Project Overview
ONE05-045
Project Type: Partnership
Funds awarded in 2005: $9,535.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2006
Region: Northeast
State: Maryland
Project Leader:
Annette Meredith
University of Maryland
Annual Reports
Commodities
- Agronomic: sunflower
- Fruits: melons
- Vegetables: cucurbits, eggplant
- Animals: bees
Practices
- Crop Production: intercropping, multiple cropping
- Education and Training: farmer to farmer, on-farm/ranch research
- Farm Business Management: community-supported agriculture
- Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, habitat enhancement, hedgerows, riparian buffers, wildlife, hedges - woody
- Production Systems: agroecosystems, holistic management
Proposal abstract:
The proposed project addresses native pollinator populations on 12 CSA farms including ten from across the state of Maryland, one in Pennsylvania and one in West Virginia. The purpose of the project is to assess the current status of native bees in agroecosystems and provide baseline data so that research on declines and recovery efforts have benchmarks for comparison. Additionally, the research will investigate adjacent habitat to agricultural fields and its influence on pollinator presence within vegetable and cucurbit plots. The results will provide information that farmers can use to guide the management of adjacent lands for pollinator foraging and nesting habitat thereby improving pollination visitation and crop productivity.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.