Woody & Exotic Encroachment Into Prairie Ecosystems
Problem: Woody and exotic plant encroachment is a widespread and significant alteration to grasslands. In pre-settlement times, fires keep these prairie ecosystems free of woody vegetation. Humans have not only altered these ecosystems through natural fire suppression, but also through activities leading to increases in exotic invasions. Natural prairie ecosystems in the Midwestern USA are unique and unfortunately rapidly decreasing due to woody encroachment and also due to the expansion of agricultural and urban lands. Commonly cited consequences of woody and exotic encroachment include decreased plant diversity and alterations in nutrient storage and potential losses. Goals: The goal of this research is to detail the impacts of woody and exotic plant encroachment into natural prairie and savanna ecosystems in Midwestern USA.
Methods: To address the research goals we have been studying soil processes as well as plant community composition in some very unique and threatened prairie ecosystems in Midwestern, USA. We have been studying woody encroachment from fire exclusion in plots in a sandy-dry prairie in Lower Wisconsin River Valley in central Wisconsin. We also been examining the effects of woody and exotic plant encroachment on soil processes in the Tefft Savanna ecosystem in northwest Indiana.
Personnel: Research is led by Dr. Bryant Scharenbroch, Marlin Bowles (The Morton Arboretum), and Dr. Mario Flores-Mangual (U Puerto-Rico). Funding: Funding for this research is provided by The Morton Arboretum.
Flores-Mangual, M.L., B. Lowery, J.G. Bockheim, P.H. Pagliari, and B.C. Scharenbroch. 2013. Hydrophobicity of Sparta Sand under Different Vegetation Types in the Lower Wisconsin River Valley. Soil Science Society of America Journal. doi:10.2136/sssaj2012.0343.
Scharenbroch, B.C., M.L. Flores-Mangual, B. Lepore, J.G. Bockheim, and B. Lowery. 2010. Tree encroachment impacts on storage and dynamics of carbon in a sandy prairie in the lower Wisconsin River valley, USA. Soil Science Society American Journal 74:956-968.
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