Microhabitats created by log landings support abundant flowers and insect pollinators within regenerating mixed-oak stands in the Central Appalachian Mountains

Monica R. Lee; Darin J. McNeil; Codey L. Mathis; Christina M. Grozinger; Jeffery L. Larkin

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119472

Microhabitats created by log landings support abundant flowers and insect pollinators within regenerating mixed-oak stands in the Central Appalachian Mountains

Monica R. Lee
, Darin J. McNeil
, Codey L. Mathis
, Christina M. Grozinger
, Jeffery L. Larkin

Forestry and Natural Resources

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Despite their role as keystone organisms, insect pollinator populations have declined across many regions. Although pollinator populations face a multitude of threats, among the most important is habitat loss and degradation. In eastern North America, forested landscapes are thought to serve as strongholds for robust pollinator populations, however, even these high-quality landscapes are increasingly unsuitable for pollinators due to suppression of natural disturbances, which results in mature forests with few floral resources. To enhance landscapes for forest-dependent wildlife, land managers increasingly recognize the value of silviculture for promoting forest regeneration to support early-successional species. Although timber harvest has proven to be an invaluable tool for enhancing forest pollinator habitat, the role of microhabitat components like log landings remains unassessed. Log landings (open areas where harvested logs are loaded for transport) may serve as an important microhabitat component of early seral stands because they are expected to support open conditions and high floral abundance. We sampled 20 log landing/timber harvest interior pairs for bees, butterflies, floral resources, and structural vegetation in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania from June-September 2019. Hierarchical distance models revealed that log landings supported twice as many bees (897 vs 351 bees/ha) and five times as many butterflies (433 vs 88 butterflies/ha) as timber harvest interiors. Likewise, log landings supported about 14 times as many floral resources than timber harvest interiors (109,572 vs 8,431/transect). Among log landings, those with the most floral resources also supported the most bees and butterflies. Collectively, our results support the hypothesis that log landings serve as concentrated resource hubs for bees and butterflies. Future work exploring the role of different plant species (e.g., native vs exotic) in habitat quality for early-successional pollinators would prove useful.

Original language	English
Article number	119472
Journal	Forest Ecology and Management
Volume	497
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119472
State	Published - Oct 1 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.

Funding

This research was funded through USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project ( #68-7482-12-502 ), Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s School of Graduate Studies and Research , and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Department of Biology . We thank the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s and DCNR Bureau of Forestry for allowing access to study sites and assisting with project logistics (PGC Permit 36850; DCNR Permit: SFRA-0803). We also thank Tim Dugan and the staff of the Delaware State Forest for access to their Lily Pond cabin facilities. We are also grateful to numerous private landowners who allowed access to their properties for this study. We would also like to acknowledge the field technicians, Katie Gray and Sara Trio for their assistance on this research. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments on an earlier version of this manuscript, all of which strengthened our work substantially. This research was funded through USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service's Conservation Effects Assessment Project (#68-7482-12-502), Indiana University of Pennsylvania's School of Graduate Studies and Research, and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Department of Biology. We thank the Pennsylvania Game Commission's and DCNR Bureau of Forestry for allowing access to study sites and assisting with project logistics (PGC Permit 36850; DCNR Permit: SFRA-0803). We also thank Tim Dugan and the staff of the Delaware State Forest for access to their Lily Pond cabin facilities. We are also grateful to numerous private landowners who allowed access to their properties for this study. We would also like to acknowledge the field technicians, Katie Gray and Sara Trio for their assistance on this research. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments on an earlier version of this manuscript, all of which strengthened our work substantially.

Funders	Funder number
Indiana University of Pennsylvania Department of Biology
Indiana University of Pennsylvania's School of Graduate Studies and Research
Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s School of Graduate Studies and Research
USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service's Conservation Effects Assessment Project
USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project	68-7482-12-502
Pennsylvania Game Commission	36850, SFRA-0803

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 15 Life on Land

Keywords

Flower
Forests
Log landings
Open canopy
Pennsylvania
Pollinator
Regenerating forests

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Forestry
Nature and Landscape Conservation
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Access to Document

10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119472

Cite this

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title = "Microhabitats created by log landings support abundant flowers and insect pollinators within regenerating mixed-oak stands in the Central Appalachian Mountains",

abstract = "Despite their role as keystone organisms, insect pollinator populations have declined across many regions. Although pollinator populations face a multitude of threats, among the most important is habitat loss and degradation. In eastern North America, forested landscapes are thought to serve as strongholds for robust pollinator populations, however, even these high-quality landscapes are increasingly unsuitable for pollinators due to suppression of natural disturbances, which results in mature forests with few floral resources. To enhance landscapes for forest-dependent wildlife, land managers increasingly recognize the value of silviculture for promoting forest regeneration to support early-successional species. Although timber harvest has proven to be an invaluable tool for enhancing forest pollinator habitat, the role of microhabitat components like log landings remains unassessed. Log landings (open areas where harvested logs are loaded for transport) may serve as an important microhabitat component of early seral stands because they are expected to support open conditions and high floral abundance. We sampled 20 log landing/timber harvest interior pairs for bees, butterflies, floral resources, and structural vegetation in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania from June-September 2019. Hierarchical distance models revealed that log landings supported twice as many bees (897 vs 351 bees/ha) and five times as many butterflies (433 vs 88 butterflies/ha) as timber harvest interiors. Likewise, log landings supported about 14 times as many floral resources than timber harvest interiors (109,572 vs 8,431/transect). Among log landings, those with the most floral resources also supported the most bees and butterflies. Collectively, our results support the hypothesis that log landings serve as concentrated resource hubs for bees and butterflies. Future work exploring the role of different plant species (e.g., native vs exotic) in habitat quality for early-successional pollinators would prove useful.",

