Prairie Restoration

ENTS 110 Final Presentation

Ben Lum

Akiko Nakano

Sarah Tegtmeier

Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam,

Where the deer and the antelope play.

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word

And the skies are not cloudy all day.

Dr. Brewster Higley (1873)

What is a Prairie?

• Open grassland

• Few woody plants, such as trees and bushes

• Dry climate with low precipitation

• Supports a variety of birds, mammals, and insects.

• Vary due to the types and densities of plants and the types of soils.

What are the benefits of prairie restoration?

• Maintains a diversity of plants and animals

• Protects ecosystems and ecological communities

• Improves water quality and reduces erosion

• Promotes beautiful, natural landscapes

• Creates healthier, sustainable land uses

• Promotes education about the natural heritage and a desire to protect and restore the earth’s natural resources

“If even one-tenth of the lawns in a community were replaced by prairie plantings, there would be a sizeable reduction in the use of water, fertilizers,and chemical pesticides and in the fuel consumption, noise, and air pollution associated with power mowers.”

Virginia M. Kline, Society for Ecologic Restoration, 1997

Prairie restoration at a local level:The Carleton Cowling

ArboretumOriginally, the local landscape consisted of oak savanna, tallgrass prairie, and deciduous forest. From the mid 19th century to the 1930’s, the arboretum was used for agriculture. Since then, there has been a slow increase in rebuilding the natural habitats. In 1950, the college began plantings to restore native species. In the late 1970’s, plantings began taking off, and restoration is still underway. In the future the college hopes to completely restore the arboretum with about

2/3 forest and 1/3 prairie.

Outline of our research• Plants

• Mammals and birds

• Insects

• Controlled burning

• Grazing

• Invasive species

• Policy recommendations

Prairie Plants• Primary producers are important to the ecosystem

• Variety of wildflowers and warm-season grasses (big bluestem, little bluestem, switchgrass, indian grass, rattlesnake master, and compass plant)

• Natural limiting factors include precipitation, soil type, fire, and grazing

• Promote health and shape species diversity

Mammals and Birds

• Wide variety of mammal species ranging from the large plain buffalo to the small mice, voles and shrews

• Birds also have a large diversity of ground dwelling birds, song birds and raptors.

• Our study looks at the impact of the bison (a grazer) and the raptors (a predator).

Bison• Historical range of the bison covered much of North

America.– “The buffalo resemble forests of cedar, and present a low, black, and undefined

appearance, but occasionally shifting to and fro like the dark shadows of a cloud . . .” (J. McBride 1850)

• Last wild bison in Minnesota was seen in 1880• Most important mammal on the prairie due to their

impact and numbers• In the past, one herd would graze intensively in one area,

consuming nearly all the vegetation, trampling the rest and then moving on, maybe not to return for several years

Raptors• Raptors important predators

• Many species go across several habitats: live in the forest but hunt in the prairie.

• Summer residents include the northern harrier, common nighthawk, turkey vulture, swainson’s hawk and he barn owl.

• Winter residents include the northern harrier, rough-legged hawk, golden eagles, the barn owl.

• Raptors that use the prairie for migratory routes are the merlin, peregrine falcon, prairie falcon, and the short-eared owl.

Insects

• Aid in the production of fruits, seeds, vegetables, and flowers by pollination.

• Bodies of insects serve as food for many animals that are valuable to us.

• Many insects destroy other injurious insects.

• Improve physical condition of the soil and promote its fertility.

• Act as scavengers

FireOriginally, lightning has set fires that burn naturally. Upon the settlement of Native Americans, many fires were started for a variety of reasons. Anthropogenic fires improved game habitat, increased berry and nut production, and made travel easier. Due to the dangers of fire to modern human communities, natural fires are extinguished, and there are very few controlled burns.

The benefits of fires in the prairies• Increases net primary production

• Promotes species diversity

• Prevents the invasion of trees, woody plants, and cold-season grasses

• Removes standing dead vegetation and litter, encouraging natural decomposition

• Increases soil nutrient availability

• Attracts animals and microorganisms that symbiotically promote tallgrass growth.

