Can Restoration Management Improve Habitat for Insect Pollinators in Ponderosa Pine Forests of the American Southwest?

Abstract

In addition to their critical role in food crop production, pollinators keep natural plant communities healthy by assisting with plant reproduction. Currently, forest conditions in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests of the Intermountain West appear to be unfavorable for most insect pollinators. In an effort to reduce fire hazards and regain forest health in these forested landscapes, overstory thinning and prescribed burning are increasingly being applied. These treatments also have the potential to improve habitat for pollinating taxa. In this article, I focus on the potential effects of forest thinning, prescribed burning, and the accompanying incidental introduction of non-native species, as well as the potential impacts of herbivory by wild and domestic ungulates, on plant-pollinator interactions at sites undergoing restoration treatments. Lastly, I make management recommendations regarding how to mindfully conduct forest restoration for the benefit of insect pollinator assemblages despite the current lack of data.