keywords = "Flower, Forests, Log landings, Open canopy, Pennsylvania, Pollinator, Regenerating forests",

author = "Lee, \{Monica R.\} and McNeil, \{Darin J.\} and Mathis, \{Codey L.\} and Grozinger, \{Christina M.\} and Larkin, \{Jeffery L.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Elsevier B.V.",

year = "2021",

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doi = "10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119472",

language = "English",

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T1 - Microhabitats created by log landings support abundant flowers and insect pollinators within regenerating mixed-oak stands in the Central Appalachian Mountains

AU - Lee, Monica R.

AU - McNeil, Darin J.

AU - Mathis, Codey L.

AU - Grozinger, Christina M.

AU - Larkin, Jeffery L.

PY - 2021/10/1

Y1 - 2021/10/1

N2 - Despite their role as keystone organisms, insect pollinator populations have declined across many regions. Although pollinator populations face a multitude of threats, among the most important is habitat loss and degradation. In eastern North America, forested landscapes are thought to serve as strongholds for robust pollinator populations, however, even these high-quality landscapes are increasingly unsuitable for pollinators due to suppression of natural disturbances, which results in mature forests with few floral resources. To enhance landscapes for forest-dependent wildlife, land managers increasingly recognize the value of silviculture for promoting forest regeneration to support early-successional species. Although timber harvest has proven to be an invaluable tool for enhancing forest pollinator habitat, the role of microhabitat components like log landings remains unassessed. Log landings (open areas where harvested logs are loaded for transport) may serve as an important microhabitat component of early seral stands because they are expected to support open conditions and high floral abundance. We sampled 20 log landing/timber harvest interior pairs for bees, butterflies, floral resources, and structural vegetation in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania from June-September 2019. Hierarchical distance models revealed that log landings supported twice as many bees (897 vs 351 bees/ha) and five times as many butterflies (433 vs 88 butterflies/ha) as timber harvest interiors. Likewise, log landings supported about 14 times as many floral resources than timber harvest interiors (109,572 vs 8,431/transect). Among log landings, those with the most floral resources also supported the most bees and butterflies. Collectively, our results support the hypothesis that log landings serve as concentrated resource hubs for bees and butterflies. Future work exploring the role of different plant species (e.g., native vs exotic) in habitat quality for early-successional pollinators would prove useful.

AB - Despite their role as keystone organisms, insect pollinator populations have declined across many regions. Although pollinator populations face a multitude of threats, among the most important is habitat loss and degradation. In eastern North America, forested landscapes are thought to serve as strongholds for robust pollinator populations, however, even these high-quality landscapes are increasingly unsuitable for pollinators due to suppression of natural disturbances, which results in mature forests with few floral resources. To enhance landscapes for forest-dependent wildlife, land managers increasingly recognize the value of silviculture for promoting forest regeneration to support early-successional species. Although timber harvest has proven to be an invaluable tool for enhancing forest pollinator habitat, the role of microhabitat components like log landings remains unassessed. Log landings (open areas where harvested logs are loaded for transport) may serve as an important microhabitat component of early seral stands because they are expected to support open conditions and high floral abundance. We sampled 20 log landing/timber harvest interior pairs for bees, butterflies, floral resources, and structural vegetation in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania from June-September 2019. Hierarchical distance models revealed that log landings supported twice as many bees (897 vs 351 bees/ha) and five times as many butterflies (433 vs 88 butterflies/ha) as timber harvest interiors. Likewise, log landings supported about 14 times as many floral resources than timber harvest interiors (109,572 vs 8,431/transect). Among log landings, those with the most floral resources also supported the most bees and butterflies. Collectively, our results support the hypothesis that log landings serve as concentrated resource hubs for bees and butterflies. Future work exploring the role of different plant species (e.g., native vs exotic) in habitat quality for early-successional pollinators would prove useful.

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KW - Log landings

KW - Open canopy

KW - Pennsylvania

KW - Pollinator

KW - Regenerating forests

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DO - 10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119472

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85110095877

SN - 0378-1127

VL - 497

JO - Forest Ecology and Management

JF - Forest Ecology and Management

M1 - 119472

ER -

Microhabitats created by log landings support abundant flowers and insect pollinators within regenerating mixed-oak stands in the Central Appalachian Mountains

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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Cite this