Floristic and soil organic matter changes after five and thirty‐five years of native tallgrass prairie restoration

Published source details Kindscher K. & Tieszen L.L. (1998) Floristic and soil organic matter changes after five and thirty‐five years of native tallgrass prairie restoration. Restoration Ecology, 6, 181-169.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Sow native grass and forbs Action Link
	Sow grass seeds Action Link

Sow native grass and forbs

A site comparison study in 1992 in a former arable field in Kansas, USA (Kindscher & Tieszen 1998) found that sowing grass and forb seeds resulted in lower plant species richness than that found in intact prairie sites. Plant species richness in the two sites where local seeds were sown was lower (8.7–10.3 species/quadrat) than in nearby intact prairies (14.0 species/quadrat). In April 1989, seeds of 33 prairie plant species were sown. Grasses were sown at a rate of 5.8 kg/ha and forbs at a rate of 0.06 kg/ha. In September 1992, vegetation cover was surveyed in sixty 1-m² quadrats in the site sown with seed, and 30 quadrats in an adjacent intact prairie.

(Summarised by: Philip Martin)
Sow grass seeds

A site comparison study in 1992 in a former arable field site in Kansas, USA (Kindscher & Tieszen 1998) found that sowing grass seeds resulted in species richness that was lower than that found in intact prairie sites. Plant species richness in the two sites where local seeds were sown was lower (9.2–12.0 species/quadrat) than in a nearby intact prairie (15.0 species/quadrat). In 1957, soil in the arable field was disturbed by disking and sown with Andropogon gerardii, Andropogon scoparius, Sorghastrum nutans, and Panicum virgatum seeds. In June 1992, vegetation cover was surveyed in ninety 1-m² quadrats in the site sown with seed, and 30 quadrats in an adjacent intact prairie.

(Summarised by: Philip Martin)