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More than 2.5 million hectares have been impacted by coal mining in the Appalachian region of the United States. Revegetation to forested cover is a desirable post-mining land use but is often impractical given the challenges of reforestation on abandoned coal mines. Considering a prospective pollination crisis and the potential value of habitat restoration for pollinators, prairie restoration on mine lands offers a practical restoration option. We tested the effect of native prairie restoration in comparison to traditional reclamation with non-native cool-season grassland on pollinator richness, diversity, and community structure at three mined sites in southeastern Ohio. Rather than treatment level effects, we found correlations between overall floral and pollinator richness and beta diversity, as well as varied pollinator diversity and distinct community composition by month. Therefore, judicious design of prairie restoration seed mixes could increase floral diversity and provide across-season forage for pollinators in post-mining landscapes. Our findings also suggest, by the presence of several specialist/uncommon pollinators, that prairie restorations on coal mines can provide habitat for at-risk pollinators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Great efforts have been made to manage and restore native prairies to protect native species, enrich biodiversity, protect ecological resilience, and maintain ecosystem services. Much of this has been focused on preventing degradation from overgrazing and crop conversion. Understanding the consequences of management polices is important to identify best practices. Previous research has compared restoration outcomes from variable intensity grazing, prescribed fire, and grazing removal. However, few studies have explored the optimal durations of management practices and variation in restoration outcomes among vegetation communities. This study evaluates whether the impact of grazing cessation and reintroduction varies among native vegetation communities and measures the effective time periods of grazing cessation and reintroduction. Restoration outcomes were evaluated using four biophysical indicators (fresh biomass, soil organic matter, green cover, and litter cover) and two vegetation indices (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference water index (NDWI)) measured from Landsat images using seasonal Kalman filter and raster time series analysis. The results show that: (i) Grazing cessation increased soil organic matter and green cover while decreasing fresh biomass compared to moderate grazing management, while grazing reintroduction influences those indicators in an opposite direction; (ii) The effective time period for prairie conservation is about 11–14 years and varies among vegetation communities and biophysical indicators; (iii) The effective intensity of grazing cessation is highest in valley grassland, moderate in upland grassland, and mildest in sloped grassland; (iv) Grazing reintroduction returned the three native vegetation communities to the initial condition (i.e., the stage in 1985 before large grazers were removed), with less time than the time consumed for grazing cessation to restore the prairie ecosystem to the maximum changes; (v) Grazing reintroduction effectively influences upland and valley grasslands for 7 to 9 years, varying from different indicators, while it continuously affected sloped grassland with no clear time lag; (vi) The intensity of grazing reintroduction was strongest in sloped grassland, moderate in upland grassland, and mildest in valley grassland. The results of this study suggest expected time periods for prairie management methods to achieve results.

Landscapes on the rural–urban fringe are experiencing rapid change. Along with agriculture, additional fronts of landscape change are related to suburbanization, conservation, and tourism. Building a framework related to heritage narratives, this study analyzes stories told by stakeholders to make sense of landscape change and influence their perspectives about growth. Drawing on focus groups of community and development leaders at two sites in the Midwestern United States – Jasper County, Iowa and Will County, Illinois – this study explores sense of place and shared values in the context of landscape change. From 76 heritage narratives, five thematic areas were identified: (1) agriculture, (2) tourism, (3) industry, (4) grassland conservation, and (5) housing. Participants expressed needs to find compatibility across multiple narratives and develop coherent visions for future growth. A "planning for place" meta-narrative was explored to integrate diverse perspectives and stimulate dialog about shared values with potential to unite landscapes and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fecundity estimates for demographic modelling are difficult to acquire at the regional spatial scales that correspond to climate shifts, land use impacts or habitat management programmes. Yet they are important for evaluating such effects. While waterfowl managers have historically used harvest‐based age ratios to assess fecundity at continental scales, widely available age ratios from late summer banding (ringing) data present an underutilized opportunity to examine a regional fecundity index with broad temporal replication.We used age ratios from banding data and hierarchical mixed‐effect models to examine how fecundity of five North American dabbling duck species was affected by temporal variation in hydrological cycles, intra‐ and interspecific density dependence and alternate prey availability, and whether those relationships were consistent across a broad geographic area.Model‐estimated fecundity was within the range of traditional harvest‐based fecundity estimates for each species. Ecological covariates explained between 16% and 53% of the temporal variation in fecundity, dependent on species. Increasing wetland inundation and an indicator of vole population irruptions were consistent predictors of increasing fecundity across all species. Species exhibited mixed positive and negative responses to interspecific and intraspecific breeding pair densities hypothesized to affect nest and brood survival respectively, highlighting the importance of integrating brood survival into fecundity metrics for precocial species.Declines in fecundity over time and across space at more northern latitudes may reflect stronger policies for grassland and wetland protection in the U.S. versus Canadian portions of the prairies