PARENT SESSION
Oral Session # 76: Restoration Ecology I: Grasslands.
Presiding: A Grootjans
Thursday, August 7. 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM, SITCC Meeting Room 101.
Soil and vegetation factors influencing establishment of conservative vegetation on a restored prairie.
Jablonski, Leanne*,1, Poling, Tara1, Banker, Michele 1, Klips, Robert3, Geiger, Donald1, 2, 1 Marianist Environmental Education Center, Dayton, OH3 The Ohio State University, Marion, OH2 University of Dayton, Dayton, OH
ABSTRACT- Herbaceous and moss vegetation have been assessed periodically since the reclamation of eastern tallgrass prairie on a sand and gravel borrow pit at Mount St. John in Greene Co. near Dayton, Ohio. Prairie was initiated in 1986 on the 7-ha. semi-urban site, by a uniform hydro-seeding with eight native grasses, and by transplanting native forb seedlings. Two permanent transects of 350 meters total length were established in 1995, encompassing a gradient in elevation and edaphic factors with 88% of the sampled area being dry prairie and 12% in wet prairie. Soil nutrients, organic matter, pH and mycorrhizae and the herbaceous vegetation composition and cover were all assessed beginning in 1995 in 36 1.0 m2 quadrats. By 2001, transects represented 54% of the total herbaceous species diversity on the dry prairie on the soil which ranged from fertile agricultural soil with 100% vegetation cover to a bottomland pit with pH > 8 and 62% cover. Moss species, began to appear in 1999, with cover being 26.2% in 2001, and moss diversity was quantified in 2003. The relationship between edaphic and vegetation factors associated with quality and their change through time was examined to explore the role of soil, moss and herbaceous species associations in successful species establishment. Factors associated with a higher quadrat level species conservatism included soil moisture and organic layer development, and herbaceous species diversity. Biomass increases did not correlate with diversity or conservatism. Our results suggest that even with sub-sampling of small areas, repeated monitoring of soil and vegetation can assist understanding of the factors contributing to successful establishment. Given limited personnel and seed source resources, knowledge of the natural succession of species in a restoration provides important guidance to land managers regarding the best timing of species introductions to enhance the quality of the prairie community.
Key words: succession, vegetation analysis, prairie restoration, monitoring