Prairie Restoration

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Prairie Restoration

• ENTS 110 Final Presentation
• Ben Lum
• Akiko Nakano
• Sarah Tegtmeier

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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)
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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.

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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 earths
  natural resources

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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
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Prairie restoration at a local levelThe
Carleton Cowling Arboretum
Originally, the local landscape consisted of oak
savanna, tallgrass prairie, and deciduous forest.
From the mid 19th century to the 1930s, 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
1970s, 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.
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Outline of our research

• Plants
• Mammals and birds
• Insects
• Controlled burning
• Grazing
• Invasive species
• Policy recommendations

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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

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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).

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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

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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, swainsons 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.

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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

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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.
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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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Invasive Species

• Non-native plants can overrun natural tallgrass
  prairies
• Spraying
• Handweeding
• Grazers can import invasive seeds

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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

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Future Research

• Change in species from natural sources
• Effects of mowing versus fires or grazing
• The Arbs 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

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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.
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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.
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Samson, F. B. and F. I. Knopf. 1996. Prairie
Conservation. Washington, D. C. Island Press.
Tester, J. R. 1995. Minnesotas 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.
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Internet Sources Carleton College Cowling
Arboretum. Http//www.carleton.edu/campus/arb
. Iowa Prairie Network Homepage.
Http//www.netins.net/showcase/bluestem/ipnap
p.html. Minnesota Native Plant Society.
http//www.stolaf.edu/depts/biology/mnps/inde
x.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/rsrchar
s/1997 research.report.htm Where the Buffalo Roam
(Fermilab). Http//www.fmal.gov/ecology.html.