Academic literature on the topic 'Pollination monitoring'

Pollination is essential to maintain ecosystem balance and agricultural production. Domesticated bee pollination, which is easy to feed and manage, and mechanized pollination, which is not restricted by the environment, are considered the main technical means to alleviate the “pollinating insect crisis”. By analyzing differences in pollination methods for different crops, this review summarizes the research progress for efficient pollination technology from the perspectives of bee pollination and mechanized pollination in fields, orchards, and greenhouses. The selection of pollination method should be based on the physiological characteristics of crops and the actual environmental conditions of natural pollination. The pollination ability of bees is closely related to the status of the bees. Maintaining the pollination ability of bees in a reasonable range is the goal of bee pollination services. Colony state control technology needs to develop in two directions. First, there is a need to develop colony state monitoring technology based on multi-feature information fusion and to explore the self-regulation mechanisms of the colony in response to various factors. Second, based on these self-regulation mechanisms, there is a need to develop a low-cost and non-invasive bee colony state and pollination capacity estimation model, monitoring technology, and equipment based on single feature information. The goals of mechanized pollination are “efficiency” and “precision”. Mechanized pollination technology needs to be developed in two directions. First, the mechanisms of pollen abscission, transport, and sedimentation in different crops and mechanized pollination conditions should be explored. Second, research and development of efficient and accurate pollination equipment and technology based on the integration of multiple technologies such as pneumatic assistance, auxiliaries, static electricity, target, variables, and navigation, are needed.

Abstract Wild bees supply sufficient pollination in Cucurbita agroecosystems in certain settings; however, some growers continue to stock fields with managed pollinators due to uncertainties of temporal and spatial variation on pollination services supplied by wild bees. Here, we evaluate wild bee pollination activity in wholesale, commercial pumpkin fields over 3 yr. We identified 37 species of bees foraging in commercial pumpkin fields. Honey bees (Apis mellifera L. [Hymenoptera: Apidae]), squash bees (Eucera (Peponapis) Say, Dorchin [Hymenoptera: Apidae]), and bumble bees (Bombus spp., primarily B. impatiens Cresson [Hymenoptera: Apidae]) were the most active pollinator taxa, responsible for over 95% of all pollination visits. Preference for female flowers decreased as distance from field edge increased for several bee taxa. Visitation rates from one key pollinator was negatively affected by field size. Visitation rates for multiple taxa exhibited a curvilinear response as the growing season progressed and responded positively to increasing floral density. We synthesized existing literature to estimate minimum ‘pollination thresholds’ per taxa and determined that each of the most active pollinator taxa exceeded these thresholds independently. Under current conditions, renting honey bee hives may be superfluous in this system. These results can aid growers when executing pollination management strategies and further highlights the importance of monitoring and conserving wild pollinator populations.

Clonal propagation and limited dispersal of seeds lead to genetic population structures in which most potential mates are relatives. If the species suffers from inbreeding depression or is self-incompatible, the number of seeds matured per fruit may be limited by the lack of outcrossing by unrelated pollen. We tested for distance-related genetic structure by hand-pollinating plants at increasing distances and measuring fruit set (berries/pollinated flowers) and seed number per fruit in natural populations of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) and lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.). Bagging of the flower buds without natural (pollination by insects) or hand-pollination yielded almost no fruit or seed, suggesting that the species are obligately insect pollinated. Self-pollination led to a significant reduction in seed number per fruit and increased seed abortion compared with cross-pollination. Moreover, seed number increased with increasing distance between the pollen donor and pollen recipient. Flight distances of bumblebees were estimated for bilberry by monitoring between-flower and, for lingonberry, between-inflorescence flight distances. About 90% of all flights were at distances of less than 1 m. At this distance, we observed less than the maximum seed number per fruit in hand-pollinations in both study species. Consequently, clonal growth is likely to be an important factor that constrains fruit and seed number in these species.Key words: bumblebee forage distance, clonal, hand-pollination, inter-parent distance, reproductive success, Vaccinium.

