Tallgrass prairie, once common throughout southern Wisconsin, has been replaced with farmland and development, and restoration efforts help maintain these systems on the landscape. Although restoration is a key tool for the preservation and protection of prairies, monitoring the success of these restorations is rare. Here we measure the success of prairie restorations in Southern Wisconsin by conducting intensive vegetation sampling at sites that have one of the following restoration/management practices: 1) unseeded, or self-regenerating, 2) native seedings, and 3) native seedings managed with prescribed burns. Success of the restorations was measured by the establishment of seeded species, species richness, species diversity, and by comparing these restored lands to remnant prairies in southern Wisconsin. All sites are part of the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), whose goal is to restore wetlands and adjacent upland tallgrass prairie on former agricultural land in order to improve ecosystem functioning and provide wildlife habitat. Seeding practices and subsequent management of these restored prairies affects the successful establishment of vegetation and therefore habitat for pollinators and other forms of wildlife.
Results/Conclusions
Across the prairie restoration sites, we found a wide range of restoration success. Preliminary results indicate that the establishment of seeded species is as low as 25% but can be as high as 65% on easements managed by fire. Species richness also varies greatly among easements; areas that have never been seeded can have as few as 4 species present, while seeded easements can have more than 75 species. Seeded and burned sites do not always have the highest species richness, but burned sites tend to have more natives present and fewer invasive or non-native species. Additionally, floral resources seem to be greater on seeded sites. Other factors that may influence the success of restoration include whether the easements are protected by a conservation organization, fire frequency, proximity to other conserved prairies, as well as the residual fertilizers found in the soils. Overall, the results suggest that the restorations are improving plant community composition, which should in turn provide more resources for pollinators and wildlife.