Transcript Prairie Restoration

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 Arboretum
Originally, 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
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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
Fire
Originally, 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
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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
• Burning:
Policy
– 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
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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
References
Anderson, 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 Communications
Bake, 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/1997
research.report.htm
Where the Buffalo Roam (Fermilab).