over the time period of our study. Maintaining the capacity of less permanent basins to rehydrate in wetter periods through easement protection benefits fecundity, particularly for late‐nesting species that acquire a greater proportion of their reproductive energy on the breeding grounds.Synthesis and applications. Age ratios derived from postbreeding banding operations allowed us to attribute variation in waterfowl fecundity to temporal ecological variables. Effects of habitat management for waterfowl may be masked unless analysts account for this temporal variation. Postbreeding‐pulse age ratios at capture could be useful as fecundity metrics in integrated population models and for evaluating population dynamics of extensively banded nongame species, especially if adjusted for capture vulnerability using within‐season recapture data. Age ratios derived from postbreeding banding operations allowed us to attribute variation in waterfowl fecundity to temporal ecological variables. Effects of habitat management for waterfowl may be masked unless analysts account for this temporal variation. Postbreeding‐pulse age ratios at capture could be useful as fecundity metrics in integrated population models and for evaluating population dynamics of extensively banded nongame species, especially if adjusted for capture vulnerability using within‐season recapture data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoration projects are usually assessed using short-term measures, leaving a dearth of detailed long-term successional data from restoration sites. This study examines the effects of microsite variation and restoration treatment on successional trajectories and three-to-eight-year restoration outcomes in upland prairies in Oregon's Willamette Valley. I sought first to determine whether different upland prairie restoration units show similar successional trajectories, second, to identify which exotic species have persistent effects on restoration outcomes, and finally, to determine how variation in restoration treatment, topography, and aspect affect restoration outcomes. Permanent plots in two replicate units showed very similar trends over five years, and similar outcomes to restoration units at a second upland site. Exotic annuals were short-lived and did not prevent establishment of the primary planted species, the native grass Festuca roemeri (Roemer's fescue). Festuca roemeri established well mid-slope and in valleys but not on ridges. Where native forbs were seeded, forb abundance was higher in plots with less F. roemeri cover, suggesting that it is not cost-effective to seed forbs along with high rates of native grasses. However, seeding F. roemeri at high rates may be an effective strategy when forb seed is not available. A suite of exotic perennial forbs, including Hypochaeris radicata (false dandelion), contributed to diversity and provided nectar resources for pollinators without becoming dominant, while other exotic forbs such as Cirsium spp. (thistle) and Dipsacus fullonum (Fuller's teasel) required active management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Understanding how animals respond to changing habitat conditions can improve predictions about effects of environmental change and also inform conservation planning. We examined relationships between abundances of 5 common dabbling duck species breeding in the Canadian Prairie Pothole Region and basic wetland metrics. Pond area was a well-supported predictor of duck abundance at the local scale of pond. Relationships for all 5 species varied with their respective regional duck and pond densities. In regions where duck densities were high, there were more ducks per pond; conversely, there were fewer ducks per pond in regions where pond densities were high, indicating that mechanisms influencing local habitat use were, in part, mediated by processes occurring at larger spatial scales. Although models explained small amounts of variation of duck abundance on a per pond basis, these models explained more variation when results were aggregated to the level of survey segment, indicating reasonable performance of models for estimating duck abundance over specific areas with known pond areas. Our results also indicated that the greatest increase in duck abundance with increasing pond size occurs at the low end of the range of pond sizes. It is relatively small wetlands that face the greatest threat of loss and degradation on the prairies; therefore, protection and conservation efforts need to focus on these wetlands if the objective is to increase or maintain populations of the duck species studied. © 2017 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key to restoring degraded grassland habitats is identifying feasible and effective techniques to reduce the negative impacts of exotic species and promote self-sustaining native populations. It is often difficult to extend monitoring of restoration efforts to evaluate long-term success, but doing so is essential to understanding how initial outcomes change over time. To assess how initial treatment effects persist, we revisited degraded patches of Pacific Northwest prairie habitat 6 years after experimental restoration efforts ceased. We evaluated plant community composition to determine the lasting effects of supplemental native seeding and disturbance treatments (burning, mowing, and herbicide to reduce exotic species). We tracked the persistence of seeded species and measured spread of their populations to evaluate suitability of species for restoration and the ability of the habitat to support native plant populations. We found that plots that received supplemental seeding continued to exhibit higher richness of native species than those left unseeded, and that both seeding and disturbance treatments could positively influence native species abundance over the long term. The initially observed effects of disturbance treatments on reducing exotic grass abundance had diminished, highlighting the importance of long-term monitoring and ongoing control of exotic species. Nevertheless, these treatments significantly influenced the population trajectories of 4 out of 8 seeded native species. There was evidence of spatial advance of most seeded species. Results from extended monitoring confirm that dispersal limitation of native species and difficulties maintaining the reduction of exotic grasses continue to be major barriers to success in restoration of invaded grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In perennial grassland dominated systems, belowground bud banks regulate plant