Liz Garst has been experimenting with habitat
improvements for years. On this page
learn about some of her successes and failures on the following projects: Reconstructed Burr Oak
Savanna , Prairie
Management ,
Prairie Reconstruction, Prairie Projects in Whiterock Valley and Timber Stand Improvement.
Oak
Savannah
Most of the original habitat in the Whiterock Valley was "oak savannah",
a scattering of oak trees with a woodland flora under-story. Oak
savannah is rapidly disappearing in Iowa because of the fire suppression
efforts of the white man. Without fire, softwood trees such as
elm, bass and maple and invasives including red cedar, buckthorn,
raspberries and honey locust grow unchecked. The shade of
these trees gradually kills oak trees, and prevents re-generation
of oak seedlings, which require sunlight. Eventually the
forest becomes so strangled that there is no sunlight for understory
plants, and the forest begins to errode.
For several years we have been burning our timber areas, and
have seen real improvement in the diversity of the understory.
Unfortunately, to "catch up" with the softwood trees, after years of
growth without fire, "timber stand improvement" is needed to cut
the softwood trees which are too large to kill in a prescribed burn.
This is an expensive project, and is just beginning.
Meanwhile, gradual progress is being made with fire.
Reconstructed
Burr Oak Savanna
An experimental re-constructed burr oak savanna was
planted in 1996 on a three acre parcel west of the River House. Three trees were planted
in each cluster, and there are thirty clusters per acre. Thanks to plastic
tree tubes, the survival rate of the tree seedlings has been excellent and
we have too many trees! (We are working on transplanting them.) Also in 1996 we planted a
variety of savanna species around the trees.
We had problems with non-indigenous Canada thistles in the burr oak patch.
But, we mowed the
prairie several times and have now started burning the patch. We are
gaining on the thistles. We used tree tubes because of deer
pressure. They were supposed to bio-degrade, but did not.
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PRAIRIE
MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
The Garst Family Uses Several Techniques to Manage
Prairie....
Forest
Reserve Program. This State Government program
offers the farmer property tax relief. In turn, the farmer
maintains at least 200 trees per acre and does not allow grazing on the
land. We are converting some of these timber back to
oak savannah (which should have more like 30 trees per acre, and if we
are successful, we will have to remove these properties from the Forest
Reserve Program.
Wetland
Reserve Program. This federal permanent
easement program provides for prairie reconstruction on wetland soils that have been
farmed.
Controlled
Grazing. The land just east of the River House is still grazed by cattle,
now
owned by the HAT Ranch. Cows and their calves are put into the timber pasture in the late
spring and removed about 90 days later. Breeding bulls stay with their harems in the
pasture for a 45 day breeding season. Cattle can cause serious soil erosion
and eat young flora of all kinds, both trees and plants. Where their hooves disturb the
soil, musk thistles tend to invade. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the pastures are not overgrazed ( which would push the
cattle into the more delicate timber for food). Experiments on how
to improve productivity and pasture management, which increasing
bio-diversity are now beginning.
Fire.
Before the white men arrived, prairie fires, started by lightening, went unchecked.
And, Native Americans purposely burned their lands to renew the
landscape. The
native plants were adapted to the burn cycle … indeed, some prairie
and savannah seeds cannot
germinate without fire. Most prairie grasses are "warm season" ,
which means they come up relatively late in the spring. However, most introduced,
non-native pasture species, notably brome grass, are "cool season" grasses which
start growing earlier in the spring. Man-made burns can duplicate the occasional lightening burn, knock back the earlier
rising cool season grasses and give the native plants a relative advantage.
Fire can harm particular species during certain periods of their life
cycle. Therefore, we try to change the timing of burns
(early spring, late spring, fall or winter) on each piece, so as to not
disturb the same species repeatedly. We also try to preserve
"patchiness" in burns, to give safe haven for species such as insects,
and we rotate burn units to always leave substantial unburned areas.
