Scenarios for Pollinator Habitat at Denver International Airport
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Scenarios for Pollinator Habitat at Denver International Airport by Tiantong Gu (Landscape Architecture) Xuan Jin (Landscape Architecture) Jiayang Li (Landscape Architecture) Annemarie McDonald (Conservation Ecology) Chang Ni (Conservation Ecology) Client: Sasaki Adviser: Professor Joan Nassauer Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degrees of Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability April 17th 2018 Acknowledgments We would like to thank our adviser, Joan Nassauer, for her patience and thoughtful advice throughout the course of this project. We would also like to thank Tao Zhang, our client liaison, for his critiques and suggestions. We are grateful to the staff at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, especially Tom Wall, and the Applewood Seed Company for their assistance in the planting designs in this project. Funding for our project was provided by University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. Finally, we would like to thank all of our families for their support and encouragement during this process. Table of Contents Contents Habitat Corridor Scenarios 71 Scenario Performance Hypothesis 71 Abstract 7 Development Pattern 80 Landscape Element Typologies 82 Introduction 8 Reserach Goals 12 Scenario Assessment 87 InVEST Crop Pollination Model 87 Literature Review 13 Pollinator Guild Table 87 The Shortgrass Prairie Ecosystem 13 Biophysical Table 89 Airport Impacts on Ecosystems 14 Evaluation Results 91 Airport Case Study: Airport City and Habitat Commitment 15 Human Dominance 94 Airport City 16 Boundary Expansion 95 Environmental Commitment to Pollinator Habitats 16 Seasonal Pattern of Abundance 96 Pollinator Conservation Strategies 19 Guilds 97 Pollinators of the Denver Region 20 Discussion 98 Bees 20 Human Dominance 98 Butterflies 24 Boundaries 99 Moths 26 Guilds 100 Climate Change Resilience 28 Study Limitations 100 Research Methods 30 Using a Normative Scenario Approach 30 Recommendations 102 General Recommendations 102 Normative Scenario Framework of the Study 32 1. Plan for all seasons 102 2. Prioritize native plants and pollinators 102 Past and Present Landscape 36 3. Incorporate climate change resilience 103 Functional Components 36 4. Increase nesting site availability 103 Connectivity 38 5. Provide host plants for butterflies and moths 103 Land use and Landcover 40 6. Consider small-bodied pollinators 104 Ecological Considerations 42 Site-Specific Recommendations 104 1. Survey current plant diversity 104 Hypotheses of Desirable Landscape Patterns 44 2. Prioritize restoring large patches of native prairie 104 Airport City 44 3. Consider expanding the boundaries of the property 105 Pollinator Habitat 46 Assumptions Across All Scenarios 47 Appendix A: Ground Nesting Availability Index 106 Appendix B: Agriculture Converted to Prairie 108 Alternative Landscape Futures 48 Appendix C: Pollinator Abundance Maps 109 Airport City Scenarios 49 References 110 Scenario Performance Hypotheses 49 Development Pattern 58 Landscape Element Typologies 60 4 5 Abstract Denver International Airport (DEN) is the 6th busiest airport in the United States, serving 58 million passengers in 2016. This rapid growth has made the airport an economic engine of the region. In order to capitalize on this economic resource, Michael Hancock, the mayor of Denver, envisions creating an Airport City of mixed use, retail, office, and industrial development on the airport’s property along Peña Boulevard, which connects the airport to downtown Denver. However, this corridor is also strategically located to provide a habitat connection between the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and the prairie on the airport’s property. In order to understand the tradeoffs between these two landuses, we created four scenarios of future development on the property. Two of the scenarios prioritize the Airport City (AC), while the other two prioritize the Habitat Corridor (HC). For each of these priorities, we created one scenario that maintains the airport property’s current boundaries and one that imagines an expanded boundary. Based on these four scenarios, we developed four alternative landscape futures, and modeled the pollinator abundance in each. Our results suggest that pollinator abundance is higher in landscapes that have more restored prairie. Expanding the property boundary increased pollinator abundances as well, particularly when the expansion region was prairie. Based on these findings, we recommend that any future development plans include the restoration of shortgrass prairie with native plant species to enhance pollinator habitat. 