community dynamics. Plant community responses to disturbance are largely driven by the ability to generate future aboveground growth originating from belowground axillary buds. This study examined bud bank dynamics for Bouteloua gracilis, Hesperostipa comata, and Pascopyrum smithii following fire in northwestern mixed-grass prairie in eastern Montana, USA. Belowground axillary buds were counted and classified for three growing seasons to determine immediate and short-term effects of summer, fall, and spring prescribed burns on patterns of bud bank activity, dormancy, and mortality. Prescribed burns did not result in immediate mortality of B. gracilis, H. comata, or P. smithii buds. Surprisingly, spring prescribed burns immediately increased the number of active B. gracilis buds. Summer fire, however, reduced B. gracilis active bud numbers. Fall burns immediately activated P. smithii buds, whereas fire did not influence any immediate bud dynamics for H. comata. Reduced bud numbers of H. comata may limit the ability to respond to fire. Season of fire directly manipulated bud activity, dormancy, and mortality for these species throughout the growing and dormant seasons following fire. Using season of fire to manipulate bud bank dynamics illustrates potential to improve post-fire management strategies based on known bud development trajectories and bud dynamics following fire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental plots were established in 2007 to examine relationships between seeding mixture treatments and establishment of tallgrass prairie plantings. Native grass and wildflower seed mixtures, representing four functional groups (C4 grasses, C3 grasses, nitrogen-fixing species, and late-flowering composites), were sown at five levels of richness--4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 species--in 900-m2 plots. Annually, I measured total cover, species richness, and evenness for target and non-target species. Plots seeded with 16 and 20 species achieved 100% target cover by the second year; plots seeded with 12 species had 100% target cover by the fourth year. Plots seeded with 8 or more species had less non-target cover than 4-species plots by the second year, a pattern that persisted. Target species richness of plots increased directly with treatment seeding richness, except there was no difference between the 16- and 20-species treatments in four of the years. Non-target species richness varied among treatments in five of seven years, with non-target richness highest in 4- and 8-species treatments. There were few treatment effects on target evenness; non-target evenness differed among years. The years 2011 through 2013 were drought years. There was no evidence that non-target cover or richness increased in any treatments during the drought, however, target cover was lower in the 12- and 16-species treatments in drought years relative to pre-drought (2010). The results, that establishment of prairie-like communities can be hastened by sowing more species at the outset, can inform grassland restorations in which diversity and persistence are key goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A restoration project was initiated in 2004 to re-establish wet prairie, swamp forest, and oak savanna on 16.2 ha of farmland in northwestern Ohio along a post-glacial lake beach ridge that marked the edge of the Great Black Swamp. The goals were to restore rare and declining plant communities and species and provide nutrient load reduction to Lake Erie. Plant inventories over time and wetland outflow monitoring were used to assess project success. In total 80 species were established in the prairie including six state-listed threatened or endangered plants and < 1% invasive species coverage. Forest restoration efforts established 435 trees with a 31% seedling survival over nine years. Wetland outflow was zero during the monitoring period of April-December in 2012 and 0.4% of total rainfall during 2013, suggesting a large reduction in nutrient outflow. Difficulties with tree plantings in the clay soils of the lake plain include frost heave, low organic matter content, deer grazing, and decline of the two swamp forest dominants: American elm (Ulmus americana) and ash (Fraxinus spp). The restoration of forest on private lands is a long-term process challenged by maintenance and funding issues. This project provided information on restoration alternatives and challenges for farmland within a glacial lake plain setting. Lessons learned will help improve future restoration projects in similar settings to reduce nutrient loading into Lake Erie. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Wildlife managers use spring prescribed burns to set back succession in managed grasslands throughout the prairie pothole region. Yet, prescribed burns are expensive and weather dependent. Autumn biomass harvest of native prairie plants may also simulate natural disturbances and help prevent the invasion of woody species. As such, biomass harvest can be an attractive management option that can augment, and in some cases, replace spring burning programs. We compared vegetation characteristics (vegetation ht and density, and residual litter depth) and changes to the plant community (e.g., species richness, relative abundance of native and exotic plant species) in restored native grasslands of Minnesota, during 2007-2009, in response to spring prescribed burns and autumn biomass harvest. We used a randomized block design to control for site-to-site variability, and compared treatments using mixed models that accounted for this source of variation as well as within-plot repeated measures. This framework also allowed us to consider additional variables (e.g., Julian date, yr effects) thought to influence response patterns, and also additional fields that were treated with an autumn biomass harvest during the same time period. Vegetation characteristics exhibited substantial site-to-site and temporal variability, but, with the exception of litter depths, vegetation characteristics were largely similar in biomass harvest and burned subplots. We conclude that autumn biomass harvests deserve more consideration as a potential grassland management tool. © 2013 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed attainability of landscape-level conservation planning goals in the United States portion of the Prairie Pothole Region by summarizing and analyzing data on status, trends, and potential future of grasslands and wetlands. All published literature and new data analyses consistently indicate declines in