'Climate-Smart' Keystone Native Plants for Restoration in a Changing Climate
Climate change threatens keystone plant communities and insects that make up the base of functional food webs, but restoration practitioners struggle to factor climate considerations into restoration projects for a number of practical reasons. Researchers supported by this National CASC project will create a trait-based plant vulnerability assessment to guide restoration practitioners in selecting climate-resilient keystone native plants that ensure the Mid-Atlantic Temperate Forest and South Central Great Plains ecoregions.
In terrestrial systems, food webs are built on co-evolved interactions between plants and insects, and some plants are disproportionately important for supporting these webs. For example, a small percentage of native plants support the majority of butterfly and moth species, while many native bees are specialists who gather pollen from specific plants. Effective habitat restoration thus depends on including and protecting these ‘keystone’ plants. When selecting plant species for restoration, practitioners consider factors like local adaptation to current site conditions and plant composition of reference ecosystems. Considering future climate conditions can help make restored sites more resilient, however, many practitioners struggle to consider climate change due to practical challenges like the limited commercial availability of diverse native plants, invasive species, and threats from pests and disease.
This project will develop a trait-based vulnerability assessment that describes how climate change will affect restored native keystone plant communities and their ability to support pollen specialist bees, caterpillars and other important insects in the Mid-Atlantic region. The team will work with practitioners to incorporate findings into regional plant selection guidance and restoration plans that balance practical needs with the climate considerations of insects in the Mid-Atlantic Temperate Forest and South Central Great Plains ecoregions.
The project will support two distinct practitioner decisions: (1) For practitioners interested in incorporating climate change considerations in their plant selection decisions, the vulnerability assessment will supply information on which keystone species are more or less vulnerable to climate change overall and to specific threats of interest. (2) For practitioners interested in creating restoration projects that support functional food webs, the assessment will highlight keystone plants that are both resilient to climate change and essential for supporting caterpillars and pollen-specialist bees.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 668492dad34e4f7d61c158d3)
Emily M. Fort
Deputy Senior Administrator, National CASC
Laura Thompson, Ph.D.
Research Ecologist, National CASC
Climate change threatens keystone plant communities and insects that make up the base of functional food webs, but restoration practitioners struggle to factor climate considerations into restoration projects for a number of practical reasons. Researchers supported by this National CASC project will create a trait-based plant vulnerability assessment to guide restoration practitioners in selecting climate-resilient keystone native plants that ensure the Mid-Atlantic Temperate Forest and South Central Great Plains ecoregions.
In terrestrial systems, food webs are built on co-evolved interactions between plants and insects, and some plants are disproportionately important for supporting these webs. For example, a small percentage of native plants support the majority of butterfly and moth species, while many native bees are specialists who gather pollen from specific plants. Effective habitat restoration thus depends on including and protecting these ‘keystone’ plants. When selecting plant species for restoration, practitioners consider factors like local adaptation to current site conditions and plant composition of reference ecosystems. Considering future climate conditions can help make restored sites more resilient, however, many practitioners struggle to consider climate change due to practical challenges like the limited commercial availability of diverse native plants, invasive species, and threats from pests and disease.
This project will develop a trait-based vulnerability assessment that describes how climate change will affect restored native keystone plant communities and their ability to support pollen specialist bees, caterpillars and other important insects in the Mid-Atlantic region. The team will work with practitioners to incorporate findings into regional plant selection guidance and restoration plans that balance practical needs with the climate considerations of insects in the Mid-Atlantic Temperate Forest and South Central Great Plains ecoregions.
The project will support two distinct practitioner decisions: (1) For practitioners interested in incorporating climate change considerations in their plant selection decisions, the vulnerability assessment will supply information on which keystone species are more or less vulnerable to climate change overall and to specific threats of interest. (2) For practitioners interested in creating restoration projects that support functional food webs, the assessment will highlight keystone plants that are both resilient to climate change and essential for supporting caterpillars and pollen-specialist bees.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 668492dad34e4f7d61c158d3)