The pollination ecology in agroecosystems tackles a landscape in which plants and pollinators need to adjust, or be adjusted, to human intervention. A valid, widely applied approach is to regard pollination as a link between specific plants and their pollinators. However, recent evidence has added landscape features for a wider ecological perspective. Are we going in the right direction? Are existing methods providing pollinator monitoring tools suitable for understanding agroecosystems? In Italy, we needed to address these questions to respond to government pressure to implement pollinator monitoring in agroecosystems. We therefore surveyed the literature, grouped methods and findings, and evaluated approaches. We selected studies that may contain directions and tools directly linked to pollinators and agroecosystems. Our analysis revealed four main paths that must come together at some point: (i) the research question perspective, (ii) the advances of landscape analysis, (iii) the role of vegetation, and (iv) the gaps in our knowledge of pollinators taxonomy and behavior. An important conclusion is that the pollinator scale is alarmingly disregarded. Debate continues about what features to include in pollinator monitoring and the appropriate level of detail: we suggest that the pollinator scale should be the main driver.

Pollination is a required process for survival of numerous plant species and crops. Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) play a significant role in this phenomenon. Due to raising environmental pressures, pollinator diversity and pollination services are at risk. Faunistic studies and biodiversity research are the essential elements and steps in the process of species preservation. This study aimed to analyze diversity of hoverflies in two CORINE land cover types (Broad-leaved forest and Natural grasslands), based on a recent one-year study. To achieve this goal, Shannon?s diversity index (H), Shannon?s equitability (EH), and Jaccard similarity coefficient (Jt) were calculated. Values of indices and coefficients indicate which parts of Vojvodina and what land cover types can be considered as hoverfly reservoirs.

Over one third of crops are animal pollinated, with insects being the largest group. In some crops, including strawberries, fruit yield, weight, quality, aesthetics and shelf life increase with insect pollination. Many crops are protected from extreme weather in polytunnels, but the impacts of polytunnels on insects are poorly understood. Polytunnels could reduce pollination services, especially if insects have access issues. Here we examine the distribution and activity of honeybees and non-honeybee wild insects on a commercial fruit farm. We evaluated whether insect distributions are impacted by flower type (strawberry; raspberry; weed), or distance from polytunnel edges. We compared passive pan-trapping and active quadrat observations to establish their suitability for monitoring insect distribution and behaviour on a farm. To understand the relative value of honeybees compared to other insects for strawberry pollination, the primary crop at the site, we enhanced our observations with video data analysed using insect tracking software to document the time spent by insects on flowers. The results show honeybees strongly prefer raspberry and weed flowers over strawberry flowers and that location within the polytunnel impacts insect distributions. Consistent with recent studies, we also show that pan-traps are ineffective to sample honeybee numbers. While the pan-traps and quadrat observations tend to suggest that investment in managed honeybees for strawberry pollination might be ineffective due to consistent low numbers within the crop, the camera data provides contrary evidence. Although honeybees were relatively scarce among strawberry crops, camera data shows they spent more time visiting flowers than other insects. Our results demonstrate that a commercial fruit farm is a complex ecosystem influencing pollinator diversity and abundance through a range of factors. We show that monitoring methods may differ in their valuation of relative contributions of insects to crop pollination.

We present a range of observations on the reproductive morphology, pollination biology and cultivation of Lodoicea maldivica (coco de mer), an endangered species with great ecological, economic and cultural importance. We review the history of study of this charismatic species. Morphological studies of the male inflorescence indicate its importance as a year-round food source to the Seychelles fauna. In situ observations suggest a number of potential biotic and abiotic pollination mechanisms including bees, flies, slugs, and geckos; trigonid bees are identified as the most likely potential natural pollinator. We outline a successful programme for ex situ pollination, germination, and cultivation of the coco de mer, highlighting the importance of temperature, humidity and light levels as well as maintaining an undisturbed environment. In combination with continued protection and monitoring, this advice may aid the future in situ and ex situ conservation of the coco de mer.

