While pollinator population and community restoration is fairly well studied in agricultural systems, relatively little is still known about maintaining community richness and health in natural habitat. Conserving these population is critical to sustaining wild plant and animal populations reliant on pollination, but also as a possible source of pollinators for agriculture. In particular, forests---which border many important agricultural areas--are increasingly recognized as important habitat for pollinators, but we have limited knowledge the forest management practices that promote species rich and healthy pollinator communities. Filling this knowledge gap is especially critical given ongoing wildfire regimes changes in forests in U.S. and globally, which is changing the habitat available to support pollinators needed for pollinator services.

We are designing projects to study how fire maintains pollinator biodiversity and community resistance, as well and community health and genetic diversity in forests in the western U.S.