Data for: The impacts of bioenergy pine plantation management practices on bee communities

1. Cultivation of bioenergy feedstocks is a growing land-use worldwide,
yet we have a poor understanding of how bioenergy crop management
practices affect biodiversity. This knowledge gap is particularly acute
for candidate cellulosic bioenergy feedstocks, such as tree plantations,
and for organisms that provide important ecosystem services, such as
pollinators. 2. We examined bee communities in 83 sites across three
states in the southeastern USA—Alabama, Florida and Georgia. We compared
bee abundance and diversity in 66 pine plantation sites that reflect
management with and without potential bioenergy feedstock production. At
least three bioenergy feedstock production methods have been proposed for
this region: 1) converting conventional timber stands to short-rotation
bioenergy plantations; 2) harvesting feedstock by thinning conventional
plantations; and 3) harvesting of woody debris residues after plantations
have been clear-cut. 3. We found that bioenergy-associated management
practices including younger plantations (relative to older) and woody
debris removal (relative to debris unremoved) in clear-cut plantations
were associated with reduced bee diversity. Removing ground debris in
clear-cut plantations also drastically increased bee abundance, though
this effect was largely driven by strong dominance of just two bee
species. Clear-cut plantations had lower beta diversity than standing
plantations. 4. Synthesis and applications. Management practices
associated with bioenergy feedstock production can have negative effects
on bee community diversity. In particular, harvesting of debris in
clear-cut plantations dramatically reduces bee diversity. Large-scale
bioenergy feedstock production that increases the prevalence of young and
clear-cut stands may cause landscape-level beta diversity to decline.
Nevertheless, bioenergy pine plantations likely support higher bee
diversity than corn fields, an alternative bioenergy feedstock.