Abstract Most common cultivars of Oriental (or Japanese) persimmon, Diospyros kaki Thunb. (Ericales: Ebenaceae), set mostly female flowers and require pollen from male flowers of other cultivars for pollination. Growers often introduce the European honeybee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), into their orchards to promote pollination. Here, we investigated the pollination effectiveness of A. mellifera for D. kaki ‘Saijo,’ by monitoring flower visitors, analyzing pollen grains on bees’ body surfaces, and comparing the number of mature seeds in fruits among years with different pollinator availabilities. Apis mellifera and the bumblebee Bombus ardens ardens Smith (Hymenoptera: Apidae) were the major visitors for 3 years, although their dominance varied among years. The number of mature seeds was positively correlated with the number of B. ardens ​ardens visiting D. kaki flowers, but not with that of A. mellifera. Apis mellifera might be less efficient because visitors to female flowers carried significantly fewer pollen grains on their body surfaces than those of B. ardens ​ardens. Analysis of pollen loads of honeybees captured at their nest entrance suggested their preference for red clover, Trifolium pratense L. (Fabales: Fabaceae), and Toxicodendron spp. (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae), over D. kaki as a pollen source in our study site. The effectiveness of A. mellifera on D. kaki pollination should be carefully evaluated considering the effects of coexisting floral and pollinator species.

Mango cross-pollination can be encouraged through the presence of pollinating insects, which can be investigated and observed through citizen science activities. This study aims to monitor the presence of insect pollinators of mango (Mangifera indica L.) inflorescence through citizen science activities. The data generated in the study can be used as a reference to determine population trends and the biodiversity of mango insect pollinators. A citizen science approach in participatory research was used to collect and identify the data. A total of 68 volunteer participants from two universities in west Java were involved in this study. The participants had to meet the requirements to have contracted ecology courses. Smartphones and insect identification guidelines and databases at https://www.discoverlife.org/ and https://www.inaturalist.org/ were used as a tool in this research. The identified data were submitted via google form (www.bit.ly/csmangga) and the Inaturalist application for publication. It was discovered that mango inflorescence insect pollinators comprised five orders, 26 families, and 39 species. Diptera and Hymenoptera orders are insects that have the biggest role in mango pollination, and Chrysomya sp. is an insect species found in almost all mango cultivars.

The spatial arrangement of plants has implications for their pollination. Dense patches of flowering plants can result in increased pollinator attraction and, consequently, higher pollination and seed set per flower. We investigated this effect in the endangered, self-incompatible Australian daisy Rutidosis leptorhynchoides F.Muell. (Asteraceae) by quantifying the effect of plant density on pollinator visitation and seed set in a wild population. Pollinator activity was investigated by direct observation of insect behaviour, by examining the pollen carried on candidate insect species, by video monitoring of visitation, and by tracking the movement of dye as a pollen analogue. Two native Lasioglossum species (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) were identified as the most frequent pollen-carrying visitors to inflorescences. Their visitation was significantly higher where plants were dense, but no statistical correlation between seed set and plant density was found. Florivory was identified as potentially having a substantial negative influence on seed set, but without any clear relationship to plant density. Given that R. leptorhynchoides has declined substantially across its range, and previous reintroduction attempts have often failed, our findings provide key information pertaining to knowledge of pollinator and florivore behaviour in relation to plant density. To maximise success of future management strategies, these animal-plant interactions should be captured in species recovery designs.

