@article{3e88f746cfb24593944c8955e5c1af82,
title = "Increasing the conservation value of powerline corridors for wild bees through vegetation management: an experimental approach",
abstract = "Mounting evidence suggests declines in the abundance and diversity of wild bees. Increasing habitat that provides forage and nesting sites could boost struggling populations, particularly in urban, suburban and agricultural landscapes. The millions of acres beneath aerial electric transmission lines, sometimes referred to as easements or rights-of-way, must be kept free of tall-growing vegetation and hence have the potential to provide suitable habitat for many native species. Prior work has demonstrated that bee communities in easements managed using alternatives to episodic mowing were more diverse than in nearby open areas, however true control sites within the easements were unavailable. In order to compare vegetation management protocols, we conducted a two-year study which enabled us to directly compare transmission line easements in three locations currently undergoing Integrated Vegetation Management—a dynamic form of management involving spot removal and herbicide treatment of unwanted species (treatment) with nearby sites undergoing standard management protocols of yearly or biyearly mowing (control). Results show that treatment sites had significantly higher abundance and species richness than controls. Seasonal differences were pronounced, with the spring fauna most affected by differences in vegetation management. In addition, the older treatment sites house more social bees, more parasitic species and a more even distribution of bees across nesting guilds. Finally, we established that treatment sites had distinct bee communities, further increasing their value as sources for native bee populations in the landscape. Overall, the data clearly show the value of implementing alternative active vegetation management in the land under powerlines to achieve an increase in the abundance and diversity of wild bees.",
keywords = "Diversity, Easement, Integrated vegetation management, Native bees, Nesting substrate, Pollinators, Powerline",
author = "Russell, {K. N.} and Russell, {G. J.} and Kaplan, {K. L.} and S. Mian and S. Kornbluth",
note = "Funding Information: Acknowledgements We would like to thank Sam Droege and his team of interns and associates at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center for help in collecting, processing and identifying bees. Thanks also to Rick Johnstone from IVM Partners for coordinating with us and pushing this work forwards. Thanks to William Rees from Baltimore Gas and Electric for help identifying control sites and allowing us access to BGE transmission line sites. We also appreciate the support from Mike Silva of Enertech, who championed this project from the beginning. Funding for this research was provided by the Electric Power Research Institute (http://www.epri.com/), EPRI Project ID 1-070744-01-01 and the New Jersey Institute of Technology Undergraduate Summer Research Program. Study design, data collection and analysis, and preparation of the manuscript were all exclusively conducted by the study authors with no input from the funding agency. Permission for sampling on the Columbia (Howard County) and Davidsonville (Ann Arundel County) sites was given by William T. Rees, Jr. (Forestry Management—Director, Engineering and Standards, Baltimore Gas & Electric). Permission for sampling on the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center was granted by Sandy C. Spencer, USFWS, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist, Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge. Funding Information: We would like to thank Sam Droege and his team of interns and associates at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center for help in collecting, processing and identifying bees. Thanks also to Rick Johnstone from IVM Partners for coordinating with us and pushing this work forwards. Thanks to William Rees from Baltimore Gas and Electric for help identifying control sites and allowing us access to BGE transmission line sites. We also appreciate the support from Mike Silva of Enertech, who championed this project from the beginning. Funding for this research was provided by the Electric Power Research Institute (http://www.epri.com/), EPRI Project ID 1-070744-01-01 and the New Jersey Institute of Technology Undergraduate Summer Research Program. Study design, data collection and analysis, and preparation of the manuscript were all exclusively conducted by the study authors with no input from the funding agency. Permission for sampling on the Columbia (Howard County) and Davidsonville (Ann Arundel County) sites was given by William T. Rees, Jr. (Forestry Management?Director, Engineering and Standards, Baltimore Gas & Electric). Permission for sampling on the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center was granted by Sandy C. Spencer, USFWS, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist, Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018, The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",
year = "2018",
month = aug,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1007/s10531-018-1552-8",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "27",
pages = "2541--2565",
journal = "Biodiversity and Conservation",
issn = "0960-3115",
publisher = "Springer Netherlands",
number = "10",
}