tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41030224799237970102024-03-12T20:13:55.108-07:00Tom's BlogTom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.comBlogger906125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-54125044537300134082021-04-23T13:59:00.000-07:002021-04-23T13:59:04.495-07:00Thomas D. Brock, 1926-2021<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WpKKjt9ezdE/YIM0myPsu-I/AAAAAAAAE_k/W0izJcMcVwsv9u1-dXaChTov-PvN5M64ACLcBGAsYHQ/s978/Tom%2Bcropped%252C%2BOct15%2B2012%2B069%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="837" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WpKKjt9ezdE/YIM0myPsu-I/AAAAAAAAE_k/W0izJcMcVwsv9u1-dXaChTov-PvN5M64ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Tom%2Bcropped%252C%2BOct15%2B2012%2B069%2B%25282%2529.jpg" /></a></div>Thomas Dale Brock, of Madison, Wisconsin, passed away on 4 April 2021 at the age of 94, due to complications from a fall. He was born 10 September 1926 in Cleveland, Ohio, the only child of Thomas Carter Brock and Helen Ringwald Brock.<p></p><p>Thomas D. Brock was the E. B. Fred Professor of Natural Sciences Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He made contributions to a wide variety of biological sciences; perhaps his best-known contribution was the discovery of extremely thermophilic microorganisms in high-temperature natural systems, including in Yellowstone National Park. An enzyme from one thermophilic bacterium he discovered, Thermus aquaticus, played a key role in the development of the polymerase chain reaction, which has revolutionized medicine, forensics, and biotechnology.</p><p>Tom’s father died when he was 15, and he and his mother moved from Cleveland to her hometown of Chillicothe, Ohio where she worked as a nurse. After graduating from high school, he served in the U. S. Navy during World War II, training in advanced radar and electronics technology. Following the war’s end, he completed his service as shore patrol on Kodiak Island, Alaska. Upon return from the Navy, he attended The Ohio State University, earning his Ph.D. in Botany 1952.</p><p>Beginning his scientific career as a research microbiologist with The Upjohn Company in 1952, he moved to Kalamazoo, MI with his first wife, Mary Louise Louden. After time on the faculties of Western Reserve University and Indiana University, in 1971 he moved to the Department of Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he spent the rest of his academic career. His list of scientific publications spans sixty years, and his over 300 research papers and over 20 books ranged widely, from the authoritative textbook Biology of Microorganisms to diverse works in mycology, bacteriology, microbial ecology, limnology, ecological restoration, and other fields. He was the recipient of many honors including an honorary doctorate from UW-Madison; Ohio State’s Sullivant Medal for excellence in teaching and research; and the Golden Goose Award to recognize the power of basic scientific research, driven by pure curiosity, to benefit to human society in unexpected ways.</p><p>He is survived by his wife of fifty years, Katherine S. Middleton Brock, and his two children, Emily Katherine Brock of Washington, D.C., and Brian Thomas Brock of Laveen, Arizona. A lover of the outdoors as well as arts and culture, he spent happy times canoeing, hiking, and camping, and also taught himself German, read literature voraciously, played piano, and gained encyclopedic knowledge of classical music, art, and opera.</p><p>While best known as a scientist, Tom Brock was also intensely productive in other fields both before and after his retirement. In 1982, Tom and Kathie Brock co-founded a publishing company, Science Tech Publishers, which specialized in scientific monographs, popular science, and international publishing partnerships. He harbored a lifelong interest in genealogy and local history, contributing over the decades as researcher, author, journal editor, and historical society officer. He was also active in history of science, with a biography of Robert Koch, a history of microbial genetics, and an edited volume of classic papers among his contributions.</p><p><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Perhaps his greatest achievement after retirement was the transformation of 140 acres of overgrown land in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin into a showpiece for ecological restoration techniques. In collaboration with his wife Kathie, he spent the last decades of his life developing strategies to restore oak savanna, prairie, and marshland ecology. Today, Pleasant Valley Conservancy State Natural Area contributes to our understanding of ecological restoration processes while also providing the solace of open spaces to nature lovers of all stripes. Pleasant Valley’s host of rare prairie and savanna plants, and its robust population of open grown bur oaks, serve as a lasting monument to Tom’s endless energy, inventiveness, enthusiasm, and dedication to the natural world. Memorials to Tom Brock’s life can be made via contributions to the nonprofit (501c3) charity he and Kathie founded to fund and manage their ecological restoration work: </p><p>Savanna Oak Foundation Inc., c/o The Prairie Enthusiasts, P.O. Box 824, Viroqua, WI 54665. </p><p>A celebration of Tom’s life will be planned for a later date.</p>Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-3109712177200917262020-11-21T14:24:00.000-08:002020-11-21T14:24:31.529-08:00Great fall burn weather during Election Week<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Because of Covid most of our spring burns were canceled (needlessly!). So it was a great boon that the first week of November (Election Week) the burn weather was outstanding!<p></p><p>We got three major burns done: Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie (one of Southern Wisconsin's best remnants) on November 6 , the North Woods at Pleasant Valley Conservancy on November 8 (a high-quality oak woodland that is typically hard to burn), and Unit 19 at PVC that is a mixture of oak savanna and woodland that runs along the dolomite ridge.</p><p>The sun was shining virtually all week, the afternoon temperatures were generally in the 60's, and the Dew Point steady at 40 F.</p><p>This Post deals with the Rettenmund Prairie burn. Although the prairie burn went well, we had surprising mop-up problems from the residue of a recently harvested adjacent corn field. (The fire department had to be called!) A great learning experience!</p><p>Rettenmund is divided into three burn units, two of which are burned each year. (The unit not burned receives major brush control work.) This year we burned the North and South Units, but not the Saddle Unit in the middle. In October Kathie mowed a fire break at each end of the Saddle with the Kubota tractor. On the day of the burn, Chris blew the breaks debris-free with our heavy-duty Stihl leaf blower. Another important break is the motor lane that goes completely around the N, S, and E side of the prairie. Kathie mowed that several times during the season and a final mowing when she did the fire breaks.</p><p>When Rettenmund Prairie was acquired by the Nature Conservancy in 1986, the goal was to acquire all the property bordering County F. Unfortunately, Bill Rettenmund kept a wide strip (the best agricultural land) that lies between County F and the prairie. This land, about 20 acres, follows the usual rotation of alfalfa and corn. This year it was in corn. Fortunately for us, the corn was harvested the day before we burned. The stubble was to be plowed into the soil later.</p><p>We knew we had to monitor the stubble for spot fires, but we had no previous experience with agricultural waste and fire. The corn stalks were really dry (it is a grass, after all). One crew member was assigned to spot-fire monitoring. This was a wise move since we had a small flare-up almost immediately.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TISgdGzfWXo/X7mKyqYcmjI/AAAAAAAAE8c/_MSK_ee16EMzh1cbkPnr6ecmJCaWbBqIACLcBGAsYHQ/BE%2Bburn%2B2020%2B1483.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="360" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TISgdGzfWXo/X7mKyqYcmjI/AAAAAAAAE8c/_MSK_ee16EMzh1cbkPnr6ecmJCaWbBqIACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/BE%2Bburn%2B2020%2B1483.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Completion of North Unit burn. Firebreaks and Saddle in background. Corn stubble in foreground<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--KgaSEpg49c/X7mRpAdeDaI/AAAAAAAAE8o/4AektaeOOGciK03HCs4EVSFqGxBQYwlRQCLcBGAsYHQ/BE%2Bburn%2B2020%2B1494.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1320" data-original-width="1758" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--KgaSEpg49c/X7mRpAdeDaI/AAAAAAAAE8o/4AektaeOOGciK03HCs4EVSFqGxBQYwlRQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/BE%2Bburn%2B2020%2B1494.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Black Earth volunteer fire department put out the stubble fire in short order</div></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p>Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-53334530454684702982020-05-01T13:47:00.002-07:002020-05-01T13:49:06.562-07:00Comparison between burned (2019) and unburned (2020) areas of the same oak savannaWe were prevented from burning in 2020 because of the corona virus pandemic.<br />
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I found two photos from the same location: 2019 (dormant season-early March burn), and 2020 unburned.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">April 28, 2019 (burned early March)</span></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">April 30, 2020 (unburned)<br /><br /></span></i></td></tr>
