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Mowing Regime Impact on Grassland Habitat for Pollinators at Fort Davis National Historic Site
By: Eliana Goodwin, Dr. Maureen Frank, Dr. Antonio Cantu, and Dr. Christopher Ritzi
Nearly 90% of all wild flowering plant species are reliant on biological pollination. Animals, mostly insects, carry the pollen from one flower to another.
Plant-pollinator mutualisms drive plant diversity and create resilient habitat for wildlife. A diversity of plants on the landscape reduces ecosystem vulnerability during periods of environmental stress, especially relevant in drought-prone environments. Pollinator conservation is crucial to sustaining thriving ecological systems in arid regions.
Arid grasslands, such as in the Chihuahuan Desert, are a hotspot for many pollinators.
North America has lost 60% of its grassland biome; in Texas, only 18% of historic native grasslands remain. This decline affects native pollinators associated with grassland habitats. In addition to habitat degradation and destruction, insects are threatened by agricultural and residential pesticide use, pathogen spread, competition with introduced species, and changing climatic conditions.
As human activity continues to dominate landscapes, semi-natural grasslands serve as increasingly important refugia for pollinating insects, acting as population sources for degraded or cultivated areas. The intentional and science-based management of these areas can support or reestablish diverse pollinator communities.
Fort Davis National Historic Site is a small-scale, semi-natural grassland managed with mowing. While high-frequency mowing may detrimentally impact plant biomass and flower production, intermediate mowing may be beneficial for pollinators by stimulating plant growth. Managers implemented four treatments to study how these mowing practices may impact insect pollinators and the plants on which they rely for food and shelter.
By assessing and describing the existing plant and pollinator communities present in each treatment area, we can quantify the relationships among mowing treatment, vegetation cover and composition, and pollinator diversity and abundance. The results of this study will inform future management plans that support habitat for native pollinators.