2019 ASHS Annual Conference

Pollination is an invaluable ecosystem service provided by pollinators such as bees, flies, and wasps. However, with the increase of urbanization, there is a decrease in suitable habitat available for pollinator communities. Therefore, it is imperative to investigate the potential for incorporating pollinator-friendly habitat into existing urban green spaces and to understand how turfgrass systems under different management strategies effect pollinator communities. The objective of our research is to 1) install pollinator habitat on out-of-play areas on golf courses as well as homeowner lawns in North Carolina that are subjected to different turfgrass management strategies, and 2) evaluate the biodiversity of the pollinator communities they support.

Twelve turfgrass sites were selected based on location, site suitability for habitat establishment, and management intensity. Initial insect sampling was conducted beginning in the summer of 2018 in order to record a baseline for pollinators found at each site.

In October 2018, sites were seeded with a pollinator-friendly Southeastern wildflower seed mix. Formal sampling for pollinators and floral resources will begin in May, 2019. Preliminary results from this research will be presented at this conference, American Society for Horticulture Science. We anticipate that our findings will support the hypothesis that pollinator communities found in association with managed turfgrass systems are both abundant and biodiverse.