The Garst Family conducts controlled burns on approximately 500
to 800 acres of prairie and timber each spring. Under the direction of a
Burn Master, a team of workers carry water backpacks and flappers (rubber mats on the end
of broom handles to smother the fire line). The burn master lays a fire line with a
"drip torch" on the downwind side of the burn area. The workers quickly put it
out before the fire builds and burns downwind. Once the fuel load is burned to a strip
10-200 feet wide (depending on fuel loads and wind conditions) , the black strip makes an
invincible line which the fire cannot cross. When the sides of the burn area are also
secure, the burn master moves to the upwind side of the burn area, and we all watch it
rip!! We have burned parcels from 3 acres to 200 acres and we burn the timber as well as
the open areas. We never burn up everything, so that there remains a nearby seed source
for re-establishment.
If you are looking for a
working vacation and are also a pyromaniac, make a reservation, especially between mid April and mid
May or in November, and express your interest. You must have good lungs and a good back, natural fiber
clothing, leather shoes, and an absolute willingness to obey instructions. (Of course, we
cannot guarantee a job; burns are VERY weather dependent.) No children. Waiver
of liability required.
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Helping Out
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PRAIRIE RECONSTRUCTION
Where there is no hope of restoring an existing prairie, we have tried to establish new
prairies, in experimental parcels. Of course, it will take decades, if not longer, to
recreate an original prairie. It may take forever to duplicate the deep roots and prairie
soils, to reestablish the communities of fungi and bacteria, etc.
The general technique to start a new prairie is:
Spray
the existing brome grass vegetation with a non-selective herbicide such as Roundup to kill
all the vegetation. An alternative method uses repeated cultivation (plowing then disking)
to kill the brome grass. However, this can cause serious soil erosion on slopes.
Select
seeds. Most of our experimental prairies were planted with a mixture of
grasses and forbes. (Forbes are flowers and other plants which are not shrubs, trees or
grasses). Locally grown seeds, adapted to the soil type, moisture, and vegetation are
best. Typically, we have planted 15 different kinds of grasses and 40 different kinds of
forbes in each of our parcels.
Plant.
We use a no-till drill to plant the seeds in order to minimize soil erosion.
Mow.In
the first years of a new prairie we mow several times each summer. This hurts the annual
weed population and keeps the canopy open so that the slow-germinating prairie seeds will
sprout. It can take several years before all the seeds have germinated. After three
or four years of mowing, the native plant populations begin to increase. We do not mow in
the latter part of the third or fourth summer, so that a fuel load will be left for a
spring burn.
Burn.
For the next three or four years, we burn the parcel every year to give the native plants
a relative advantage. Then, we begin a rotation and burn the prairie once every three or
four years.
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RECONSTRUCTED
PRAIRIES IN WHITEROCK VALLEY
Sandstone
Prairie. The lower slopes just across the river west of the River House
were planted in 1993. The predominant species is big bluestem. Many other species were
planted, selected for tolerance to the sandy slopes. However, in this first effort, we
foolishly chose non-local seed. and the bluestem is a vigorous type which is out-competing
the other species.
River
House Prairie. The pasture next to the River House Barn was planted in
1993 but the flood of 1993 covered the pasture with several feet of sand. We harrowed in
the sand and tried again in 1994 with a selection of Iowa-sourced seed suitable for
wetlands. After a slow start, the prairie species are gaining.
Seedstock Prairie. In 1996 we started a seed stock
prairie high on the ridge line west of the River House. Native prairie seed is expensive,
so we are hoping to grow our own. All the 100 seed types were collected in Guthrie County
to ensure that our prairie seed is locally adapted. The three acre parcel is flat so we
can mechanically harvest seeds, although many seed types will have to be hand harvested.
This prairie has not had a good start, but then none of them have. This parcel was
burned for the first time in 2000
Bowman
and Rice Farm Prairies. As part of a Wetland Reserve Program project,
almost 200 acres were seeded to wetland prairie seeds in the summer of 1999. Because
of drought, the project is off to a rough start.
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TIMBER STAND IMPROVEMENT
On a parcel just north of the River House, the degraded timber has been helped under the
Timber Stand Improvement program. The government provided cost share funds to have the "junk trees" killed. (They were ringed
with a chain saw and on certain species the cuts were swabbed with a chemical which killed
the trees.) Good, native trees were left alone and will now have a relative advantage.
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