Insect communities in big sagebrush habitat are altered by wildfire and post‐fire restoration seeding

Abstract

Natural resource managers sow grass, forb, and shrub seeds across millions of hectares of public lands in the western United States to restore sagebrush‐steppe ecosystems burned by wildfire. The effects of post‐fire vegetation treatments on insect communities in these ecosystems have not been investigated. We conducted the first investigation of insect community responses to post‐fire seeding on public rangelands by comparing the composition of insect communities at burned‐and‐seeded (treatment) and burned‐and‐unseeded (control) sagebrush‐steppe ecological sites in southwestern Idaho. Insect communities in burned areas were compared to unburned (reference) areas. Insect communities in burned plots did not resemble those in reference plots. Treatment plots had greater inter‐annual variability in insect community composition than control or reference plots, suggesting that communities may be less stable in seeded areas. The vegetation composition of the landscape surrounding plots influenced mobile species. Wildfire and post‐fire seeding may have lasting effects on insect communities in sagebrush‐steppe ecosystems. Wildfires decrease shrub cover. Post‐fire seeding increases perennial bunchgrasses and, where successful, reduces non‐native annual grasses. These habitat changes influence insect community composition. Future studies are needed to expand the inference of this study.

Ecological Restoration Practices within a Semi-arid Natural Gas Field Improve Insect Abundance and Diversity during Early and Late Growing Season

“…Insects are often considered ecosystem engineers because they impact soil properties [3], influence nutrient cycling [4], serve as a food source to higher trophic levels [5], and provide critical pollination services allowing plants to successfully reproduce [6][7][8]. Since they provide more ecosystem services than other wildlife, respond rapidly to environmental change, and because statistically valid samples can be captured in a short duration, insects have been used as indicators of restoration success [9][10][11]. A metaanalysis conducted in 2011 suggests the primary focus of insects in ecological restoration projects had been towards pollinators in agriculture systems [12].…”

“…Since then, studies related to insect restoration have become more common in non-crop ecosystems, perhaps because of the ecosystem services insects provide [2]. Habitat restoration efforts have shown a general trend towards benefiting pollinating insects [13] and examples where utilizing native plants in restoration efforts have improved insect habitat include urban/suburban ecosystems [5], mine sites [8], wildfire locations [11], and natural gas well pads [14].…”

Detecting gold mining impacts on insect biodiversity in a tropical mining frontier with SmallSat imagery

“…While this method enabled rapid field measurements over a large area, our taxonomic resolution was limited to the family level and likely biased toward the detection of conspicuous taxa. Some studies have shown that family‐level diversity in invertebrate taxa can be an acceptable proxy for more intensive species‐level identification (Heino, 2010 ; Rohde et al., 2019 ). However, we anticipate that finer taxonomic resolution, analogous to higher spatial resolution from satellite imagery, will improve biological insights from rapid assessments.…”

Early seral vegetation communities increase insect abundance and diversity in a semiarid natural gas field during early and late growing season

“…Insects are often considered ecosystem engineers because they impact soil properties (Lavelle et al 1997), influence nutrient cycling (Belovsky & Slade 2000), serve as a food source to higher trophic levels (Tallamy 2009), and provide critical pollination services allowing plants to successfully reproduce (Archer & Pyke 1991, Dixon 2009, Cusser & Goodell 2013). Since they provide more ecosystem services than other wildlife, respond rapidly to environmental change, and because statistically valid samples can be captured in a short duration, insects have been used as indicators of restoration success (e.g., Kimberling et al 2001, Longcore 2003, Rohde et al 2019). While traditional focus of insects in ecological restoration projects has been towards pollinators in agriculture systems (Menz et al 2010), more recently they are becoming more common in non-crop studies (e.g., Cusser & Goodell 2013, Tonietto & Larkin 2018, Rohde et al 2019, Curran et al 2022).…”

“…Since they provide more ecosystem services than other wildlife, respond rapidly to environmental change, and because statistically valid samples can be captured in a short duration, insects have been used as indicators of restoration success (e.g., Kimberling et al 2001, Longcore 2003, Rohde et al 2019). While traditional focus of insects in ecological restoration projects has been towards pollinators in agriculture systems (Menz et al 2010), more recently they are becoming more common in non-crop studies (e.g., Cusser & Goodell 2013, Tonietto & Larkin 2018, Rohde et al 2019, Curran et al 2022).…”