Environmental problems are growing at a pace and scale that traditional research methods alone can no longer tackle. Innovative research models that utilize contributory, participatory and crowdsourcing methods are rapidly emerging to fill this gap. For these participatory efforts to be effective and sustainable, however, closer attention must be paid to key components that can promote coordinated action and sustainability. Through the lens of public participation in plant-pollinator conservation, I have, with rigorous social-ecological inquiry, offered three foundational assessment areas that can provide scientific support to this nascent field: accuracy, ecological significance and scalability. In the first study (Chapter 2), I explored a common concern about citizen science: that a lack of foundational knowledge, or familiarity with following scientific protocols could lead to inaccurate data collection. I evaluated the accuracy of plant phenology observations collected by citizen scientist volunteers following protocols designed by the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN). Phenology observations made by volunteers receiving several hours of formal training were compared to those collected independently by a professional ecologist. Approximately 11,000 observations were recorded by 28 volunteers over the course of one field season. Volunteers consistently identified phenophases correctly (91% overall and 70% during transitions) for the 19 species observed. Accuracy varied significantly by phenophase and species (p<0.0001). Volunteers who submitted fewer observations over the period of study did not exhibit a higher error rate than those who submitted more total observations, suggesting that volunteers with limited training and experience can provide reliable observations when following explicit, standardized protocols. Overall, these findings demonstrate the ii legitimacy of phenology observations collected by volunteers, an important finding for the increasing number of analysts relying on data collected by citizen scientists. In Chapter 3, I explored a common concern that restoration efforts implemented by the public may not have adequate ecological value. I addressed key ecological variables to determine how small-scale patches attracted pollinators and explored which of these variables might be best to prioritize for restoration efforts suited to public initiatives. This study demonstrated that in small-scale plant restoration sites, plant diversity and resource (nectar) availability significantly affects the abundance and diversity of pollinating insects. Specifically, the treatments which contained high-resource (nectar-rich) plant species increased pollinator abundance and diversity the most. Plant diversity increased pollinator diversity and abundance only in the absence of high-resource plants. Pollination facilitation was observed in high resource treatments, but varied among species. Competition for pollinators was observed in high diversity treatments but did not affect seed set for high-resource plants in any of the treatments. Together, these results suggest that managers or landowners who are restoring patches of native plants as habitat for pollinators should prioritize including species with high nectar production, and secondarily, a diverse mix of species if space and resources allow. In Chapter 4, I explored an emergent approach to public participation in regional community science initiatives (and networks) through an exploratory case study of the New York Phenology Project. I demonstrated that local organizations have the opportunity to utilize existing data aggregation platforms to activate regional collaborative alliances to achieve what is often challenging for large-scale contributory projects. I describe our hands-on experience of conceiving and launching a regional network and outline a model that could serve as a guide for catalyzing networks. Drawing on direct experience and interviews with network partners, I developed a description of key categories related to network node success, and a linked assessment tool that could be used to evaluate network node capacity and project outcomes. The assessment tool will be used to test preliminary findings in a more formal quantitative and qualitative exploration in future studies. In Chapter 5, I explored an exceptional long-term, community-level phenology data set that spans New York State, USA (1802-2017), and found interesting and significant patterns of phenological change over time. The data set provides statewide phenology and temperature data that extend further back in time than any previously known data set for the region, extending to years prior to or at the beginning of recent human-caused global warming. I found that most species are flowering and leafing earlier in recent years (2009-2017) than they did in the early 19th century (1802-1861). Plants are flowering 11 days earlier and leafing 18.8 days earlier, with some species flowering up to 27 days earlier and leafing up to 31 days earlier over that time period. Most of this change was driven by warming mean spring temperatures (MST) over that time; mean spring temperatures warmed by 1.0°C statewide (2.5°C in New York City) on average between the historical and contemporary periods. Seasonality, Life Form, and the interaction between Seasonality and Life Form explained variation in phenology among species. The large number of geographically distinct sites in this dataset permitted novel investigation into differential changes in phenology between urban and rural areas (urban areas have more advanced phenology than their rural counterparts) and between insect and wind pollinated trees by seasonal category (insect pollinated trees are showing more advanced phenology than wind pollinated trees in both early and late spring). This analysis has brought the efforts of a historical network into a modern context and has illustrated how organized long-term monitoring efforts can be valuable for ecological discovery. This combined work provides a diverse contribution to the field of public participation in monitoring and conservation efforts. While thorough and disciplined ecological theories drive the design of the research, I simultaneously strove to help meet the ongoing demand for useable, purposeful insights into how to support public efforts to restore plant-pollinator habitats, monitor key ecological dynamics such as phenology, and scale networks capable of collecting data that address issues of global change.

Imidacloprid is a neonicotinoid pesticide used to protect against biting and sucking insects. Land managers rely on its systemic properties, however long-term studies investigating imidacloprid effects on ecosystem function are limited. This study investigated imidacloprid applications to Tsuga caroliniana and Tsuga canadensis over time and compared concentrations to measures of ecosystem function including soil respiration, microbial function, and invertebrate density. Results indicate that imidacloprid is persistent (p0.5). Microbial function and invertebrate density were not significantly different between control and treatment locations nor did imidacloprid concentrations correlate with ecosystem functional indicator activity (p>0.05). It is evident that imidacloprid does not affect ecosystem function over time, however care should be taken when applying it in sensitive locations where endemic, threatened, and endangered organisms reside.

