When a report from the Xerces Society entitled Pollinators and Roadsides landed in my inbox recently, my initial reaction was to wince. I recalled the times I've found dead butterflies in the grill of my car after long trips. Its one of those things you really hate to see. So the idea of encouraging pollinator plantings along roads just didn't intuitively strike me as a very good idea.
Upon further inspection, however, I was won over by the evidence presented in this thoughtful report. According to many who have researched the topic, the many miles of available roadside might indeed make for excellent habitat, especially in rural areas where agricultural expansion has put intense pressure on many invertebrate species.
Roadsides, when properly managed, can be havens where reduced pesticide use and abundant sunshine can provide rich food sources, particularly when plantings of native, nectar-rich flowers are used. Grasses can provide nesting spaces for ground-dwelling native bees. And the routes the roads themselves take can even provide protective corridors for some species.
The report goes into specific details on the changes needed to mowing schedules in order to make roadside plantings a reality, a detail that many municipal land managers might find the most challenging aspect of such roadside spaces. It also details the types of plantings that might best succeed.
So what about the impact of traffic? According to those who have spent time doing careful observations along many types of roadways, carefully planted and maintained areas will not necessarily increase collisions for bees and butterflies. In fact, one study in Iowa found that more butterflies were killed along roads with grass than along those with prairie plantings.
The entire report (which is short and easy to read) can be viewed on the Xerces Society's website:
No comments:
Post a Comment