grassland and wetland area. When we incorporated time as a conservation planning metric, the importance of seemingly small wetland (0.05-0.57%) and grassland (0.4-1.3%) annual loss rates became apparent. Moreover, we highlighted large differences in the amount of future grassland (30-67%) and wetland (47-93%) resulting from seemingly small changes in loss percentages. Our analyses clearly demonstrate that time, along with current status and trends of target habitat(s), must be incorporated when setting habitat conservation goals, otherwise goals may be unrealistic. Prairie Pothole Joint Venture (PPJV) partners protected an average of 0.20% of the 3.3 million ha extant wetlands and 0.26% of the 10.7 million ha extant grasslands/year. Consequently, PPJV partners cannot reach stated conservation goals given current habitat loss rates unless 1) increased funding is secured for land conservation, 2) landowner interest and acceptance of conservation programs remains high, and 3) wetland and grassland loss rates are decreased via public policy, particularly through agriculture programs, or other mechanisms. Otherwise, PPJV habitat conservation goals, and ultimately species population goals, will need to be reduced accordingly. Our comprehensive assessment may help the PPJV and other landscape-level planning efforts discriminate between goals they would like to attain versus goals they are likely to achieve. © 2013 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A restoration project was initiated in 2007 to convert a forested section of Crowders Mountain State Park in North Carolina to a prairie ecosystem using primarily local seed material. All vascular species were identified curing 4 growing seasons (2008-2011) and species richness, diversity, evenness, and guild structure were assessed. Prairie quality and community structure of the restored site were compared with 2 remnant prairie sices. Seventy-nine species were documented in the restored prairie with 66 (83%) of those being species associated with other Carolina prairie communities. Big bluestem (Andropogan gerardii Vitman [Poaceae]) and velvet witch grass (Dichanthelium scoparium (Lamarck) Gculd [Poaceae]) had the highest cover values, while blackberry (Rubus orgutus Link [Rosaceae]) and velvet witch grass had tie highest frequency for the restored prairie. Species richness, diversity, and evenness were higher or not significantly afferent for the restored prairie compared with the 2 remnant sites. The woody, C3 grasses, and legume guilds for the restored prairie also had species richness levels that were higher or not significantly different from the remnant sites. In addition, percent cover for the woody, C3 grasses, and legume guilds for the restored prairie were higher or not significantly different from the remnant sites. The results of this study indicate that the restoration of a Piedmont prairie at Crowders Mountain State Park has been successful in its early establishment period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prescribed burning has been important in maintaining the structure of plant communities in the tallgrass prairie. However, implementation of these burn regimes often overlooks responses of other taxa, particularly arthropods. In this study, the timing and frequency of burns were examined on one of the most diverse and abundant groups of herbivorous insects, Auchenorrhyncha. These insects are ideal candidates in understanding the effects of fire on prairie arthropods because they are among the most numerous invertebrate herbivores in the prairie and they have ecological characteristics that confer a wide range of responses to prescribed burning. A total of 19 Illinois hill prairies were sampled along the Mississippi and Sangamon Rivers in the summer of 2006 using a modified leaf-blower vacuum. These sites exhibited a wide range of burn management, from unburned to recently burned, and having been burned multiple times. Species richness, Auchenorrhyncha Quality Index (with and without abundance data) and the mean coefficient of conservatism (with and without abundance data) were calculated for each site. Results suggest that unburned sites supported the greatest number of species and had higher Auchenorrhyncha Quality Index and mean coefficient of conservatism values than sites undergoing burn management. In order for land managers to maintain the prairie Auchenorrhyncha community and conserve vascular plants, this study recommends infrequent rotational burning with a minimum of 3-5 years; although additional studies are needed to determine the appropriate number of years between each burn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smooth brome (Bromus inermis) is a cool-season rhizomatous grass of Eurasian origin that has escaped intentional plant- ings and spread widely in natural areas. A large body of work exists regarding smooth brome's biology and response to conservation management strategies designed to reduce its competitive effects on native prairie species, particularly for the tallgrass prairies of North America. Here we summarize that literature to improve restoration practice. In tallgrass prairie, smooth brome benefits from the early start of its growing season and its rhizomatous growth form, making it a strong competitor against native warm-season grasses. Late-spring burns timed to target smooth brome when root reserves are at their lowest have shown promise as a control strategy. Uncertainty remains, however, about the relative efficacy of fire, herbicide, mowing, or grazing to accomplish late-spring defoliation, the effect of repeated treatments, and the potential benefits of treatment combinations. The responses of resident or seeded natives to brome control treatments and/or the resulting decreases in brome cover also remain largely unexamined. Research focused on the questions we highlight would reduce costs associated with the control of smooth brome and increase confidence in the outcomes of restoration efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that evaluates the establishment of 15 individual prairie grasses as monocultures on the reclaimed calcareous compacted mine soil in Cumberland, Ohio. The study was started in March 2005 in the reclaimed surface mined land in Cumberland where in population density was assessed and expressed as percentage of viable seeds sown (PVSS). It outlines the findings of the study, which indicates the success of the reclamation activities that demonstrate the potential for increasing diversity and species richness on mile soil habitats of the native grass.

