The present post presents results of prairie growth in the second growing season (2011) and gives a summary of costs of the whole project.
In contrast to the hard work involved in previous years, the summer of 2011 was easy, involving observations of growth of the prairie, and minor seed collecting (for planting in other areas).
The season started off with a very successful prescribed burn. Normally we would have not burned this prairie until after the third growing season, but we were operating under NRCS rules and they requested a spring burn in 2011. Since we had mowed the prairie twice the previous season, we had doubts about whether there would be enough fuel to carry a fire, but it turned out that about half of the site burned fairly well. This burn was carried out by Kathie and I with our regular crew (Amanda, Marci, and Susan).
In 2011 we followed prairie development carefully. Although there were plenty of weeds and rampant annuals the second year, the predominant species were native prairie plants. By mid-summer, the general aspect was of a lush, 2nd year prairie (see photo below). This was the first time that we could begin to think that perhaps the whole restoration process might be worth the time and money.
Although most planted prairies are relatively low in diversity during their first few years, in the East Basin we had a number of “good” plants showing flowers or flower buds. By late summer the situation was even better. In fact, a few species did well enough that they served as sources for seed collection:June grass, prairie brome, pasture thistle, woodland and Virginia wild rye, Gaura, and black- and brown-eyed Susans. The 2011 list (50 species) is given in the table at the bottom of this post.
The principal invasive plant was sweet clover, but this was primarily localized to the upper part of the southeast corner. It was hand-pulled by our regular crew and by the summer interns. The interns also cruised the whole site and pulled other weeds.
Reasonably careful records were kept of the work involved in restoration of the East Basin. The two main activities were 1) logging and other activities involved in removing the woody vegetation, and 2) seed collecting to provide the seed mix used in planting. Other activities such as weeding, mowing, and prescribed burning were only about 15% of the total work.
Total work was somewhat over 3000 hours, or about 600 hours per acre. Actual cost would depend upon the hourly rate, which would vary depending on location and availability of personnel. Assuming $20 per hour, for instance, the total cost would be $60,000 or $12,000 per acre. This is at the high end of costs for prairie restoration, but would be reasonable for oak savanna restoration.
| Latin name | Common name |
| Achillea millefolium | Yarrow |
| Agastache nepetoides | Yellow giant hyssop |
| Agastache scrophulariaefolia | Purple giant hyssop |
| Arnoglossum atriplicifolia | Pale Indian plantain |
| Aster laevis | Smooth blue aster |
| Aster lateriflorus | Calico aster |
| Aster novae-angliae | New England aster |
| Aster oolentangiensis | Sky-blue aster |
| Aster pilosus | Hairy aster |
| Aster sagittifolius | Arrow-leaved aster |
| Aster lanceolatus | Marsh aster |
| Bromus kalmii | Prairie brome |
| Cirsium discolor | Pasture thistle |
| Desmodium paniculatum | Panciled tick-trefoil |
| Dodecatheon meadia | Shooting star |
| Elymus canadensis | Canada wild rye |
| Elymus hystrix | Bottlebrush grass |
| Elymus riparius | Woodland wild rye |
| Elymus virginicus | Virginia wild rye |
| Erigeron philadelphicus | Marsh fleabane |
| Erigeron strigosus | Daisy fleabane |
| Eupatorium altissimum | Tall boneset |
| Eupatorium perfoliatum | Boneset |
| Gaura biennis | Biennial gaura |
| Gentianella quinquefolia | Stiff gentian |
| Helenium autumnale | Sneezeweed |
| Helianthus decapetalus | Pale sunflower |
| Heliopsis helianthoides | Ox-eye sunflower |
| Hypericum punctatum | Dotted St. Johns wort |
| Koeleria macrantha | June grass |
| Lobelia siphilitica | Great blue lobelia |
| Monarda fistulosa | Wild bergamot |
| Oenothera biennis | Common evening-primrose |
| Panicum virgatum | Switch grass |
| Penstemon digitalis | Penstemon |
| Phytolacca americana | Pokeweed |
| Polygonum punctatum | Smartweed |
| Ratibida pinnata | Yellow coneflower |
| Rudbeckia hirta | Black-eyed Susan |
| Rudbeckia triloba | Brown-eyed Susan |
| Silphium integrifolium | Rosinweed |
| Solidago canadensis | Common goldenrod |
| Solidago missouriensis | Missouri goldenrod |
| Solidago nemoralis | Gray goldenrod |
| Solidago rigida | Stiff goldenrod |
| Solidago speciosa | Showy goldenrod |
| Sorghastrum nutans | Indian grass |
| Tradescantia ohiensis | Common spiderwort |
| Verbena hastata | Blue vervain |
| Verbena stricta | Hoary vervain |
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