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The main green in the unburned year is the road, which is kept open as fire break. There are scattered green patches of grass or forb among the dead thatch, but you have to look carefully to find them.<br />
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Will 2020 ever catch up to 2019?</div>
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We'll see!</div>
Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-33102128485361747032020-04-02T11:52:00.000-07:002020-04-02T11:52:24.362-07:00My old work now playing part of the corona virus assayMy work on <i>Thermus aquaticus</i> has been reported frequently because of its significance in DNA technology. Who knew it would also play a role in the corona virus test?<br />
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This link to the National Geographic tells the story briefly:<br />
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<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/03/key-ingredient-in-coronavirus-tests-comes-from-yellowstone/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=Science_20200401&rid=00A1C0EC1D6BCA13E7D730C0C4F8DA2E">https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/03/key-ingredient-in-coronavirus-tests-comes-from-yellowstone/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=Science_20200401&rid=00A1C0EC1D6BCA13E7D730C0C4F8DA2E</a><br />
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<br />Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-39882199176185938002020-03-31T13:16:00.000-07:002020-03-31T13:16:05.527-07:00Importance of fire with Midwest oak savannasWe have been burning our oak savannas at Pleasant Valley Conservancy "<b>annually"</b> for the past 20 years. They have always been dormant season burns, either late fall or early spring. These annual burns are part of the reason the PVC savannas look so spectacular.<br />
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This year, because of the corona virus pandemic, our burn permits have all been canceled. (Our principal oak savanna burn was planned for 40 acres, a substantial size.)<br />
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Although we have willingly complied with the burn ban, to help in our small way in control of a global tragedy, a few words about the importance of savanna burns might be relevant.<br />
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Burns are most important for the more open savannas, where the understory vegetation (and principal fuel) is prairie-like.<br />
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The first photo shows how lush this unburned vegetation is. With this sort of understory, it takes quite a while for this year's new growth to get started. That is why the controlled burn so dramatically stimulates the understory growth. Areas that have been burned are usually 2-3 weeks ahead of unburned areas.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><i>Understory vegetation of an unburned bur oak savanna, March 2020<br /></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Similar vegetation in March 2019, just at the start of the controlled burn</i></td></tr>
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Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-23871895072881994672020-03-26T14:14:00.000-07:002020-03-26T14:14:09.843-07:00Corona virus: Controlled burns for natural areas now canceledSince my post yesterday, Wisconsin DNR Forestry has canceled burn permits for natural areas. (Burns for agricultural purposes are still permitted.)<br />
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<br />Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-41189164503428762102020-03-25T13:34:00.002-07:002020-03-25T13:34:48.928-07:00Restoration ecology in the time of corona virus: controlled burns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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These are fearsome times, with a modern plague raging across the land. Unfortunately, the full significance of the epidemic only became evident in late March, just when burn season was well started. (We had already done three successful burns.)<br />
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On March 17, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers issued a "Safe at home" order, which will extend for a month. The order ends April 24, which unfortunately is near the end of our regular burn season. (Of course, the rule could always be extended.)<br />
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What to do?<br />
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I think prescribed burns can continue, provided each worker practices what the Governor calls "social distancing". (This is the procedure recommended for construction workers.) Social distancing should not be difficult on the usual burn. The only inconvenience would be that car pooling would be prohibited. (Nothing wrong with renting a large van or bus and sitting well apart!)<br />
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I strongly recommend that burns not be canceled. Ecosystems that require fire are too fragile to go unburned, even for a single year!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Burn from Dec 2018. The two workers on the right are too close together, but in a burn now would be farther part.</i></td></tr>
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<br />Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-35430565096938635922020-01-31T10:07:00.001-08:002020-01-31T10:22:15.095-08:00Getting ready for dormant season (spring) burnsThe end of January is when we start planning our spring burns. Lately, we have been burning earlier than we used to. (Sometimes even late February). We need WiscDNR permits and I am helping Amanda get the applications ready. (I'm doing the map with ArcMap 10.)<br />
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Those who follow our work will be interested to know that for the first time in many years we are not burning the south-facing slope prairies and savannas at Pleasant Valley Conservancy. Why? To permit better brush control. By skipping a year, we are giving the small brush (mostly from resprouts) a chance to grow larger so it's easier to find. Often the woody invasives (e.g. honeysuckle, buckthorn, sumac) are really small (knee-high or less) and hard to find within our lush tall-grass prairie.<br />
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The map shows the six large burns that we are planning for spring 2020.<br />
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We are also burning the Saddle and South Unit at Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie and will be getting a permit for that as well (map drawn in Corel Draw X7).<br />
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<br />Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-48787961146756845072019-09-05T13:27:00.001-07:002019-09-13T15:49:00.038-07:00Annual Labor Day field trip at Pleasant Valley ConservancyKathie and I have been running the Labor Day trip at PVC annually since September 2002 (17 years). If the weather is good, attendance is fairly high, generally 25-40 participants.<br />
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<b>Update!</b> Just added Arlene Koziol's You Tube video of the field trip. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xCb1ji_R0Q&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank"><b>Click on link</b></a><br />
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Last year the weather was unbelievably foul and only 2 people showed up, the 2nd about 45 minutes late. (Yes, the weather in southern Wisconsin can really be that bad!)<br />
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As the years have gone by, my participation in this trip has been a challenge. Since I turned 85, Kathie has done the walking and I have used our Kawasacki Mule to cover the course. I stay in front and stop at key sites to lead the discussion.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Group for the 2019 Labor Day field trip. Photo by Arlene Koziol</i></span></td></tr>
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Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-22819534779590951382019-07-31T14:40:00.000-07:002019-07-31T14:44:12.318-07:00Surprising resilience of a black walnut tree<br />
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<a href="http://pvcblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/black-walnut-one-of-bad-guys-in-oak.html" target="_blank"><b>As I discussed in a 2017 post</b>,</a> black walnut (J<i>uglans
niger</i>) is one of the bad guys in oak savanna restoration.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As that post also discussed, walnut trees are fairly
difficult to eradicate permanently. Recently, Kathie and I have found a good
example of this (see photo below).<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
This greatly deformed tree is close to what we call the “Circle
Prairie”, a small mostly remnant prairie that I have discussed in detail <a href="http://pvcblog.blogspot.com/2016/08/echinacea-pallida-and-prairie-remnants.html" target="_blank"><b>in the post linked here</b>.</a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was a large walnut tree formerly
in the middle of the Circle Prairie. It was removed in the winter of 2015-2016.
