Prescribed fire is associated with increased floral richness and promotes short-term increases in bee biodiversity in the ponderosa pine forest of the southern Rocky Mountains

Gelles, Ryleigh V., authorDavis, Thomas S., authorBarrett, Kevin J., author2025-08-132025-08-132023-02-19Gelles, R.V., Davis, T.S. & Barrett, K.J. (2023) Prescribed fire is associated with increased floral richness and promotes short-term increases in bee biodiversity in the ponderosa pine forest of the Southern Rocky Mountains. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 25(3), 435–448. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12565https://hdl.handle.net/10217/2415941. Managed low-severity surface fires are frequently implemented in efforts to restore disturbance processes to forests of North America; although the effects of managed fire on forest structure are well-studied, few studies investigate whether these disturbances cascade to impact pollinator communities. 2. We analysed bee-habitat relationships in fire-treated (1- and 3-years post-treatment) and non-treated ponderosa pine stands in Colorado to test wild bee population responses. 3. Observed bee richness and α-diversity were highest in stands 1-year post-fire and had more Anthophora, Bombus, Osmia and Lasioglossum spp. in comparison to 3-year postfire and non-treated stands. Bee functional groups were responsive to treatments, with more below-ground nesting taxa present in stands 3 years post-fire. 4. Floral richness was the highest mid-growing season (June, July) and within 1-year post-fire stands. 5. A model analysing the effects of foraging and nesting habitat variation on bee assemblages indicated positive association between floral richness and bee α-diversity, but negative relationships with stand basal area. Nesting habitat was not associated with variation in bee assemblages. 6. We conclude that managed fire has positive short-term effects on bee biodiversity that are likely mediated by floral richness. However, these effects were not detectable by 3 years post-treatment in the southern Rocky Mountain region.born digitalarticlesenghttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/forest managementpollinatorponderosa pineprescribed firePrescribed fire is associated with increased floral richness and promotes short-term increases in bee biodiversity in the ponderosa pine forest of the southern Rocky MountainsTextThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12565