Pervasive growth in industrialization and advances in technology now exposes much of the world to anthropogenic night light and noise (ANLN), which pose a global environmental challenge in terrestrial environments. An estimated one-tenth of the planet’s land area experiences artificial light at night — and that rises to 23% if skyglow is included. Moreover, anthropogenic noise is associated with urban development and transportation networks, as the ecological impact of roads alone is estimated to affect one-fifth of the total land cover of the United States and is increasing in space and intensity. Existing research involving impacts of light or noise has primarily focused on a single sensory stressor and single species; yet, little information is known about how different sources of sensory stressors impact the relationships within tightly-knit and complex systems, such as within plant-pollinator communities. Furthermore, ANLN often co-occur, yet little is known about how co-exposure to these stressors influences wildlife, nor the extent and scale of how these stressors impact ecological processes and patterns. In Chapter 1, we had two aims: to investigate species-specific responses to artificial night light, anthropogenic noise, and the interaction between the two by using spatially-explicit models to model changes in abundance of 140 of the most prevalent overwintering bird species across North America, and to identify functional traits and contexts that explain variation in species-specific responses to ANLN stressors with phylogenetically-informed models. We found species that responded to noise exposure generally decreased in abundance, and the interaction with light resulted in negative synergistic responses that exacerbated the negative influence of noise among many species. Moreover, the interaction revealed negative emergent responses of species that only reacted when both ANLN were presented in combination. The functional trait that was the most indicative of avian response to ANLN was habitat preference. Specifically, species that occupy closed habitat were less tolerant of both sensory stressors compared to those that occupy open habitat. Species-specific responses to ANLN are context-dependent; thus, knowing the information that regulates when, where, how, and why sensory pollutants influence species will help management efforts effectively mitigate these anthropogenic stressors on the natural environment. In Chapter 2, using field-placed light manipulations at sites exposed to a gradient of skyglow, we investigated the influence of direct and indirect light on the yucca-yucca moth mutualism by quantifying chaparral yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei) fruit set and the obligate moth (Tegeticula maculata maculata) larval density per fruit. Although many diurnal insects are thought to exhibit minimal phototaxis, we show that direct light attracted adult moths and incited higher pollination activity, resulting in an increase in fruit set. However, larval recruitment decreased with elevated light exposure and the effect was strongest for plants exposed to light levels exceeding natural moonlit conditions (> 0.5 lux). Contrarily, increases in ambient skyglow resulted in an increase in both fruit set and larva counts. Our results suggest that plant-pollinator communities may respond in complicated ways to different sources of light, such that novel selection pressures of direct and indirect light have the potential to benefit or disrupt networks within complex diurnal plant-pollinator communities, and ultimately alter the biodiversity reliant on these systems. By analyzing pervasive stressors across a continental-wide scale, we revealed considerable heterogeneity in avian responses to light and noise alone, as well as the interaction between them. Based on overall responses to the interaction between light v and noise, we suggest management efforts should focus on ameliorating excessive noise for overwintering bird species, which should decrease the impact from synergistic responses, as well as the negative impact from noise alone. There is still much to learn about responses to these stressors and smaller-scale studies should take our approach of systematically assessing interaction responses to ANLN. Moreover, our small-scale study revealed both local sources of direct light and skyglow impact the recruitment for both yucca moths and their reciprocal plant hosts. However, it is still unknown if or why other diurnal pollinators experience positive phototaxis, and whether direct lighting influences the physiology, behavior, or multiple factors relating to reproduction and fitness. Correspondingly, it is unknown if the novel selection pressures of direct and indirect light are disrupting complex diurnal plant-pollinator communities. Future research on artificial night light will need to investigate the intricate responses of diurnal pollinators to both direct and indirect light that will identify concrete mechanisms relating to physiological or behavioral susceptibility and inform predictions on how wide-spread communities will shift with this global driver of emerging change.

