollinator diversity.

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