Populations of many species of grassland-associated butterflies, moths, and bumblebees in the Great Plains of North America are experiencing steep declines due to habitat loss and degradation—primarily conversion of grasslands to row-crop agriculture and invasion of woody plants and exotic cool-season grasses—and insecticide use. These declines are exacerbated by the generally limited dispersal ability of insects, which make local populations susceptible to extirpation following habitat fragmentation. Interest in pollinator conservation has grown substantially in recent years, but information to guide pollinator conservation across the region is limited. We used pollinator biology along with principles of landscape ecology and metapopulation dynamics to develop a simple decision matrix based on patch size and inter-patch distances to guide landscape-scale grassland conservation efforts in the U.S. northern Great Plains. When applied to spatial land cover data depicting potential pollinator habitat, the matrix uses landscape characteristics to guide placement of conservation treatments to help ensure persistence of target pollinator populations. Patch size and connectivity thresholds can be set to match characteristics of target species, but in all cases, local management will be necessary to ensure that fine-grained features such as nectar sources and host plants are present. Applying the matrix to habitat layers for a nine-state analysis region showed substantial geographic variation in conservation needs, opportunities, and potential treatments. We also demonstrate that non-native planted cover such as alfalfa and certain grasslands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program can substantially enhance landscape structure by increasing grassland patch size and core area while decreasing distance between patches. Pollinators dependent on native prairie will also benefit from planted cover that provides nectar sources and serves as a buffer from pesticides associated with croplands. Consistent with the principles of strategic habitat conservation, targeted monitoring and research will be necessary to validate and adapt the model to meet local conditions.

中文翻译：

---

美国大平原传粉媒介的保护规划：对环境、处理和规模的考虑

由于栖息地的丧失和退化，北美大平原许多与草原相关的蝴蝶、飞蛾和大黄蜂的种群数量正在急剧下降——主要是将草原转变为行间作物农业以及木本植物和外来凉爽气候的入侵。季节草和杀虫剂的使用。这些下降因昆虫普遍有限的传播能力而加剧，这使得当地种群在栖息地破碎后容易灭绝。近年来，对传粉媒介保护的兴趣大幅增长，但指导整个地区传粉媒介保护的信息有限。我们使用传粉者生物学以及景观生态学和复合种群动力学原理，根据斑块大小和斑块间距离开发了一个简单的决策矩阵，以指导美国北部大平原的景观尺度草原保护工作。当应用于描绘潜在传粉媒介栖息地的空间土地覆盖数据时，该矩阵使用景观特征来指导保护处理的放置，以帮助确保目标传粉媒介种群的持久性。可以设置斑块大小和连通性阈值以匹配目标物种的特征，但在所有情况下，都需要本地管理以确保存在诸如花蜜源和寄主植物等细粒度特征。将矩阵应用于九个州分析区域的栖息地层显示了保护需求、机会和潜在处理的巨大地理差异。我们还证明，非本地种植的覆盖物，如苜蓿和某些纳入保护保护区计划的草地，可以通过增加草地斑块大小和核心面积，同时减少斑块之间的距离来显着增强景观结构。依赖原生草原的传粉媒介也将受益于提供花蜜来源的种植覆盖物，并作为与农田相关的杀虫剂的缓冲剂。与战略栖息地保护原则一致，有必要进行有针对性的监测和研究，以验证和调整模型以满足当地条件。我们还证明，非本地种植的覆盖物，如苜蓿和某些加入保护保护区计划的草原，可以通过增加草地斑块大小和核心面积，同时减少斑块之间的距离来显着改善景观结构。依赖原生草原的传粉媒介也将受益于提供花蜜来源的种植覆盖物，并作为与农田相关的杀虫剂的缓冲剂。与战略栖息地保护原则一致，有必要进行有针对性的监测和研究，以验证和调整模型以满足当地条件。我们还证明，非本地种植的覆盖物，如苜蓿和某些加入保护保护区计划的草原，可以通过增加草地斑块大小和核心面积，同时减少斑块之间的距离来显着改善景观结构。依赖原生草原的传粉媒介也将受益于提供花蜜来源的种植覆盖物，并作为与农田相关的杀虫剂的缓冲剂。与战略栖息地保护原则一致，有必要进行有针对性的监测和研究，以验证和调整模型以满足当地条件。