This research presents the findings of a pollinator diversity study that took place at three study sites. Although variation in pollinator diversity occurred between the three sites, fewer pollinators than expected were recorded from the La Joya Tract (revegetated site). Numerous genera and species were recorded from the Havana Tract (native site) as well as the Valley Nature Center (urban garden). In contrast, the La Joya Tract had a comparatively depauperate pollinator fauna. The numbers of pollinator genera and species recorded from the three study sites were decreased in comparison to the total number of genera and species recorded from Hidalgo County. Hidalgo County has 35 known genera and 75 species of bees documented to date. About 40% of the genera and 23% of the species recorded from Hidalgo County were recorded from the Havana Tract in this study, while a mere 8.5% of the genera and 4% of the species were reported from the La Joya Tract and 34% of the genera and 16% of the species were reported from the Valley Nature Center. Although the vascular plant species identified from these study sites were diverse, the floral rewards they provided yielded an insight as to what was going on in terms of pollinator diversity. Plants may yield nectar or pollen floral rewards or both in some cases to pollinators. The current study provides evidence that revegetation of land with plants that primarily provide nectar rewards will result in fewer observed bee taxa than from land revegetated with plants that provide a mix of nectar and pollen floral rewards.

Effects of prairie restoration on arthropod diversity was investigated at Gabis Arboretum, Valparaiso, Indiana. A total of 35,408 arthropods belonging to 13 taxa in the restored prairie (RP1 and RP2), old field (OF), and monoculture stand of Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass – RCG) sites, were captured, counted, and compared. The enhanced plant species diversity in the restored prairies did not appear to promote the diversity of arthropod taxa. However, the restoration led to a more balanced composition of arthropod functional groups and thus elevated the diversity of functional groups. The arthropod assemblages in the three sites diverged clearly according to my canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) ordination. Pollinator abundance was greatest at RP and least at RCG site, positively correlating with greater forb diversity, and suggesting greater potential for nectar feeding and pollination potential at RP sites. Herbivore abundance was greatest at the RP sites, positively correlating with increasing plant species diversity. Predator abundance was significantly greater at the RCG site compared to the OF and RP sites; it was positively correlated with greater C3 grass cover, a characteristic of the structurally homogenous RCG site, and negatively correlated with increasing plant diversity and forb cover, a characteristic of the diverse and more structurally complex RP sites. Given the apparent non-random distribution of arthropods among the field types, my results suggest plant species composition has a significant effect on arthropod assembly. The monoculture grass stand was found to have a predator dominated arthropod community supported by a small, diverse herbivore community. It is concluded that the prairie restoration has resulted in alteration of arthropod communities supporting greater pollinator and herbivore abundance and a more balanced ratio of herbivores to predators due, in part, to increased plant structural diversity.

Abstract Poplar is cultivated widely for pulpwood, firewood, and timber. Transgenic poplar may be part of a solution for wood demand in China. Because transgene escape is an important part of ecological security evaluation of transgenic plants, in this chapter we discuss a real transgenic poplar case study. In this case study, mature transgenic male Populus nigra plants harbored a Bacillus thuringiensis toxin gene (i.e. Bt poplar). A plantation of these plants served as a testbed for a relevant example for gene flow monitoring in China. Furthermore, we discuss environmental risk assessment (ERA) of these transgenic plants. While transgenes can drift to related species through natural and controlled pollination, the probability of transgene drift appears to be very low in the field. The resultantBt poplar seeds occurred at a frequency from about 0.15% at 0 m to about 0.02% at 500 m away from the Bt poplar. The Bt poplar progeny seeds had decreased germination within 3 weeks in the field (from 68% to 0%), compared with the 48% germination rate after 3 weeks at 4°C. The survival rate of seedlings in the field was 0% without any treatments, but increased to 1.7% under four combined treatments (clean and trim, watering, weeding, and cover with plastic to retain moisture) after being seeded in the field for 8 weeks. Hybrid offspring appeared to possess segregated traits following artificially controlled pollination. While hybrids of transgenic poplar and non-transgenic poplar can be excellent germplasm, gene flow should be monitored. Transgene expression in grafted scion and rootstock of transgenic poplar is reviewed. The transgenic poplar studied appears to be safe; no ecological or environmental harm has been observed in China.