Fire is an important tool in the conservation and restoration of tallgrass prairie ecosystems. We investigated how both the vegetation composition and butterfly community of tallgrass prairie remnants changed in relation to the elapsed time (in months) since prescribed fire. Butterfly richness and butterfly abundance were positively correlated with the time since burn. Habitat-specialist butterfly richness recovery time was greater than 70 months post-fire and habitat-specialist butterfly abundance recovery time was approximately 50 months post-fire. Thus, recovery times for butterfly populations after prescribed fires in our study were potentially longer than those previously reported. We used Path Analysis to evaluate the relative contributions of the direct effect of time since fire and the indirect effects of time since fire through changes in vegetation composition on butterfly abundance. Path models highlighted the importance of the indirect effects of fire on habitat features, such as increases in the cover of bare ground. Because fire return intervals on managed prairie remnants are often less than 5 years, information on recovery times for habitat-specialist insect species are of great importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws from the transcript of a talk given to Australian audience in Perth directly following the SERI conference in Western Australia 2009. It discusses Bill Jordan’s role in the genesis of the term ‘restoration ecology’ and the discipline of ‘ecological restoration’ whilst working at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. In 1977, Bill, a plant physiologist by training, was engaged by the Arboretum to develop a public outreach program. He felt that the Arboretum had a special story to tell as it was the site of the Depression-era creation of a collection of restored ecological communities, which has since gained recognition as one of the earliest systematic attempts at what Dr Jordan and his colleague George Lubick have called ‘allocentric’– that is, other-centered – ecological restoration. The centrepiece of that project, a 24-ha prairie restoration on former cropping land and pasture now called the John T. Curtis Prairie dates back to an effort undertaken by a small group of scientists, including botanist Norman Fassett, ecologist Theodore Sperry and pioneering conservationist Aldo Leopold, and is now recognised internationally as a kind of locus classicus of this distinctive form of land management. Thinking hard about the meaning of this unique restoration project and its relationship to the University and to environmentalism, Bill and his colleague Keith Wendt coined the term ‘restoration ecology’ to describe the process of using restoration to field test ecological hypotheses. They also started the journal ‘Restoration & Management Notes’ (now ‘Ecological Restoration’) which, under Bill’s editorship, provided an influential early forum for the emerging discipline of ecological restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cold Regions Hydrological Modelling platform (CRHM) was used to create a prairie hydrological model for Smith Creek Research Basin (∼400 km2), eastcentral Saskatchewan, Canada. Physically based modules were sequentially linked in CRHM to simulate snow processes, frozen soils, variable contributing area and wetland storage and runoff generation. Five "representative basins" (RBs) were defined and each was divided into seven hydrological response units (HRUs): fallow, stubble, grassland, river channel, open water, woodland, and wetland. Model parameters were estimated using field survey data, LiDAR digital elevation model (DEM), SPOT 5 satellite imageries, stream network and wetland inventory GIS data. Model simulations were conducted for 2007/2008 and 2008/2009. No calibration was performed. The model performance in predicting snowpack, soil moisture and streamflow was evaluated against field observations. Root mean square differences (RMSD) between simulation and observations ranged from 1.7 to 25.2mm and from 4.3 to 22.4mm for the simulated snow accumulation in 2007/2008 and 2008/2009, respectively, with higher RMSD in grassland, river channel, and open water HRUs. Spring volumetric soil moisture was reasonably predicted compared to a point observation in a grassland area, with RMSD of 0.011 and 0.009 for 2008 and 2009 simulations, respectively. The model was able to capture the timing and magnitude of peak spring basin discharge, but it underestimated the cumulative volume of basin discharge by 32% and 56% in spring 2008 and 2009, respectively. The results suggest prediction of Canadian Prairie basin snow hydrology is possible with no calibration if physically based models are used with physically meaningful model parameters that are derived from high resolution geospatial data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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1. Climate change will cause changes in average temperature and precipitation as well as increased fluctuations around the mean, yet few studies have considered the impacts of altered climate variability on plant populations. We tested whether life-history traits (expected life span, generation time and seed size) can predict plant responses to increased environmental variability across similar plant species sharing the same habitat. 2. We combined long-term demographic data on 10 prairie forb species with stochastic demography techniques to estimate the effects of potential changes in matrix element means and variances on the long-term stochastic population growth rate. 3. For all 10 species, recruitment had higher contribution and elasticity values than survival, meaning that climate change is more likely to influence population growth through effects on recruitment than on survival for these relatively short-lived forbs. Species with longer generation times had lower elasticities to increases in matrix element variability. 4. Synthesis. Our analysis of a unique, long-term data set suggests that longer-lived plant species will be less vulnerable to the effects of future increases in climate variability. While this relationship was previously reported for diverse taxa from many locations, our results show that it also applies within a guild of short-lived species from a single community. The generality of the pattern demonstrates the potential for using life-history traits to make predictions about which species may be the most vulnerable to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which evaluates the potential of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and other grassland conservation on biofuel production, plant species and ethanol yield in the U.S. The study the Whittaker plot technique to identify the composition and diversity of plant species. It shows that grassland conservation with many plant species had lesser biomass and ethanol yields and the C4 prairie grass abundance has negative correlation with the number of plant species.

