“Overall, our study demonstrates that repeated applications of prescribed fire maintained elevated abundances and diversity of bees and other flower-visiting insects compared to untreated plots, likely due to increased herbaceous plant diversity and enhanced quality of nesting habitat within the understory. Our results also indicate that many flower visitors utilize the midstory of a temperate forest potentially for foraging habitat.”
Click here to download the paper: “The Effects of Repeated Prescribed Fire and Thinning on Bees, Wasps, and Other Flower Visitors in the Understory and Midstory of a Temperate Forest in North Carolina”, by Campbell et al.
REALLY interesting study on the effects of prescribed fire (alongside mechanical thinning) on pollinator abundance. Seems like there’s good to be found in the use of prescribed fire in a multitude of different areas. Viva la burn!
