A study evaluates the influence of a national conservation program to support apiaries in the United States. Habitat loss can drive the decline of insect pollinators such as honeybees (Apis mellifera), which are crucial to ecosystem function and agriculture. To identify areas of habitat loss, Clint R.V. Otto and colleagues estimated the conversion rates from 2006 to 2016 of lands that were located near apiaries and enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a program that provides financial assistance to landowners who establish conservation grasslands. Apiaries in the Northern Great Plains lost more than 53% of lands enrolled in CRP, with the rate of loss being directly associated with apiary density. The authors estimate that approximately 163,000 hectares of enrolled land within 1.6 km of apiaries in 2006 was converted to row crops by 2012. In addition, the authors estimate that further land reduction to 7.7 M ha across the United States would reduce the number of apiaries meeting forage criteria by around 28%; in contrast, increasing CRP land in the United States to 15 M ha would increase the number of such apiaries by 155%. According to the authors, the findings could inform future US farm and land management and pollinator conservation efforts.
Article #18-00057: "Past role and future outlook of the Conservation Reserve Program for supporting honey bees in the Great Plains," by Clint R.V. Otto et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Clint R.V. Otto, United States Geological Survey, Jamestown, ND; tel: 701-253-5563, 701-368-9028; e-mail: <cotto@usgs.gov>
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