The federal government established the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration ( [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shelterbelts are a valuable resource to those who plant them and to other members of society. The external benefits to society can be worth as much as the private benefits to producers. However, the external benefits have not been quantified or monetized in a well-documented way. In this study, external benefits were estimated for tree seedlings distributed by the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Shelterbelt Centre in the Canadian Prairie Provinces for the period 1981–2001. Estimation of these benefits required information on the biophysical changes caused by shelterbelts and their valuation. Using literature, we estimated that the value of these external benefits amounted to over $140 million (2001 CDN$; CDN$1 = US$0.63). The majority of this value was derived from carbon sequestration ($73 million) and reduced soil erosion ($15 million) services with the remainder being contributed by biodiversity and water and air quality services. Other external benefits, such as health values, transportation safety, aesthetics and property values were identified but could not be estimated due to a lack of data. The estimated value for external benefits conferred by shelterbelts in this study indicates that they are large and suggests that both private and external benefits need to be considered in formulating policies or programs so that benefits to the society can be maximized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the Willamette Valley Seed Increase Program of the Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE) in Oregon. The purpose of the program is to develop a supply of genetically diverse native plant material for restoration of prairie ecosystems in the Willamette Valley. It is said that locally adapted germplasm have high chances of persisting on restoration sites, but genetic diversity is also needed to ensure long-term sustainability of restored plant populations. Prairie restoration in the Willamette Valley in Oregon became important because it is said that the remaining prairies in the area is less than 1 percent. One of the steps in restoration planning is the selection of species appropriate to the site.

The article describes the state of prairie potholes in the U.S. The prairie pothole region (PPR) is the area covered by Wisconsin Pleistocene glaciation and is dominated by tall and mixed grasslands. The region also includes the areas of north central Iowa and western Minnesota, the North and South Dakota, and northeastern Montana. Formed by ice blocks buried in glacial till that has melted, prairie potholes are considered productive ecosystems which are significant to breeding waterfowl and other species of wetland wildlife.

A 10-year experiment tested for variation in competition intensity over time in a natural grassland at the northern edge of the Great Plains. Growing-season precipitation varied fivefold during the study. All ecosystem-level variables varied significantly among years, and most covaried in expected ways. The covers of all common grasses possessing the C3 photosynthetic pathway varied significantly among years; in contrast, all common species with traits associated with drought tolerance (a C4 grass, a lichen, a spikemoss, and a subshrub) did not vary. Annual transplant experiments measured the competitive effects of neighbors on the growth of individuals of the native grass Bouteloua gracilis. A significant interaction between year and competition showed that competition intensity varied among years. The size of this effect, however, was small (η2 = 0.074) relative to the size of the direct effect of competition (η2 = 0.20) or the year in which the experiment was conducted (η2 = 0.51). Further, competition intensity was not significantly related to any variable describing standing crop or resources, or species richness. Species richness was highest in years with high precipitation, standing crop, and individual growth, due to the recruitment of rare species that were absent from dry years. In summary, variation in competition intensity was statistically significant but had small effects relative to the direct effects of climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global temperature has been increased by 0.6 °C over the past century and is predicted to increase by 1.4-5.8 °C by the end of this century. It is unclear what impacts global warming will have on tallgrass species. In the present study, we examined leaf net photosynthetic rate ( Pn) and leaf respiration rate in darkness ( Rd) of Aster ericoides (L.) Nesom, Ambrosia psilostachya DC., Helianthus mollis Lam., and Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash in response to experimental warming in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem of the Great Plains, USA, in the autumn (fall) of 2000 and through 2001. Warming has been implemented with infrared heaters since 21 November 1999. The Pn increased significantly in spring, decreased in early fall, and did not change in summer and late fall in the four species under warming compared with control. The Rd of the four species increased significantly until mid-summer and then did not change under warming. Measured temperature-response curves of Pn showed that warming increased the optimum temperature of Pn ( Topt) by 2.32 and 4.59 °C for H. mollis and S. nutans, respectively, in August, whereas there were no changes in May and September, and A. ericoides and A. psilostachya also showed no changes in any of the 3 months. However, Pn at optimum temperature ( Popt) showed downregulation in September and no regulation in May and August for all four species. The temperature-response curves of Rd illustrate that the temperature sensitivity of Rd, Q10, was lower in the warmed plots compared with the control plots, except for A. ericoides in August, whereas there were no changes in May and September for all four species. The results of the present study indicate that photosynthetic and respiratory acclimation varies with species and among seasons, occurring in the mid-growing season and not in the early and late growing seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites that increasing spatial and temporal heterogeneity of disturbance in grasslands increases variability in vegetation structure that results in greater variability at higher trophic levels. Management that creates a shifting mosaic using spatially and temporally discrete disturbances in grasslands can be a useful tool in conservation. In the case of North American tallgrass prairie, discrete fires that capitalize on preferential grazing behavior of large ungulates promote a shifting mosaic of habitat types that maintain biodiversity and agricultural productivity.

