Effects of Landscape Context on Pollination in Dwarf Sunflowers, Helianthus Annuus
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Authors
Ansaldi, Beth
Issue Date
2010
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Pollination services play an essential role in sustaining agricultural production
levels that will meet human needs and have an estimated annual economic value of US$
1.25 billion. In addition to traditional agricultural demands, increasing pressure for
alternative fuel sources has pushed production of cellulosic biofuel. Concern regarding
the conservation of pollination services continues to increase as agricultural pressures
drive farmers toward more intensive land management. These farming practices involve
habitat destruction and toxic chemical usage that jeopardize ecosystem services upon
which they depend. A sustainable scheme for cellulosic biofuel production must account
for preserving the beneficial insects that provide necessary pollination services.
Previous studies have shown that landscape context is an important predictor of
arthropod pollinator abundance and diversity. In exploring agri-environmental schemes
for biofuel crops, I conducted a field experiment testing the hypothesis that pollination
services will be greatest in diverse mixed prairies and least in corn monocultures. I also
hypothesized that greater proportions of perennial habitat within a 1500m radius around
each site would support better pollination. We used potted dwarf sunflowers (Helianthus
annuus) as a phytometer to measure this effect in twelve fields in the state of Michigan.
Sites were selected based on crop type and proportion of natural or semi-natural perennial
landscape within a 1500m radius. Seed production, quantified by the number of seeds
per sunflower head and weight per seed, revealed no statistically significant differences
between prairie and corn fields.
Description
v, 24 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo College
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.