Researchers documented more than 300 plant species underneath power lines -- twice the number found in forests.
When you think of environmentally beneficial landscapes, the land beneath power lines might not be at the top of your list, but new research is highlighting this habitat's importance in conserving a wide array of plant and insect life.
Trees and power lines are not a good mix. That's why, sometimes, power companies cut back forest. "What's left behind are these 'early successional' habitats," said Dave Wagner, an ecologist at UConn and co-author of a paper saying those cutbacks might not always be bad. "Early successional just means the things that come into a community over the first decade or so."
"Historically, the disturbances were big blow-downs from hurricanes, windstorms, [ice storms], or fire," said Ken Metzler, one of the paper's co authors. "The disturbance is what maintains the habitat because as these forests get mature, they reach the end of their lifespan and they need some type of event to help them reorganize."
Power line corridors are a perfect habitat for milkweed, critically important to monarch butterflies.
Last week, we walked a power corridor in South Windsor (pictured above), observing plants and bugs living underneath the power lines. "As humans, since we are running the show for the world, we're the ones providing the disturbance, in addition to the natural disturbance that has always occurred," Metzler said.
In their study, Wagner and Metzler measured plant diversity and cover for more than 25 different power line plots, comparing them to adjacent woodlands with a full canopy of tree cover. They documented more than 300 plant species underneath power lines -- twice the number they found in forests.
"As I look out, I'm seeing some asters; I'm seeing a lot of goldenrods," Wagner said. "If we're looking into the woods, there's virtually nothing in bloom at this time. If you want to see butterflies in the state of Connecticut, a power line is the place to do it. If you want to see bees; if you want to see cottontails ... this is a very important habitat."
Wagner said power line corridors are a perfect habitat for milkweed, a genus of plants critically important to monarch butterflies. In one location, he even found a rare oil-collecting bee that was thought to have disappeared from the United States.
"Bee workers had been looking for it for 20 years," Wagner said. "I'm a lepidopterist -- I study butterflies and moths. For me to stumble across this thing was a surprise to everybody."
Wagner said it's all evidence that power line cutbacks aren't always bad, but he cautioned that whenever you clear woodlands, certain animals and plants will be disrupted. "No matter what we do in nature, there are winners and losers and it's always going to be like that," he said.
The research appears in the journal Forest Ecology and Management.