The Tallgrass Prairie Center develops research,

techniques, education and source identified seed for

restoration and preservation of prairie vegetation in
rights-of-way and other lands.
 Tallgrass
Prairie

240 million acres

grass - wind - sky
Less than 1-2 % of tallgrass prairie remains
Scenes of the Prairie
Isolated Prairie Remnants
Prairie
Remnants
 Sandy Soils
Prairie
Remnants

Rocky Outcrops
 Losses from
prairie conversion

• Species richness & diversity

• Capacity to adsorb and
infiltrate water
• Capability to hold soil
• Ability to form soil
• Wildlife habitat
• Indigenous cultures
Conversion of prairie to agriculture
was rapid and extensive
 Clements’ Climax Community

A plant community composed of species

best adapted to the climatic conditions of a
region that developed through succession
over time as the vegetation reached
equilibrium with the environment

If a community is disturbed it will re-

equilibrate and return to the climax
state through secondary succession
 Continued
deterioration

Requires human
intervention
Less than 0.1%
Iowa prairie
remains as
isolated islands
awash in a sea
of agricultural )

Remnant
surrounded
by cropland
 Prairie is a part of
our cultural and
biological heritage

Interpreting prairie

People pasture
 Prairie Restoration

No prairie species Degraded remnant with

present – cropland relict prairie species

Reconstruction Remnant Restoration

Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide
to Prairie Restoration in
the Upper Midwest

Daryl Smith
Greg Houseal
Dave Williams
Kirk Henderson
Prairie Reconstruction History

Curtis Prairie 1936

Greene Prairie 1945
Green Oaks Prairie 1955
Schulenberg Prairie 1962
Fermilab Prairie 1974
Neal Smith NWR 1991
Midewin Project 1996
North American Prairie Conferences
(Midwest Prairie Conferences)
Midwest Prairie
Conferences
1968-1976

North American
Prairie Conferences
1978-2010
Advances in prairie reconstruction
1970-2010

• Reduced seeding quantities from 30-40 lbs/acre

of grasses to 6-8 lb/acre of grasses and forbs
• Specially designed seed mixes of grasses, forbs
& sedges at 40-50 seeds/square foot
• Frequent establishment mowing at 3-6 in. has
replaced one time mowing at 12-14 in.
 Advances in prairie reconstruction
1970-2010 (continued)

• Glyphosate application has replaced extensive

tilling for site preparation
• Much more attention to depth of seed drilling
• More fall seeding, but still much spring seeding
(

• Source identified seed available at reasonable

cost
!"e goal of res#ra$on must b%
&atural recovery.…a'empt #
(es#re in an ecologica)*
appropria+ manner…..species,
,ommuni- .nc$ons an/
01uctures…….guard agains2
human abuses and let nature ru3
her course4 Sayen 1989
Challenges in Prairie Restoration
 Concerns Related to Restoration
• Little information available on pre-settlement
plants and animals
• Remnants not representative of the
pre-settlement prairie
• Restoration may not be possible if prairies
can’t recover with human-assisted succession
• Perpetuates “wilderness myth” that Native
Americans had no impact on their environment
• Difficult to mimic landscape scale processes
of fire and herbivory
Fire is an
essential
restoration
and
management
tool
Grazers
Herbivores
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie
 Demise of coastal prairie
• Conversion to cropland
• Overgrazing
• Fire suppression
• Urban sprawl & development
for other uses
• Invasion of exotics including
Chinese tallow tree
Biggest roadblock to coastal
prairie reconstruction is the lack
of available native plant materials
 Concerned About Cost and
Availability of Native Seed
for Roadside Plantings

Available seed
• Native cultivars of western origin
and limited genetic variability
• Limited amounts of expensive
hand-collected local Iowa seed

Compass plant
IOWA ECOTYPE PROJECT
 Iowa Ecotype Project
Established in 1990
• To increase availability
of Iowa origin seed

• Provide regional Iowa-origin seed at

economically competitive prices

Added in 1996
• Source-Identified Seed Certification
Standards
Seedbank accessions
from remnant prairies
 Start seedlings
in greenhouse

Transplant seedlings
into seed production
plots plot
 Seed Production
Plots

Pale purple coneflower

Prairie blazing star

Harvesting bluejoint grass seed
A small modified plot combine is used to
harvest native grasses and flowers
New use for old
technology
Westrup seed cleaning equipment
Bagging foundation seed for release to
commercial producer
 IOWA ECOTYPE PROJECT

GROWER LOCATIONS
Number of Species Released/Developing
35
Developing
Released

30

25

20

15

10

0
WG Species CG Species Shrub Species Leg Species Forb Species
 Original
collect
Seed
Sample
seed

REMNANT
r s
POPULATION
n
1
ce
er at
io
du
en
r o
R eg

P C ia lp Continue Increase
or

T er
c Market
First
Regeneration of m
Original Seed
o m
Sample c
t e
a Regeneration of
r iv Second Regeneration
P

Regeneration 2
 Factors Affecting
Remnant Restoration
• Type and extent of disturbance
• How to halt degradation
• Avoiding harm to native
conservative species
• Control of invasive and
aggressive species
• Whether to replace extirpated
species
Factors Affecting Reconstruction

• Soil structure and temperature

• Existing vegetation
• Site preparation
• Weed control
• Seeding mix
• Seeding rate and time
• Seed viability and germinability
• Pre- & post-planting weather
Practitioners and

Restoration
ecologists
need to work
together
 Tallgrass Prairie
A Vanishing Ecosystem
Prairie is important for many reasons,
it takes all kinds
 ROADSIDE PROGRAM
(Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management)
 Benefits of prairie
• Native out compete weeds
• Less mowing & herbicide use
•!Improved wildlife habitat
• Reduction in stormwater
runoff and soil erosion
• Reduced snow drifting and
increased snow storage
• Visually interesting
wildflowers and grasses
Prairie Roots

Comprise 65-90%
of total prairie plant

Extensive root
hairs on all rootlets
Reduce Soil
Erosion

stream bank cutting

rill erosion
gully formation
 Habitat for Wildlife
Small mammals Grassland birds

Larger mammals
Butterflies
Tilman et al. showed increased biomass
 Steps to Prepare Prairie
Biomass for Burning

Harvest Transport Store

Shred prior to cubing Cube

Prairie Power Project Treatments
Monoculture Native grasses
Switchgrass Switchgrass
+
Big bluestem
Little bluestem
Indian grass
Sideoats grama

Biomass mix Prairie mix

Native grasses Biomass mix
+ +
11 species of 16 species of
forbs, grasses forbs, grasses
and sedges and sedges
 Prairie Landscaping

Prairie Prairie
Prairie Prairie
July 4th floral display breath taking
Something of value is being lost
5e res#re prairie remnants an/
(econs1uct prairies because we valu%
6e ta)grass prairie ecosys+m and 7%
organisms 7at inhabit it, knowing a)
6e while 7at we can never achieve 8
,omple+ replica+ of 7e his#ric
landscape, and knowing 7at ou9
(esponsibili- is perpetual.
Prairie remnant restoration and
reconstruction are worth the effort
 Arnold Webster
Cedar Hills Sand Prairie
Cedar Hills Sand Prairie
The Tallgrass Prairie Center develops research,
techniques, education and source identified seed for
restoration and preservation of prairie vegetation in
rights-of-way and other lands.