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Brief Summary of Restoration Efforts

Restoration Goal. Restore savanna structure to an agriculturally defined forest edge.
Field Operations. An approximately 180 m x 30 m area along the forest edge was divided into three treatment areas in 1992. One area was left untreated, a second area was thinned to increase light availability to 28%, and the third area was thinned to increase light availability to a level intermediate between the initial level (~6%) and 28%. Only non-oak trees were removed. An escaped fire burned part of the study area in April 1993. The area thinned to 28% light availability was burned in March 1997. It is unclear if the prairie portion of this area was burned. No other treatments have been applied since 1997.

Monitoring

Four 60-meter transects were established prior to the tree removal in 1992. The ends and mid-points of each transect were marked in 1999 with metal posts painted red on top. The boundaries of the study site are marked with metal posts tied with metal tags inscribed "Morgan SW Corner" etc.

Data Available

Contact the CERA Manager for access to the data outlined below.

Herbaceous vegetation

Vegetation sampling method:
Twenty species easily identifiable and common at the site were recorded for presence within two meters of each transect. The species monitored include:

Bromus inermis (Smooth brome), Carya spp. (Hickories), Circaea quadrisulcata (Enchanter's nightshade), Erigeron annuas (Fleabane), Juglans nigra (Black walnut), Osmorhiza claytoni (Sweet cicely), Panicum virgatum (Switchgrass), Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper), Pastinaca sativa (Wild parsnip), Phryma leptostachya (Lopseed), Polygonum virginianum (Jumpseed), Prunus spp. (Wild plums), Quercus alba (White oak), Quercus macrocarpa (Bur oak), Ribes missouriensis (Gooseberry), Sanicula gregaria (Clustered snakeroot), Solidago canadensis (Canada goldenrod), Toxicodendron radicans (Poison ivy), Ulmus spp. (Elms), Vitis riparia (Wild grape).

Sampling dates: 1992, 1999.

Bur oak colonization

  • Distribution map
  • ID and permanent tag per individual
  • DBH approximations (cm)
  • Height (m)

Light availability;
Air and soil temperatures;
Images

Publications

  • Robertson, Morgan M. 2001. Adjacent woodlot accelerates teh dispersal rate of oak into an old field (Iowa). Ecological Restoration 19(3): 181-182.