Healthy burns in the arboretum

• Burns over large areas

• Rotation of a 4-year burn schedule

• Adjacent to areas not burned in the last 2 years

• Seasonal rotation of burns

Benefits of prairie grazing

• Promotes species diversity

• Increases light availability to plants, promoting photosynthesis and growth

• Can change species composition

• Decreases woody plant growth while promoting grazing-tolerant plants.

Disadvantages of large grazers in the Arboretum

• Interferes with human usage

• Difficult to rotate grazing areas

• Maintenance cost of large grazers

• Cattle are not as effective grazers as bison

• Mowing is an easier alternative

Invasive Species

• Non-native plants can overrun natural tallgrass prairies

• Spraying

• Handweeding

• Grazers can import invasive seeds

Policy• Burning:

– At least every 4 years– Rotating seasons and unit location– Adjacent to plots unburned in at least the last 2 years

• Grazing:– Cattle instead of bison– Rotation of intensive grazing

• Invasive species– Minimal spraying– Aggressive handweeding

Future Research• Change in species from natural sources• Effects of mowing versus fires or grazing• The Arb’s ability to support top carnivores• Insects:

– Monitoring species and their effects on the ecosystem– Self-introduction from nearby prairie remnants– Trial introductions of species native to prairies– Effects of non-native species on prairies

ReferencesAnderson, R.C., and Menges, E. S. 1997. Effects of Fire on Sandhill

Herbs: Nutrients, Mycorrhizae, and Biomass Allocation. American Journal of Botany, 84: 938-948.

Baldwin, A. et al. 1994. Beyond Preservation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Berger, Joel and Carol Cunningham. 1994. Bison: Mating and Conservation in Small Populations. New York: Columbia University Press.

Collins, S. L., et al. 1998. Modulation of Diversity by Grazing and Mowing in Native Tallgrass Prairie. Science, 280: 745-747.

Danz, H. 1997. Of Bison and Men. Niwot, CO: University Press of Colorado.

Harker, D., et al. 1999. Landscape Restoration Handbook. New York: Lewis Publishers.

Hobbs, N. T., et al. 1991. Fire and Grazing in the Tallgrass Prairie: Contingent Effects on Nitrogen Budgets. Ecology 72: 1374-1382.

Howe, Henry F. 1995. Succession and Fire Season in Experimental Prairie Plantings. Ecology 76: 1917-1925.

Jordan, W., et al. 1987. Restoration Ecology. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Metcalf, R. L. and R. A. Metcalf. 1993. Destructive and Useful Insects. New York: McGraw-Hill Inc.

Packard, S. and C. F. Mutel. 1997. Tallgrass Restoration Handbook. Washington, D. C.: Island Press.

Samson, F. B. and F. I. Knopf. 1996. Prairie Conservation. Washington, D. C.: Island Press.

Samson, F. B. and F. I. Knopf. 1996. Prairie Conservation. Washington, D. C.: Island Press.

Tester, J. R. 1995. Minnesota’s Natural Heritage. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

Zimmerman, J. L. 1993. The Birds of Konza. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

Personal CommunicationsBake, Myles. Personal Communication, 11/10/99.

Hougen-Eitzman, David. Personal Communication, 11/8/99.

Umbanhowar, Charles E. Personal Communication, 11/14/99.

Wagenbach, Gary. Personal Communication, 10/28/99 and 11/11/99.

Internet Sources

Carleton College Cowling Arboretum. Http://www.carleton.edu/campus/arb.

Iowa Prairie Network Homepage. Http://www.netins.net/showcase/bluestem/ipnapp.html.

Minnesota Native Plant Society. http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/biology/mnps/index.html.

Prairie Restoration, Inc. Http://www.prairieresto.com

Tallgrass Prairie in Illinois (Illinois Natural History Survey). Http://www.prairienet.org/tallgrass.

University of Wisconsin Arboretum Homepage. Http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/arboretum/rsrchars/1997research.report.htm

Where the Buffalo Roam (Fermilab). Http://www.fmal.gov/ecology.html.