Wild bee conservation using large-scale pollinator wildflower plantings within bioenergy cropping systems

As the world’s traditional sources of energy become increasingly more economically, environmentally, and socially costly, industries are looking to improve alternative fuels options.  One of these alternative fuel options is cellulosic biomass feedstocks from annually harvested crops, such as switchgrass.  Recent research has examined the economic and environmental benefits of perennial bioenergy cropping systems, however, few studies have looked at the wider ecological impacts of converting land to such uses.  Landscape change can have dramatic effects on the local plant and insect communities.   As such, private industry, governments, and conservation organizations have advocated for wildlife habitat establishment in conjunction with biofuel production.  Through the implementation of pollinator feeding and nesting habitat around newly established switchgrass plots, we will be able to measure the effect of this habitat management strategy on wild pollinator populations.  We will assess the diversity, abundance, and richness of pollinator populations in pollinator conservation strips of “high” and “low” diversity and adjacent to switchgrass production fields (Objective). Additionally, we will examine plant community characteristics of diversity and richness in these conservation plantings.  By measuring the diversity and abundance of the plant and insect communities, we can make conclusions about the effect of this management strategy on the wild pollinator community and surrounding landscape.  This project will help stakeholders better understand how cellulosic energy cropping systems can contribute to multifunctional landscapes by including native pollinator habitat.  Additionally, this project will be an educational opportunity for policy makers, industry leaders, land managers and farmers to see the mutually beneficial gains of combining energy production and conservation.