To get rid of the substantial amount of wood (small branches, limbs, and trunk),
the tree was cut up and piled adjacent to another walnut tree, the one shown in
the photo here. There was a lot of wood, and a large pile was built. When the
pile was finished, just before starting the fire, one of the crew climbed to
the top of the burn pile and lopped off the main trunk of the tree being used as an anchor. (The
intention was to also throw the wood of the anchor tree on the burn pile.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The roaring fire of this burn pile was tended and
consolidated in our usual manner. The intention was when we were finished to end
up with only ashes. Unfortunately, the crew ran out of time and the anchor
tree, topped and coal black, remained as a ghost.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fast forward to July 25, 2019. Kathie was doing some weeding
in the Circle Prairie and noticed the strange tree shown in the photo. The tree is growing vigorously with several large leafy branches. The trunk is pitch
black, attesting that it was this tree that participated in the burn pile of 2 ½
years ago.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-indent: -1.0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Explanation? Probably because of the cold weather when the
burning took place, some dormant buds near the top of the tree survived the
fire and resprouted. But how did the cambium survive that very hot fire,
attested to by its black trunk? Presumably the temperature did not get hot
enough on the side of the trunk away from the fire.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have plans to remove this outlandish tree sometime next
winter.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vo0k3W6DEZ4/XUIGOfrqG-I/AAAAAAAAEyE/UAYf-nPTNHcNgCeHkHKEDi5VyYw1wEZWACLcBGAs/s1600/Walnut-tree-resprout%2B7-2019-7360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="733" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vo0k3W6DEZ4/XUIGOfrqG-I/AAAAAAAAEyE/UAYf-nPTNHcNgCeHkHKEDi5VyYw1wEZWACLcBGAs/s640/Walnut-tree-resprout%2B7-2019-7360.jpg" width="585" /></a></div>
Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-33436073485535036072019-06-26T09:28:00.001-07:002019-06-26T09:28:34.785-07:00Exploring the wetland at Pleasant Valley ConservancyThe wetland at Pleasant Valley Conservancy is small but diverse, and a lot of it can be reached with (relatively) dry feet. As part of some management activities, Craig Annen of Integrated Restorations has put together a map showing the wetland communities. I have added trails (in red) in the version shown here.<br />
<br />
The most widely used wetland trail at PVC is the one that is between the two prairie buffers and the sedge meadow. This trail is almost always dry, and Kathie's mowing keeps it open. (The butterfly people love it!) It also connects to the boardwalk which also provides dry-foot access for a short distance through standing water. The rest of the trail on the other side of the sedge meadow is more of a challenge, especially in 2019 because of the heavy rains.<br />
<br />
The detailed description of the wetland flora can be found <a href="http://pleasantvalleyconservancy.org/wetlands.html" target="_blank"><b>at this link to the PVC website</b></a>. The point of the blog post is to publish this new summary map.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OD9eMRs9yBg/XROcAyMe1DI/AAAAAAAAExc/rMbTlBN6h14hzahVzlqJXyjS7YiXwcQLACLcBGAs/s1600/Wetland%2Bmap%2Bwith%2Btrail%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="803" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OD9eMRs9yBg/XROcAyMe1DI/AAAAAAAAExc/rMbTlBN6h14hzahVzlqJXyjS7YiXwcQLACLcBGAs/s640/Wetland%2Bmap%2Bwith%2Btrail%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-5162260322925226872019-05-08T14:25:00.001-07:002019-05-08T14:25:26.786-07:00Best year ever for spring burns at Pleasant Valley Conservancy<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have been doing burns at PVC for 22 years and we burned
more acreage this year than ever.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We always have ambitious burn plans but conditions are not
always cooperative. This<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>year things
just worked out, and we burned 131 acres of the 140 acre Conservancy. These
were all dormant-season burns. Because of the long period of degradation before
restoration began, we are always fighting the legacy of invasive woody plants,
and the best way to deal with them in our Conservancy is with fire.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The table and ArcMap summarize the burns.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 71.75pt;" valign="top" width="96">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Date of burn<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2019<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-left-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Habitat type(s)
burned<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-left-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 58.5pt;" valign="top" width="78">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Acres<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-left-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="top" width="102">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Crew size<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 71.75pt;" valign="top" width="96">
<div class="MsoNormal">
March 21<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174">
<div class="MsoNormal">
South-facing slope; prairie and savanna<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 58.5pt;" valign="top" width="78">
<div class="MsoNormal">
19<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="top" width="102">
<div class="MsoNormal">
13<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 71.75pt;" valign="top" width="96">
<div class="MsoNormal">
March 22<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Restored prairies<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 58.5pt;" valign="top" width="78">
<div class="MsoNormal">
11<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="top" width="102">
<div class="MsoNormal">
12<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 71.75pt;" valign="top" width="96">
<div class="MsoNormal">
March 26<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mainly savanna; Pocket Prairie; read narrative<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 58.5pt;" valign="top" width="78">
<div class="MsoNormal">
39<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="top" width="102">
<div class="MsoNormal">
12<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 71.75pt;" valign="top" width="96">
<div class="MsoNormal">
March 27<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oak woodland & prairie<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 58.5pt;" valign="top" width="78">
<div class="MsoNormal">
10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="top" width="102">
<div class="MsoNormal">
6<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 71.75pt;" valign="top" width="96">
<div class="MsoNormal">
April 9<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wetland<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 58.5pt;" valign="top" width="78">
