Protecting Pollinators

Protecting pollinators is in everyone’s best interest. Pollination is a crucial step in plant reproduction because most plants require pollen from one plant to fertilize egg cells on another plant before fertilized seeds can develop. While some plants can self-pollinate, a process in which pollen fertilizes egg cells on the same flower or the same plant, many plants have developed adaptations to avoid self-pollination for the sake of genetic diversity. Two separate plants means two different sets of DNA, thereby leading to more diverse offspring and adaptations to changing environmental conditions. 

Since plants are immobile, they need a way for pollen from one plant to reach another plant. Wind and water can be helpful for moving otherwise immobile pollen from one plant to another, but that strategy is less precise and much more wasteful. This biological predicament has led many plants to coevolve with the mobile animals around them in order to spread pollen. Around 80% of all flowering plants require animal pollinators to visit their flowers in order to exchange pollen, and many of these plants sweeten the deal by providing nectar in exchange for the pollination service. 

While many animals contribute, bees are deserving of their status as the poster child of pollination. Being a very diverse group with a thirst for nectar and a range of adaptations that are perfect for pollination, they’re practically pollination machines. Managed honeybees alone contribute $15-20 billion to annual crop production in the US, and pollinate around 30% of the world’s food crops. In addition to these managed colonies, the state of Vermont has around 275 species of wild bees. The plants that we rely on for food, wood, leaf peeping and everything in between simply couldn’t exist without bees and other pollinators. 

With increased human influence on our environment, threats to pollinators have become readily apparent and we’ve begun to see the impacts of their disappearance. Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation is the primary cause of pollinator extinction and extirpation, followed by other factors including disease, invasive species, pesticide use, pollution and climate change. 

So what is Riverscape Ecology doing to protect pollinators? Well, for one thing, we’re combating the problem of non-native invasive plants. The biggest problem with invasive plants is that they grow aggressively and crowd out native plants, often forming monocultures or creating conditions that are less favorable for the native plants that once thrived in an area. The pollinators evolved alongside these native plants, so just as the plants that we rely on can’t exist without pollinators, the pollinators can’t exist without the native plants. Zooming out from the invasive plant problem, our work focuses on creating and maintaining healthy, resilient, diverse ecosystems. In some cases, we are managing forests specifically for the benefit of flowering trees such as apples and cherries, which produce food for insect pollinators in the form of nectar as well as food for other wildlife in the form of fruit. 

It’s also important to mention that our work requires the use of herbicides at times, since it is often the only feasible method for controlling an invasive plant infestation. While our herbicides don’t come close to insecticides and other pesticides in terms of toxicity to pollinators, it is always necessary to consider the ecological repercussions of a pesticide application. In order to minimize environmental impacts, we employ the Integrated Pest Management framework in our decision-making and execution of invasive plant control projects. Integrated Pest Management is a strategy that utilizes a wide range of techniques and practices to carry out a pest control program, and focuses on long-term health of the ecosystem. This is always our goal. When we do have to use herbicides, we take many steps to mitigate impacts. These steps include communicating with nearby beekeepers and other landowners, choosing herbicides with low residual toxicity and less systemic persistence, avoiding herbicide formulations that may be most harmful to bees, minimizing herbicide drift, and timing applications to minimize pollinator exposure. 

Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have about protecting pollinators and managing your land with pollinators in mind!