The study of allergenic plants and their palynological complexes is of great importance for the prevention of pollinosis. Despite this, they are insufficiently studied in many countries of the world, including Russia. On the territory of the Ulyanovsk region, these studies were not carried out, although pollinosis occupy a leading place among allergic pathology. Studies have shown that the largest amount of pollen grains for the entire flowering period of allergenic plants is observed in the industrial zone. We can conclude that June and July are the most dangerous months for people with allergies. The most dangerous waves are the second and third, the least dangerous - the first. The research results must be taken into account when planning preventive measures and treating pollinosis. Key words: allergenic plants, hay fever, pollination, pollen concentration, pollen wave.

As a merit for the Internet of Things (IoT) domain, congregating MANET with WSN application in omnipresent smart environments presents novel opportunities in observing the extensive or wide-ranging built-up area or urban region and provides a new communication system for diverse applications. Sensors are utilized to comprehend the surrounding environment by sensing the signals and sending the data via the gateway node to the MANET node, specifically designed for data gathering or harvesting. IoT applications in this work are regarded as devices worn by soccer players whose monitoring is done using wireless sensor nodes. The challenge in this work is identifying paths or routes of high-level or top-ranking Quality of Service (QoS), such as topology. The implementation of a QoS-aware protocol in MANETs is aimed at enabling the finding of more effective paths between the source and destination nodes of the network and has made QoS a necessity. This paper proposed a model that can select an optimum path based on the efficient QoS parameters in routing protocol for the MANET environment. A model is built based on Flower Pollination Algorithm (FPA) and Multi-Agent system (MAS). An example scenario is written to show the impact of the proposed model on the MANET environment.

Plant community monitoring at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield (NB) focused on the restored tallgrass prairie community. Six monitoring sites were visited four times and observations of plant species and ground cover were made. In addition to those observations, we included two environmental factors in this report—precipitation and recent fire history—to help understand the vegetation data status and trends. Precipitation data (standardized vegetation index) indicated drought conditions in 2012 and some dry periods in 2016. Although prairies are adapted to drought, we found that species richness at the site and community scales (alpha and gamma diversity) were reduced in dry years. Fire management also plays an important role in shaping the plant communities. Prescribed fire occurrence became less frequent through the monitoring period. Also, additional treatments, including herbicide and mowing, likely shaped the prairie community. Tree regeneration and nonnative plants in particular may have been affected by these techniques. The prairie plant community continues to be moderately diverse despite recent increases in tree seedlings and small saplings. Species richness varied over time and was correlated with precipitation; diversity indices (H′ and J′) were similar across monitored years. Species guilds (also known as functional groups) demonstrated differing patterns. Woody plants, long a concern at the park, were abundant and statistically similar across years. Many guilds were quite variable across the sites, but nonnative forbs declined, and nonnative grasses increased. Overstory trees and canopy cover, measured for the first time in 2020, have likely influenced the composition of one site. The composition of this site points to a shrubland-savanna community. Four of the sites tended towards shrubland rather than tallgrass prairie. The vegetation monitoring protocol experienced some changes between 2008 and 2020. A key difference was a shift from sampling twice during the field season to sampling only once in a monitoring year. An anticipated decline in species richness was observed in 2012 and 2016, but we were unable to isolate sample design as the cause. Additionally, we remedied inconsistencies in how tree regeneration was recorded by tallying seedlings and saplings in the field. Our quality assurance procedures indicated that our observer error from pseudoturnover was 20.2%, meeting our expectations. Cover class estimates agreed 73% of the time, with all disagreements within one cover class. Coordinating management actions to achieve plant community goals like structure and composition of tallgrass prairie will be critical to the survival of the prairie species at the park. Fire and nonnative plant treatments along with the reduction of woody cover including trees are needed to arrest the transition to savanna and woodland community types. Frequent prescribed fire is an integral process for this community and there is no equivalent substitute. Continued focus on management for the desired tallgrass prairie community will also provide needed habitat for imperiled pollinators such as the monarch butterfly. Best management practices for pollinators on federal lands specify that treatments (prescribed fire, mowing or haying) should not occur during the blooming season or when pollinator breeding, egg, larval or pupal stages are present.