<div class="MsoNormal">
25<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="top" width="102">
<div class="MsoNormal">
10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 71.75pt;" valign="top" width="96">
<div class="MsoNormal">
April 19<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174">
<div class="MsoNormal">
North-facing oak woods<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 58.5pt;" valign="top" width="78">
<div class="MsoNormal">
27<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="top" width="102">
<div class="MsoNormal">
9<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 71.75pt;" valign="top" width="96">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 130.5pt;" valign="top" width="174">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Total acreage<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 58.5pt;" valign="top" width="78">
<div class="MsoNormal">
131<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="top" width="102">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not all the wetland acres burned, since there is standing
water in a number of areas. Also, the coverage in the North Woods was not 100%
either, but fire passed across >90% of the area.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://pvcblog.blogspot.com/2019/03/protecting-trees-in-bur-oak-savanna-burn.html" target="_blank"><b>I already posted details on the March 21 burn</b></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The March 22 and 27 burns were fairly routine, involving mostly
planted prairies. The present post focuses on the March 26 burn, which was predominantly oak savannas. Although a large and complicated burn, we had a crew with lots of
savanna burn experience and everything went off quickly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is important to do lots of prep work for a savanna burn, especially
clearing around standing dead snags to eliminate lots of time-consuming mop-up
work. On a burn of this size, that takes most of a day. The work must be done
ahead of the burn, but not too many days ahead.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have two types of savannas, and both were burned the same
day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><b>Ridge-top savanna</b>,
predominantly bur oak with a significant hickory component. This is the top area, on the dolomite, and mostly on both sides of the gravel service road. It
includes Unit 19 and Units 11A, B, and C.</li>
<li><b>Basin savanna</b>,
predominantly white oak with some hickory. This is on the sandstone, and surrounds
the Pocket Prairie. It includes Unit 11D, 12A and B, Unit 18 and Units 20 A-C.</li>
</ul>
<div>
</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>And then there is the
Pocket Prairie. </b>Although not savanna, the Pocket Prairie is always burned
at the same time the Basin Savanna is burned.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Because of the steep slope and the wind, the anchor-point
for the burn was where the Side Road meets the main Service Road. The long,
narrow units north of the service road (Unit 19 B through E) were burned separately
(crew of 4) at the same time as the big main burn (crew of 8). As soon as the
Unit 19 burn was finished, that crew joined the other and did more interior lighting.<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ridge-top units 8 and 10 had already been burned during the March
21 burn and provided a solid black line uphill and downwind. Also, the Unit 7/Unit
18 boundary was secure because Unit 7 had been burned on March 21.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Running the burn </b>Drip
torches moved east and south in Unit 11A from the anchor point along the two
roads. As soon as the starting area was solidly black, other drip torches moved
into the burn units for interior lighting. This is essential because a savanna
fire almost never backburns through a whole unit without “help”. The Unit 19
crew joined the main crew for extensive interior lighting of the Basin Savanna.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Two-way radios </b>Each
crew member had a two-way radio, and it was vital that the burn boss and line
bosses monitor progress. Most crew were out of sight of each other. It is
especially important to monitor for potential head fires due to wind shifts or
changes in topography. As the map shows, there are several ATV trails that
follow the contours of the units, which interior lighters can use as
guidelines.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Mop-up </b>There was
very little mop-up. After the burn, I drove one of the UTVs through the upper trail, which gave
a good view of both the ridge-top and basin savannas. There were no standing
smokers, and few smokers on the ground. The latter is not surprising,
since we have been burning these savannas annually for many years.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pocket Prairie burn </b>After
the basin savanna is completely black, the Pocket Prairie is usually burned as
a head fire. Given reasonable wind and R.H., it generally takes about 10-15 minutes
to burn. By this time, all of the crew are out of the savanna units (which are
totally black) and are watching from the road.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We started lighting at 9:57 AM and finished the Pocket
Prairie at 11:39 AM. So the whole burn took 1 hour and 42 minutes (102 minutes)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c3PKeTX-Lnk/XNNEOJrJVPI/AAAAAAAAEwI/ZcVQ4mlG6f8C1Hao-4DT9Ge1ekwqoXJhwCLcBGAs/s1600/Burn%2Bresults%2Bspring%2B2019%2Bfor%2Bblog%2Breduced%2Bcropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="882" height="296" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c3PKeTX-Lnk/XNNEOJrJVPI/AAAAAAAAEwI/ZcVQ4mlG6f8C1Hao-4DT9Ge1ekwqoXJhwCLcBGAs/s640/Burn%2Bresults%2Bspring%2B2019%2Bfor%2Bblog%2Breduced%2Bcropped.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Amanda ran the burn. Here she is doing crew assignments</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V69QhPiZa2w/XNNEpJqWLKI/AAAAAAAAEwQ/hIbsxJYZEKwMcOJsP1GrWzcYQ-GVyg7owCLcBGAs/s1600/Savanna-burn-3-26-2019-lighting-6956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V69QhPiZa2w/XNNEpJqWLKI/AAAAAAAAEwQ/hIbsxJYZEKwMcOJsP1GrWzcYQ-GVyg7owCLcBGAs/s640/Savanna-burn-3-26-2019-lighting-6956.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Initial lighting</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bo8gjq5I0TA/XNNEpQKpZ1I/AAAAAAAAEwU/G_FNW39nRCURdc3QFzIGB0WCPBcx9_89ACLcBGAs/s1600/Savanna-burn-corner-3-26-2019-6957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bo8gjq5I0TA/XNNEpQKpZ1I/AAAAAAAAEwU/G_FNW39nRCURdc3QFzIGB0WCPBcx9_89ACLcBGAs/s640/Savanna-burn-corner-3-26-2019-6957.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The fire has reached the corner of Unit 12B. It is now off the Ridge</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wcwP9k1SODM/XNNEpgMPhXI/AAAAAAAAEwc/ydjeMJI_-UEpSjihI1uTq6yRK11tTN9uQCLcBGAs/s1600/Savanna-burn-interior-lighting-3-26-2019-6958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wcwP9k1SODM/XNNEpgMPhXI/AAAAAAAAEwc/ydjeMJI_-UEpSjihI1uTq6yRK11tTN9uQCLcBGAs/s640/Savanna-burn-interior-lighting-3-26-2019-6958.