6 7 Introduction Figure 1: Denver International Airport (DEN) is located to the northeast of downtown Denver. The direct adjacency Pollination is a mutualistic relationship between flowering plants and animal pollinators. to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife National Wildlife Refuge makes a unique spatial characteristics that offers great pollinator habitat opportunities, while the juxtaposition of County and City of Denver and Adam County poses The pollinator facilitates plant reproduction through the transfer of pollen from anthers to potential land management challenges (data source: Colorado View, CDO, Denver Open Data). stigma, a process which allows plants to make seeds and reproduce. In exchange, the pollinator receives floral resources (i.e., nectar and pollen). Over 80% of angiosperms require an animal pollinator, and this relationship is important to plant reproduction in both natural ecosystems master plan for the DEN site. and agroecosystems. Animal pollinators, including insects, birds, and bats, are associated with Denver International Airport (DEN) is situated about 25 miles southeast of downtown Denver 35% of the world’s agricultural production (Reddy et al., 2013). In order for pollination to occur, in the Metro Denver area, Colorado. With 33,000 acres (51.56 square kilometers) of land, 8, pollinators must co-occur with their potential plant partners, both spatially and temporally. 754 acres (35.43 square kilometers) of which is developable, it is the biggest airport property in Anthropogenic changes to natural ecosystems have threatened both spatial co-occurrence, U.S. and the second-biggest one in the world (Fig.1). DEN is ranked the 6th busiest airport in though habitat loss and fragmentation, and temporal co-occurrence, through changes in the United States and 18th busiest the world in 2016 by passenger traffic, with over 58 million phenology due to climate change (Reddy et al., 2013). In order to preserve species richness and passengers for the year of 2016 (DEN, n.d.). abundance of pollinators in developed areas, it is important to create and enhance habitat to meet the needs of pollinators. The area has rapid population growth and huge potential for economic development, and at the same time, emerging environmental challenges. Because land use change often results in the Several groups in Colorado have noted pollinator decline as a significant issue, and have some reduction of natural areas, the expansion of the Denver International Airport (DEN) may have initiatives in place in order to improve conditions for these important species. For example, significant impacts on the quality and quantity of pollinator habitat. Therefore, DEN may provide Environment Colorado has started the Bee Friendly Food Alliance to bring together chefs and an example of how to meet the challenge of providing enough development area for future others in the restaurant business to work on issues related to declining bee populations. This needs while establishing well-connected habitats in the special setting of a relatively open and year, 235 of those chefs and restaurateurs sent a letter to the EPA, calling on the government to undeveloped urban area. The current plan for the expansion of the airport comes in the form of a ban pesticides that are harmful to pollinators (Environment Colorado, n.d.). The Front Range Corridor of Opportunity and Airport City, envisioned by Denver’s mayor, Michael Hancock. As a chapter of Wild Ones promotes increasing pollinator habitat through planting pollinator gardens, first step to realize this vision, a new 519-room hotel and a rail station that links DEN to Denver using information from the Xerces Society (Front Range Wild Ones, n.d.). The Rocky Mountain Union Station via the Corridor of Opportunity has already been built. Future plans for the area Arsenal Wildlife Refuge has a pollinator garden on site, and holds programs for families to learn will also include transit-oriented development with housing, a Fortune 500 headquarters, and how to plant pollinator gardens in their yards, or incorporate pollinator-friendly plants into abundant open space (City and County of Denver, n.d.). SASAKI, an interdisciplinary design vegetable gardens (Wall, T., personal communication). In light of the problems that bees face, firm, has used this existing train line as the basis for a strategic development plan that provides a Sasaki, our client, has decided to consider strategies for optimizing pollinator habitat in the comprehensive development strategy and vision for future streets, blocks, and public open space. 8 9 Land uses including mixed-use, office, retail, industrial use, educational use and public transit of scenarios, one uses the existing boundaries of the airport property while the other envisions centers