The role of grazing in shaping native bee communities: Comparing land management strategies in southern Oklahoma

Grazing lands dominate much of Oklahoma’s landscape, presenting both challenges and opportunities for native bee conservation. This research investigates how two different cattle grazing strategies influence native bee communities by comparing sites managed under continuous grazing, adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing, and ungrazed reference grasslands. Our goal is to identify which land management practices best support bee abundance and diversity, and to understand the ecological mechanisms behind those patterns. In summer 2024, we sampled native bees using targeted netting and passive trapping across 15 sites representing the three land management categories. We collected 2,221 bees belonging to 31 different genera. At each site, we also conducted floral and vegetation surveys to document key environmental variables. Preliminary results suggest that AMP-grazed lands support slightly higher bee abundance and diversity than continuously grazed or ungrazed sites. Ongoing analysis will explore how floral resources and vegetation structure relate to these patterns. Fieldwork will continue in summer 2025 to expand this dataset and strengthen our understanding of patterns. Ultimately, this study aims to increase our understanding of how cattle grazing strategies influence pollinator communities and inform more sustainable, bee-friendly ranching practices.