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Interior lighting just before the fire moves into the Basin Savanna</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uI6uuBe_Lok/XNNEpthlzvI/AAAAAAAAEwg/apZmN_peh5wUELzBmQU3K7iafPvzG3mdACLcBGAs/s1600/Savanna-burn-watching-Pocket-3-26-2019-6975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uI6uuBe_Lok/XNNEpthlzvI/AAAAAAAAEwg/apZmN_peh5wUELzBmQU3K7iafPvzG3mdACLcBGAs/s640/Savanna-burn-watching-Pocket-3-26-2019-6975.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Waiting for the final interior lighters to finish and leave the burn</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SQrhK1CAy-Q/XNNEqO9kcfI/AAAAAAAAEwk/E76pPg90bAcdKqujRZPbegwiY76-G0YAACLcBGAs/s1600/Savanna-burn-watching-Pocket-3-26-2019-6984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SQrhK1CAy-Q/XNNEqO9kcfI/AAAAAAAAEwk/E76pPg90bAcdKqujRZPbegwiY76-G0YAACLcBGAs/s640/Savanna-burn-watching-Pocket-3-26-2019-6984.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Watching the Pocket Prairie burn</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-1642064588864382692019-05-01T15:10:00.000-07:002019-05-01T15:10:08.781-07:00Volume II of the history of restoration at Pleasant Valley ConservancyWe've had quite a few favorable comments about the history of Pleasant Valley Conservancy that Kathie and I have been preparing. Volume I has been available for several months. If you missed it, <a href="http://pvcblog.blogspot.com/2019/01/new-book-for-download-restoring-fragile.html" target="_blank"><b>here's a link to the previous blog post which has a download link.</b></a><br />
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<a href="https://uwmadison.box.com/s/qonhq5kzt3uusigtgzh7xxs7o0e4un32" target="_blank"><b>Volume II is now available without charge for download at this link. </b></a><br />
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Volume II has more text than Volume I but the file size is smaller (22.3 MB) because I discovered that photo resolution can be reduced more (than Volume I) without hurting the image too much. (This assumes you are reading the book on a screen. Don't try to print from this PDF!)<br />
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The second volume of the history of PVC restoration is organized chronologically from 2001 through 2008. The year 2008 seemed a good year to end, as this was the year we celebrated becoming a dedicated State Natural Area.<br />
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Some of the features of the book:<br />
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<li>Hyperlinked table of contents including all #1 heads</li>
<li>#1 heads bookmarked</li>
<li>Text completely searchable and accessible by voice readers</li>
<li>Downloadable to an iPad or other reader and conversion to an iBook</li>
<li>(These features also available in Volume I.)</li>
</ul>
Some of the content items:<br /><ul>
<li>Cost analysis of restoration work</li>
<li>Creating a budget for a contractor</li>
<li>Bluff (South Slope) prairie burns: procedures and problems</li>
<li>Oak savanna burns: procedures and problems</li>
<li>See how our burns get better as the years go by!</li>
<li>Major (140 acres) Fish & Wildlife Service wetland burn at PVC</li>
<li>First case of chronic wasting disease</li>
<li>First breeding bird survey</li>
<li>Preparation of detailed species list using Excel</li>
<li>Floristic Quality Index of PVC</li>
<li>First PVC website</li>
<li>Summer interns</li>
<li>Winter interns</li>
<li>Field trips</li>
<ul>
<li>Natural Areas Association</li>
<li>North American Prairie Conference</li>
<li>Landowner group</li>
<li>Labor Day trip</li>
<li>McHenry County Conservation District</li>
<li>University classes</li>
</ul>
<li>East Basin restoration (heavy brush clearing project)</li>
<li>Dedication of PVC as a State Natural Area</li>
<ul>
<li>Ceremony, field trips, and party: June 7, 2008</li>
</ul>
<li>Seeds and planting </li>
<li>Lots more!</li>
</ul>
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Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-84097071708680823702019-03-23T15:55:00.000-07:002019-03-23T15:55:13.807-07:00Protecting trees in a bur oak savanna burn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The south-facing slope at Pleasant Valley Conservancy is a good example of a <a href="https://efotg.sc.egov.usda.gov/references/public/WI/105XY001_DolomiteColluviumBluffPrairie.pdf" target="_blank"><b>bluffprairie</b></a>. Such bluff prairies are common in the Driftless
Area. However, although most of these sites are called “prairie”, most of them
are actually bur oak savannas.<br />
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In a well-restored site, fire is the principal management
tool, but there are significant difficulties when trees are present. Because of
the steep topography (slopes up to 75 degrees), even in the absence of wind,
head-fire flame heights can be 15-20 feet (occasionally even higher).<o:p></o:p></div>
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The bur oak trunk is very fire resistant, but its branches
are less so and with high flame heights can be easily damaged. Thus, despite
the recognized fire tolerance of the bur oak, even large trees can become
seriously harmed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When we first started burning the South Slope at PVC, the
fuel was very spotty and fire did not carry well, so we mostly burned as a
head-fire. Annual burns, accompanied by brush control and overseeding, gradually
turned the South Slope into a tallgrass savanna. It was about burn year 5 that fire
with high flame heights carried up into the bur oaks. Lots of branches caught
on fire, and mop-up was a major problem.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Since then we have tried to back burn the South Slope, especially its bur
oak component. A few years later we added <a href="http://pvcblog.blogspot.com/2017/02/tree-centered-spot-firing-to-protect.html" target="_blank"><b>tree-centered spotfiring</b></a> as an additional protection, especially for the smaller trees.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The photos below show how we did the South Slope burn this year.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8cyvSFOMf_M/XJapysvnKRI/AAAAAAAAEt0/cL00TJiTGgQm5I2w3vuxV0SAbJ4g4SvdQCLcBGAs/s1600/Lighting-savanna-edge-3-21-2019-6874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8cyvSFOMf_M/XJapysvnKRI/AAAAAAAAEt0/cL00TJiTGgQm5I2w3vuxV0SAbJ4g4SvdQCLcBGAs/s1600/Lighting-savanna-edge-3-21-2019-6874.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Starting the burn at the top of the South Slope. Depending on fire behavior, a second drip torch may be used to speed up the process.<br /></span></i></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: left; font-family: "Times New Roman"; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5em; orphans: 2; padding: 6px; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></table>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UPSUsgzQwCo/XJauJx358zI/AAAAAAAAEuA/E4QOcZ2t2CgWKsnTCb8-QBXE9OirvnuAgCEwYBhgL/s1600/Bur-oaks-close-3-21-2019-6903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UPSUsgzQwCo/XJauJx358zI/AAAAAAAAEuA/E4QOcZ2t2CgWKsnTCb8-QBXE9OirvnuAgCEwYBhgL/s1600/Bur-oaks-close-3-21-2019-6903.