Agrivoltaics can unlock private land for pollinator conservation by applying lessons from the prairie strip practice.

Abstract:
Providing forage is necessary to address the needs of pollinators, both wild and managed. This is challenging in landscapes committed to agriculture. I will share evidence from the USDA's conservation reserve practice known as prairie strips that the abundance and diversity of wild pollinators, as well as the productivity of managed honey bees can be improved in landscapes dominated by row-crop farming. Despite these impacts, the amount of land available for conservation, especially that supported by the USDA, is limited. I will share updates from an ongoing research at a utility scale solar farm that demonstrates how applying lessons from the prairie strip practice can impact pollinators and honey beekeeping.

About the Speaker:
Dr. Matt O'Neal is a H.A. Wallace Chair for Sustainable Agriculture in the Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University. As an applied entomologist, he conducts research in the area of pest management and insect conservation. His work has informed the STRIPS project at ISU, which has resulted in a USDA-sponsored conservation practice that supports landowners to convert a small amount of cropland to reconstructed prairie. He will discuss how lessons from the STRIPS project are informing a new project that explores how conservation and agricultural can be practiced under and around utility-scale solar facilities.

Contact

  Jonah Gray
  jng5546@psu.edu