We undertook floristic studies of 104 grasslands in the tallgrass prairie region of Kansas to examine differences in the floristic quality of five common grassland management systems. The different grasslands were warm-season prairie hay meadows, warm-season native pastures, cool-season planted hay fields, cool-season planted pastures, and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields. We recorded 383 vascular plant taxa of which 79% were native and 21% were non-native. Species richness at our sites ranged from seven for a cool season pasture to 109 for a warm-season hay meadow. Our results show that warm-season hay meadows exhibit highest species richness (256 taxa) and are habitats for highly conservative native taxa, while degraded grasslands have a higher number of alien taxa (29% in cool season planted hay fields) and lower species richness (136 for cool season hayfields). We computed Floristic Quality Assessment Index (FQI) values, which ranged from 0.3 for a cool-season pasture to 41 for warm-season prairie hay meadows while modified FQI ranged from 0.09 for a cool-season pasture to 4.48 for a warm-season prairie hay meadow. FQI values across management types differed significantly from each other (p=0.000). We conclude that native prairie hay meadows are significant reservoirs of conservative grassland species. In addition, the FQI can be a useful tool for discerning effects of land management on grassland vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews the exhibition "Acres of Dreams: Selling the Canadian Prairies," on view at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec from October 28, 2005 to January 29, 2006.

Species-area relationships and island biogeography theory are commonly used to predict how species richness will decline with fragmentation. There are a variety of largely untested assumptions in these approaches, including the assumptions that populations are distributed uniformly before fragmentation, and that local extinctions are due to effects of small population sizes. If populations are not distributed uniformly, then populations can be abundant locally but rare globally. This would cause extinction rates to be smaller than predicted. We tested extinction theory by developing estimates of the number of plant species that should be present in small tallgrass prairie fragments and then testing the uniformity assumption by partitioning species richness into α (within site) and β (among site) components in Iowa prairies. Many more native prairie plant species were present in surveys of prairie fragments (491) than was predicted based on theory (27–207). A large proportion (75%) of the total species richness was β richness. We suggest that the high proportion of β richness was responsible for the shallow species-area slopes and the lower than expected number of species losses and that a better understanding of what determines β diversity will improve predictions of fragmentation effects on richness of plants. We also suggest that plants in prairie remnants may be best conserved by protecting different prairie types rather than by protecting a few large areas containing a single prairie type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain-size distributions and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates were obtained for the sand from Iowa's five sand prairie state preserves, which are Bebren's Ponds and Woodland, Cedar Hills Sand Prairie, Kish-Ke-Kosh Prairie, Marietta Sand Prairie and Rock Island. OSL dates ranged from the late Pleistocene (15,560 years B.P.) to the very late Holocene (as recent as 590 years B.P.), indicating that the late Pleistocene and Holocene Epochs in Iowa have seen multiple episodes of aridity, which is consistent with results from the Nebraska Sand Hills and eolian sand stringers in southeastern Minnesota. The grain-size distributions were anomalous in that, compared with typical eolian deposits, the transition grain sizes between the traction / saltation populations and saltation / suspension populations were shifted toward coarser grains, and the percentage of sand in the suspension population was high. The anomalous grain-size distributions could not be explained by post-depositional weathering or poor sorting in the source region, but were consistent with the eolian transport of sand through grass prior to deposition. It is suggested chat the anomalous grain-size distribution could be one of a set of criteria for distinguishing paleo-sand prairies from other buried bodies of eolian sand or sandstone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable ecological indicators of wetland integrity are necessary for assessing recovery of restored wetlands; yet, little consensus currently exists on which indicators are most appropriate. We employed indicators derived from simple, standard measures of ecosystem function selected on the basis of ecological succession theory developed by [Science 164 (1969) 262; Bioscience 35 (1985) 419], which suggests that respiration:biomass ratios should increase in disturbed systems due to the diversion of energy from growth to maintenance. This hypothesis holds potential for the development of a simple ecological indicator and therefore was tested among prairie wetlands restored after drainage disturbance. No difference was observed in respiration:biomass ratios in restored wetlands and reference wetlands designated as controls. Plankton respiration or biomass may be poor indicators of disturbance because plankton responds quickly to re-establishment of a wetland hydrology regime and/or because different plankton species may have redundant function. We suggest employing more revealing assessment techniques that employ simultaneous examination of ecosystem structure and function to better characterize subtle or lingering effects of wetland disturbance after restoration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Journal of Applied Ecology (2004) 41, 389 –397 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many species of tumbling flower beetles (Coleoptera: Mordellidae) are common and abundant, little is known of their life histories. Larvae of most species seem to be phytophagous, and acts of predation are considered rare and accidental. In this study, we dissected host plants of the endophytic mordellid Mordellistena aethiops Smith and subjected plant and insect samples to stable isotope analysis to determine trophic position. Dissections indicated that M. aethiops is a predator of the gall former Antistrophus rufus Gillette (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) and possibly its parasitoids. Ratios of stable isotopes of nitrogen confirmed that prey constitute a significant proportion of the diet of the