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></a><div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;">Far end of the ridge. Backburning around ancient bur oaks</span></i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5X_JJlvzEMA/XJau-DJkpQI/AAAAAAAAEug/EVrzoc6r__oG_JBgyHQLUSzsrIcMdU69ACLcBGAs/s1600/Tree-spot-fire-3-21-2019-6912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="600" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5X_JJlvzEMA/XJau-DJkpQI/AAAAAAAAEug/EVrzoc6r__oG_JBgyHQLUSzsrIcMdU69ACLcBGAs/s1600/Tree-spot-fire-3-21-2019-6912.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<br />Above: Tree-centered spot firing small bur oaks. The blackened area protects the saplings from a possible head fire.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AZ_8AvaNd38/XJau-vuz4vI/AAAAAAAAEuk/BEJT73WJHLwUofqM0U1fhgWbVQ8fV-bKACLcBGAs/s1600/Tree-spot-fire-3-21-2019-6917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AZ_8AvaNd38/XJau-vuz4vI/AAAAAAAAEuk/BEJT73WJHLwUofqM0U1fhgWbVQ8fV-bKACLcBGAs/s1600/Tree-spot-fire-3-21-2019-6917.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Above. Later stage. The blackened areas have grown larger.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"></table>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G_h5n71fti0/XJau9IoOJQI/AAAAAAAAEuU/iHbBuH1BassQF2ygimZHDXow7RTuMiDLACLcBGAs/s1600/Back-burn-out-of-savanna-3-21-2019-6925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="600" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G_h5n71fti0/XJau9IoOJQI/AAAAAAAAEuU/iHbBuH1BassQF2ygimZHDXow7RTuMiDLACLcBGAs/s1600/Back-burn-out-of-savanna-3-21-2019-6925.jpg" /></a></div>
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Above. Later stage. The black areas have coalesced and the continuous fire line is backing through the tallgrass prairie.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eAXXBfHRUbk/XJau9fhoVLI/AAAAAAAAEuY/DTLSlJBTJcYPwPCz8KgFToYpwmrz2iNggCLcBGAs/s1600/Lighting-head-fire-3-21-2019-6931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="600" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eAXXBfHRUbk/XJau9fhoVLI/AAAAAAAAEuY/DTLSlJBTJcYPwPCz8KgFToYpwmrz2iNggCLcBGAs/s1600/Lighting-head-fire-3-21-2019-6931.jpg" /></a></div>
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Once the bur oaks are completely in the black, the burn can be speeded up by lighting a head-fire from the bottom.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tTmkmxZXNRU/XJau_OgMkAI/AAAAAAAAEuo/bCc_EggSO8s1ebejhMs5fYR0oI4jcPBjQCLcBGAs/s1600/big-burs-in-black-3-21-2019-6938.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tTmkmxZXNRU/XJau_OgMkAI/AAAAAAAAEuo/bCc_EggSO8s1ebejhMs5fYR0oI4jcPBjQCLcBGAs/s1600/big-burs-in-black-3-21-2019-6938.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">The bur oaks are now "safe" in the black. The lower area is darker because it was burned as a head-fire.</span></i></td></tr>
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The burn was done on March 21, 2019. Amanda was the burn boss.<br />
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Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-56538773883997869542019-02-20T15:01:00.001-08:002019-02-20T15:12:28.531-08:00Keeping track of the prairie & savanna acres restoredOnce we got seriously into prairie/savanna restoration, I kept track of the work by measuring the acres restored.<br />
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It was easy to do with a Garmin. I just walked around the periphery of the area cleared each year with the GPS area routine on, and then pushed "calculate". Having these numbers was really important, because it helped in setting budgets and goals.<br />
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The graph here summarizes eight years and 70 acres of work and the air photo gives a concrete look at what has been accomplished.<br />
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To read a history of the early years of restoration, <a href="https://uwmadison.box.com/s/ymgm37i3pey9ibq5p9jg3p67ossiwqo6" target="_blank"><b>download this link (44 MB)</b></a><br />
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The air photos make the process seem more real!<br />
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Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-7241503550768429812019-02-14T12:37:00.000-08:002019-02-14T12:37:03.831-08:00Nice recognition for Pleasant Valley Conservancy<a href="https://news.wisc.edu/steve-miller-tom-brock-to-receive-honorary-degrees/" target="_blank">Read the link from UW-Madison news service.</a><br />
<br />
Kathie and I really appreciate the kind things said about Pleasant Valley Conservancy. It makes the past 20-some years of work worth it!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aiVt0Wjn0D0/XGXQ74-pbCI/AAAAAAAAEs0/cGZFnhyvmKcVWjMaIz0ZZ-L8Kag2TWGcwCLcBGAs/s1600/Unit-12B-brush-free-2014-2189.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aiVt0Wjn0D0/XGXQ74-pbCI/AAAAAAAAEs0/cGZFnhyvmKcVWjMaIz0ZZ-L8Kag2TWGcwCLcBGAs/s1600/Unit-12B-brush-free-2014-2189.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Classic white oak savanna.</span></i></td></tr>
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<br />Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-69882604989207089602019-01-29T13:06:00.000-08:002019-01-29T13:06:42.815-08:00New book for Download: Restoring a Fragile Landscape (Pleasant Valley Conservancy)<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://uwmadison.box.com/s/ymgm37i3pey9ibq5p9jg3p67ossiwqo6" target="_blank">Download the book (PDF) 44 MB</a></b></div>
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<b><o:p><br /></o:p></b></div>
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We are announcing the availability for free download of a new
book which should be of interest to restoration ecologists. It was written by Thomas D. Brock and
Katherine M. Brock and is based on their extensive restoration work at Pleasant
Valley Conservancy. </div>
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This book is the first volume of what is intended to be a
two- or three-volume presentation of the 20-year restoration history of
Pleasant Valley Conservancy, a 140-acre dedicated State Natural Area. Pleasant
Valley Conservancy is a natural area in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area with diverse
habitats: tallgrass prairies, oak savannas, oak woodlands, and wetlands. It was
once fairly degraded but has a large number of venerable oaks that have
survived from presettlement days.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Although this book covers all aspects of the restoration
process of a natural area, special emphasis is placed on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">oak savanna restoration</b>…. The oak savanna landscape is globally
endangered. It was once widespread in Midwestern North America and has mostly
disappeared due to human settlement. <o:p></o:p>Pleasant Valley Conservancy is one of the rare examples of this landscape. The book is extensively illustrated with photos taken throughout the restoration process.</div>
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The field of restoration ecology is relatively new.
