Woods, Prairie, and the Puzzling “In Between”

On March 21st, after the burn, we were hungry for the warmth of the growing season. We were hungry for some green.

These two bur oaks stand amid a rich ecosystem. We know that from memory. Now it's mostly under ground.

The next photo shows how this spot looked on August 13, 2018. Beneath those blooming Woodland Sunflowers and Joe Pye Weeds are more than 100 species of shorter plants that bloomed in April through July.

After three decades of invasives control, local seed gathering and broadcast, and fire - the woodland is stable and rich.

But see that sunny area behind the oak on the right. A photo taken there on June 17, 2018 tells a very different story. It's just fifty yards away and looks colorful and rich, but in this case, the species may be temporary.

Columbine (red), Beardtongue (white), and Spiderwort (blue).

This area has not been stable. It has "intermediate light levels" - not as shady as woods and not as sunny as prairie.  We have less confidence that we know how to manage these intermediate communities. The quality species in this photo are mixed with Tall Goldenrod and Woodland Sunflower. Both of those species sometimes act "thuggish" - that is, over the years, they somehow kill off most other species.

Wild Bergamot, Joe Pye Weed, and Starry Campion flower, but Tall Goldenrod makes up most of the green ... and may be a threat to the others. 

Above is an area where the problem is more obvious. Tall Goldenrod, with its narrow pointed leaves, probably makes up 90% of the vegetation. Some such areas have become all Goldenrod for years, which is poor fuel, so our controlled burns skip it, and then Buckthorn kills off the Goldenrod, and our work starts over from the beginning.

The Illinois Native Plant Society recently funded research by Dr. Karen Glennemeier in cooperation with the Somme stewards to test some approaches. Perhaps all that's needed is more seed of species that are better adapted to such intermediate-light areas. Eriko Kojima, below, has been leading our seed gathering in recent years.

Wide-leaved Panic Grass

Can you even see the rare grass in the photo above? The thin leaves belong to Spiderwort. The grass has deep green, wide leaves and sprays of tiny purple flowers.

Most people hardly notice sedges and grasses. Botanists cherish them. Ecosystems depend on them for structure, fuel and many animals' food and habitat.

Q: Why is this woman happy? A: Because she's broadcasting rare spring seeds.

We broadcast most seed in mid summer and late fall. The spring-ripening species are the most challenging to collect. We're very happy to be doing so much better with them.

A handful of rare, costly treasure.

The spring seeds include Hepatica, Shooting Star, Wood Betony, Violets, Phloxes, and a great many Sedges. They would be very expensive to buy, and for most species, the local gene pools we most want to conserve are not available for sale. Perhaps when such species are dense, they compete better with "thugs."

Does it sound like we aren't sure what's the best management? We'll admit that that's sometimes true. That's why we need more science. But possibly to restore your confidence a bit, look at the last two photos.

The first is from April 8, 2020. The black char of fire is finally being replaced by green. And out here in full sun we're confident (as we were under the oaks) that we know what to do.

In this case we have a companion photo from the same spot on August 13, 2018.

Cowbane, Spotted Joe Pye Weed, Sweet Black-eyed Susan, and Virginia Mountain Mint.

This area was freed from dense brush a few years ago, was planted with rare local prairie seed, and is already well on the way toward quality. But what you see here are all fall-bloomers. The spring and early summer prairie species take more work and more time, but down underneath, they're slowly increasing, and we continue seeding them here.

Orchard orioles, red-headed woodpeckers, and great spangled fritillaries already thrive here, where silent, dark buckthorn once stood.
Life is good.

For scientific names and more details... 
(but, sorry, not the study, yet) ...
check out a slightly more technical version of this post.

Thanks for proofing to Kathy Garness.