August 2024: Best Practice in Seeding for Pollinators

This month I’m continuing to look into studies surrounding both pollinator habitat management and the cost/benefit analysis of using seed in restoration efforts. 

 

A study conducted in Michigan aimed to assess the efficacy of pre- and post-seeding management in weed-dominated plots seeded with a native wildflower mix. The researchers saw a gap in the research regarding the effects of weed pressure and seeding design on the establishment of plant communities and support of pollinator populations. 

 

Cost of seeding remains a barrier for landowners and agencies to fully integrate it into land management practices, with seed mixes proving to be expensive, and the best pre- and post-seeding management techniques remaining unclear. In this study, the researchers utilized mowing frequency, herbicide application, and cover crop for pre-seeding management; and mowing frequency with or without herbicide application for post-seeding management. 

 

In order to provide insight into best practice, the researchers developed a multi-year field experiment that aimed to determine how management strategies - in congruence with seeding rate - influence plant establishment, ground cover, and plant species richness.

 

The results of the study showed that pre-seeding treatment had the greatest influence on initial plant establishment and proved to be more important in the long term success of the plots than post-seeding management. 

 

In addition to pre-seeding plot preparation and weed management, the study found that doubling the seeding rate significantly lowered ground cover by weedy forbs. 

 

A limitation identified in this study was that plots were relatively small, so post-management treatments proved to be more harmful, likely due to the fact that disturbance on a small scale is more disruptive than on more ecologically relevant scales. 

 

Overall, the study illustrates that investment in seeds and pre-seeding plot preparation is more important than post-seeding management if the goal is to establish pollinator-supportive wildflower areas in previously grassy weed habitat. 

Perkins, Jacquelyn A., et al. "Pollinator planting establishment and bee visitation are influenced by seeding rate and post‐seeding management." Restoration Ecology (2024): e14179.