Fortunately, southern Wisconsin is restoration ecology’s historic center, and the
restoration work at Pleasant Valley Conservancy has greatly benefited from association with both university
and non-university restorationists. The restoration community here is large and
vibrant. The spirit of John Muir and Aldo Leopold lives!</div>
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Most of the habitats at Pleasant Valley Conservancy are
fire-dependent, and controlled burns have been a vital part of our restoration
work. At one time or another, fire has been used in almost every part of Pleasant
Valley Conservancy. Many of the habitats are burned annually.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fnnqz5Uu1xs/XFC7CdxKlCI/AAAAAAAAErw/souiKsbTjvwHV8AkIufmMjW264gA3zbWgCLcBGAs/s1600/Cover-%2526-title-page-2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="613" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fnnqz5Uu1xs/XFC7CdxKlCI/AAAAAAAAErw/souiKsbTjvwHV8AkIufmMjW264gA3zbWgCLcBGAs/s320/Cover-%2526-title-page-2019.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><a href="https://uwmadison.box.com/s/ymgm37i3pey9ibq5p9jg3p67ossiwqo6" target="_blank">Download the book (PDF) 44 MB</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b>Feel free to share
the link</b></div>
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<br />Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-760631414074775942019-01-15T10:15:00.000-08:002019-01-16T09:32:44.676-08:00Prairie burns: how complete should they be?<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;">The completeness of a prairie burn
is often determined by the continuity of the fuel. If the fuel is patchy, the
burn may also end up being patchy. Some people think burn patchiness is a good
thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">I have never agreed with this.
Perhaps it was because we were trying to restore sites that had become heavily
wooded (due to years without fire). If good prairie was to be brought back to these
sites, as soon as the woody vegetation was removed it was essential to get
prairie established again. In order to do a proper prairie burn, the fuel had to
be continuous. If it wasn’t, then the patches that did not burn had probably been
wooded and without fire would quickly become wooded again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">In fact, it is so difficult to get
conditions “right” to do a burn, that when you have the weather and the crew,
you should work hard to do a complete burn. Don’t say “heterogeneity is OK” and
go home. The secret, of course, is “interior lighting” (stripping). In the early
years of a restoration, it may be necessary to “force” the burn. (See photo)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">I’ve seen a burn crew leave a site which
had unburned patches because they ran out of drip torch fuel. Always have lots
more drip torch fuel than you think you will need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Perhaps it’s the microbiologist in
me, but if I see small patches of sumac, or brambles, or scattered honeysuckles,
I get really nervous. The burn did not pass through these areas for a reason
(no fuel). Next year they would likely be worse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Heterogeneity of a burn is not a
good thing if it is due to woody vegetation. It is also not good if it is due
to smooth brome or quack grass or Kentucky bluegrass. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Note that heterogeneity and
diversity are two different things!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">The above refers to real prairie habitats.
If the site has areas of wet meadow or shaded ravine, obviously those were not “meant”
to be prairie. Heterogeneity then means something different.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q3F2Vwa0jZA/XD4goeVAdmI/AAAAAAAAEq8/I_BJX2iJNy0yi8IpXDklRjW4kHa3oZmFgCLcBGAs/s1600/South-slope-N496-Kathie-stripping-1998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="800" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q3F2Vwa0jZA/XD4goeVAdmI/AAAAAAAAEq8/I_BJX2iJNy0yi8IpXDklRjW4kHa3oZmFgCLcBGAs/s1600/South-slope-N496-Kathie-stripping-1998.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Forcing a recently cleared prairie area to burn.<br />After frequent seeding and lots of burns, it turned into a tallgrass prairie (see below).</span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>The green patches are smooth brome, an exotic grass that develops in the shade.</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--wsLofaA67I/XD4g9wd_E4I/AAAAAAAAErE/uJAonx19ZNEC4fZPvaxDy9FiYxzTftjewCLcBGAs/s1600/South-slope-Unit-2-10-18-2018-6738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="800" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--wsLofaA67I/XD4g9wd_E4I/AAAAAAAAErE/uJAonx19ZNEC4fZPvaxDy9FiYxzTftjewCLcBGAs/s1600/South-slope-Unit-2-10-18-2018-6738.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">The same area as in the above photo, some years (and many burns) later</span></i></td></tr>
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Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-19345045792862814492019-01-04T12:18:00.001-08:002019-01-04T12:18:56.894-08:00Last day to comment on the American Transmission Company project in southwestern WisconsinThe American Transmission Company project has potential for great harm to southwestern Wisconsin ecologies and natural areas. Lots of opposition, but who knows what the Public Service Commission will do?<br />
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<a href="http://pvcblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/potential-serious-impact-of-new.html" target="_blank">I had a post back in 2016</a> when this proposal first came up. They have moved the right-of-way a few miles, but the main focus has not changed.<br />
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This is an important issue for the Driftless Area, and lots of groups have become aroused.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ApgCpKO01wc/XC-92j9wDyI/AAAAAAAAEqo/dwXHTY8DddEININ_aLpW6jqgqgj1Ks6PQCLcBGAs/s1600/ATC%2Bpower%2Bline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="299" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ApgCpKO01wc/XC-92j9wDyI/AAAAAAAAEqo/dwXHTY8DddEININ_aLpW6jqgqgj1Ks6PQCLcBGAs/s400/ATC%2Bpower%2Bline.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo courtesy of Driftless Area Land Conservancy</i></td></tr>
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Comments should be made on-line at the following website:<br />
http://bit.ly/CHCeSCOPE<br />
<br />
<br />Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-64092367279300246622018-12-19T13:35:00.001-08:002019-02-03T12:24:31.945-08:00Burning a Wisconsin prairie in the winter!<br />
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I’ve discussed the <a href="http://pvcblog.blogspot.com/2016/10/prairie-burns-in-fall.html" target="_blank"><b>problems with fall prairie burns</b> </a>in our
part of the country. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So if fall burns are so difficult, winter burns must be
impossible?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yesterday (December 18, 2018) we had a very successful winter burn
at Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie. How was that??<o:p></o:p></div>
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The November/December weather had not been good. No sun, mostly
cold and cloudy, little snow, not much rain. We had given up doing any burns.
