Floral Resource Dynamics for Pollinators in a Central Iowa Tallgrass Prairie Restoration

Recently, native and managed colonies of pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and other insects, have experienced a largescale declines. In an effort to restore habitat for pollinators, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) created the CP-42 Pollinator Habitat conservation practice under the Conservation Reserve Program. This program pays private landowners to restore habitat for pollinator species with ecological and economic importance. To qualify for the program, CP-42 seed mixes must include: • A minimum of 9 pollinator-friendly flowering plants, • A minimum of three species in bloom during each of three seasonal periods (April-June 15, June 15-July, AugustOctober), and • no more than 25% native, non-sod forming grasses. Since 2014, more than 200,000 acres have been enrolled in the CP-42 program in Iowa with virtually no post-seeding monitoring or evaluation. To determine whether CP-42 sites are likely to meet the program’s floral resource targets, we analyzed a 5-year data set on flower phenology from an existing prairie restoration established with a similar seed mix