mordellid larvae but also revealed that some insects species and/or life stages, particularly hymenopteran parasitoids, may not enrich nitrogen isotopes as predicted by stable isotope theory, which currently is based primarily on predators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative (PARC) has implemented an Internet Map Server (IMS) at the PARC web site (www.parc.ca) to 1) disseminate the geo-referenced results of PARC sponsored research on climate change impacts and adaptation, and 2) address data, information and knowledge management within the PARC network of researchers and partners. PARC facilitates interdisciplinary research on adaptation to the impacts of climate change in the Canadian Prairie Provinces. The web site is intended as a platform for sharing information and encouraging discussion of climate change impacts and adaptation. The IMS enables scientists and stakeholders to apply simple climate change scenarios to geo-referenced biophysical and social data, and dynamically create maps that display the geographic distribution of potential impacts of climate change. With a limited capacity for spatial analysis, most geo-processing and the climate impact modeling is done offline within a GIS environment. The IMS will serve the output from climate impact models, such that the model results can be customized by the web site user and be most readily applied to the planning and analysis of adaptation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prairie restoration at the northern edge of the Great Plains can be frustrated by previously established nonnative perennial grasses. We compared the emergence of a widely introduced grass, Agropyron cristatum, and a common native grass, Bouteloua gracilis, in a 4-year-old field experiment in which the Agropyron-dominated vegetation had either been left intact or treated annually with herbicide. This was done at two levels of water supply, reflecting conditions expected in wet and dry years, to examine the effects of among-year variability in precipitation. Water addition significantly increased the emergence of both surface-sown and buried (1 cm deep) seeds. Herbicide treatment of neighbors did not increase the emergence of experimentally added seeds. Emergence was much greater for buried (80%) than surface-sown seeds (20%). Significantly more Bouteloua than Agropyron germinated from experimentally buried seeds. Whereas only a single seedling of Bouteloua emerged from the existing seed bank, the mean density of Agropyron seedlings emerging from the seed bank was 930/m² (range, 0 to 6,455/m²). Surprisingly, the emergence of Agropyron from the seed bank was not decreased by 4 years of herbicide treatment, possibly because herbicide may release Agropyron from intraspecific competition and allow increased seed production to compensate for decreased plant abundance. In summary, we found few differences between Agropyron and Bouteloua in spring and summer emergence at high or low water availability. The persistence of Agropyron stands despite repeated herbicide application may be partly due to increased seed production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an analysis of long-term changes, from 1976 to 1996, in burned and unburned prairie remnants in Northwestern Illinois. Information on study site location and burn treatment, sample size and habitat characteristics; Discussion on compositional changes that might accompany changes in species richness; Identification of species sensitive to burning or lack of burning.

Presents a study that characterized soil surface carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents with depth in two tallgrass prairie topochronosequences in southern Wisconsin to evaluate the role of soil parent material, topography and time in controlling C and N sequestration. Site locations and descriptions; Role of texture, slope and ecosystem age in controlling C and N sequestration; Implications for level and types of prairie restoration management.

Features the Iowa Ecotype Project which aims to increase the availability of seeds for roadside prairie reconstruction. Goals of the project; Phases of the project; Use of regional approach to collect and propagate germplasm for roadside prairie reconstructions.

Great efforts have been made to manage and restore native prairies to protect native species, enrich biodiversity, protect ecological resilience, and maintain ecosystem services. Much of this has been focused on preventing degradation from overgrazing and crop conversion. Understanding the consequences of management polices is important to identify best practices. Previous research has compared restoration outcomes from variable intensity grazing, prescribed fire, and grazing removal. However, few studies have explored the optimal durations of management practices and variation in restoration outcomes among vegetation communities. This study evaluates whether the impact of grazing cessation and reintroduction varies among native vegetation communities and measures the effective time periods of grazing cessation and reintroduction. Restoration outcomes were evaluated using four biophysical indicators (fresh biomass, soil organic matter, green cover, and litter cover) and two vegetation indices (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference water index (NDWI)) measured from Landsat images using seasonal Kalman filter and raster time series analysis. The results show that: (i) Grazing cessation increased soil organic matter and green cover while decreasing fresh biomass compared to moderate grazing management, while grazing reintroduction influences those indicators in an opposite direction; (ii) The effective time period for prairie conservation is about 11–14 years and varies among vegetation communities and biophysical indicators; (iii) The effective intensity of grazing cessation is highest in valley grassland, moderate in upland grassland, and mildest in sloped grassland; (iv) Grazing reintroduction returned the three native vegetation communities to the initial condition (i.e., the stage in 1985 before large grazers were removed), with less time than the time consumed for grazing cessation to restore the prairie ecosystem to the maximum changes; (v) Grazing reintroduction effectively influences upland and valley grasslands for 7 to 9 years, varying from different indicators, while it continuously affected sloped grassland with no clear time lag; (vi) The intensity of grazing reintroduction was strongest in sloped grassland, moderate in upland grassland, and mildest in valley grassland. The results of this study suggest expected time periods for prairie management methods to achieve results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]