But then, December 15-18 a dry air mass arrived, with dew point 20-22, clear
sunny weather, strong south wind, and temperatures reaching the low 40’s (F) by
noon. It certainly wasn’t Indian Summer, but we had burned with these sort of
conditions last spring. <b><a href="https://pvcblog.blogspot.com/2018/03/prescribed-burning-in-cold-weather.html" target="_blank">Fire, of course, makes its own temperature</a>,</b> so if the
fuel has good prairie grass and the dead fuel moisture content is favorable, it should burn.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fortunately, our burn crew was available. We decided to do
it.</div>
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One problem with a winter burn is you need water, and the
pump at our well had been drained for the winter. Since the temperature was slightly above freezing, we primed the pump and filled all the water jugs and backcans. (At the end of the day the pump was drained again and all backcans emptied and the spray wands brought indoors.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Kathie had already mowed the fire breaks, so the prairie was
ready to burn. The map at the end of this post shows the burn area. Amanda ran the burn.</div>
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The weather continued favorable. We met at BE Rettenmund at 11:30 AM for a noon start. We had
eight crew, all experienced, and one trainee. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Because of the south wind, we started at the north end of
the North Unit. One crew moved west and south, the other east and south. Each
person had a radio, so the two crews could keep in touch.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One problem with burning this prairie is that it is a long,
narrow unit with two moderate hills that break up the wind. So a south wind is
often a southwest or southeast wind, often at the same time on different parts
of the burn unit. Fortunately, the prairie is surrounded on most sides by
crops, which at this time of year have been harvested. The bare fields show
well in the photos.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cDGYv0fe57A/XBqytBm7sVI/AAAAAAAAEpw/9rDU2xF48aw13PD58UFCbjDVlCOPP-QkACLcBGAs/s1600/BE-burn-12-18-2018-6804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="800" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cDGYv0fe57A/XBqytBm7sVI/AAAAAAAAEpw/9rDU2xF48aw13PD58UFCbjDVlCOPP-QkACLcBGAs/s1600/BE-burn-12-18-2018-6804.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The North Burn unit (on the right) is almost finished burning. The head fire at top will be coalescing with the back fire from the north.<br />Jared is starting to light the Saddle.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1qkSNbbPQGY/XBqy1LejNFI/AAAAAAAAEp0/HtM3DTcoTlgDzZC1lRCKF16stN16-r0kwCLcBGAs/s1600/BE-burn-12-18-2018-6810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1qkSNbbPQGY/XBqy1LejNFI/AAAAAAAAEp0/HtM3DTcoTlgDzZC1lRCKF16stN16-r0kwCLcBGAs/s1600/BE-burn-12-18-2018-6810.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Kathie and Denny are preventing the fire line from creeping over the lane into the crop field.<br />Creep was a problem and they had to monitor it the whole way.<br />It is unlikely the field would burn, but it would be embarrassing if it did!<br />Note the solid black burned unit.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0CQeZNuvlYs/XBqzBoVNh2I/AAAAAAAAEp8/XxHYimQwgBEfu9QDANpQYdbmsFmLbAagwCLcBGAs/s1600/BE-burn-12-18-2018-6838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0CQeZNuvlYs/XBqzBoVNh2I/AAAAAAAAEp8/XxHYimQwgBEfu9QDANpQYdbmsFmLbAagwCLcBGAs/s1600/BE-burn-12-18-2018-6838.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Burning the Fesenfeld Road embankment. The trail from the entrance is visible snaking up the hill.<br />The fuel in the lower, planted, Gateway Prairie (a former alfalfa field) below the top is not as good as the<br />fuel of the remnant prairie above. </i></td></tr>
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After the whole burn was completed, the crew returned to the
North Unit and burned the Fesenfeld Road embankment, which is separated from
the burn unit by the peripheral lane.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ygL_uvnWeAI/XBqzKd2ylnI/AAAAAAAAEqE/V4kZLRRKfCMN_OSD__P1WCN8gRUmEO8bQCLcBGAs/s1600/BE-burn-12-18-2018-6844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ygL_uvnWeAI/XBqzKd2ylnI/AAAAAAAAEqE/V4kZLRRKfCMN_OSD__P1WCN8gRUmEO8bQCLcBGAs/s1600/BE-burn-12-18-2018-6844.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A satisfied crew.<br />Denny, Jared, Amanda, Tiffany, Chris (kneeling, with two drip torches)<br />Susan, Josh, Kathie. (Tom, who drove the truck, behind the camera).</i></td></tr>
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Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-34958173937174369142018-12-08T14:33:00.002-08:002018-12-08T14:33:47.343-08:00How long does it really take to get rid of invasive brush?We first cleared the South Slope of Pleasant Valley Conservancy in 1998-1999. We instituted an annual burn program almost immediately, although some of the areas were hard to burn (not enough fuel). Also, lots of brush that had been suppressed because of the deep shade popped up almost immediately. Brambles, buckthorn, and honeysuckle were the worst, although sumac was bad in some areas. The annual burns kept the shrubs fairly small, but did not eradicate them. We kept cutting and treating, and burning and burning.<br />
<br />
The two photos shown here are interesting. They were both taken from about the same location, looking down from the top of the slope. When I took the 2003 photo it was a photo point as part of a series I did every year. It's hard to believe, but I thought the area was in pretty good shape. (It's also hard to believe, but this photo was taken with a Nikon "film" camera!)<br />
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The second photo was taken last summer from almost the same location. What a difference! Visible in the photo are <i>Echinacea pallida</i> and <i>Silphium lacinatum</i>. And of course, prairie grasses to carry a fire.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QRH03DkeXng/XAxEdVWX_5I/AAAAAAAAEpM/luTsnVLkxko_4FB3UDBGQGvF3qprdWsuwCLcBGAs/s1600/Unit-5A-2003-at-Far-Overlook-brushy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QRH03DkeXng/XAxEdVWX_5I/AAAAAAAAEpM/luTsnVLkxko_4FB3UDBGQGvF3qprdWsuwCLcBGAs/s1600/Unit-5A-2003-at-Far-Overlook-brushy.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>View from the Far Overlook (Leopold bench) in early September 2003</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xj5L2f-bTQg/XAxEdd8kesI/AAAAAAAAEpI/UP13HvolB1waS7ZnaV8jtE-_vYNRnJGFwCLcBGAs/s1600/Unit-5A-from-Far-Overlook-2018-6597.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xj5L2f-bTQg/XAxEdd8kesI/AAAAAAAAEpI/UP13HvolB1waS7ZnaV8jtE-_vYNRnJGFwCLcBGAs/s1600/Unit-5A-from-Far-Overlook-2018-6597.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>View from the same location at the end of July 2018. All the woodies visible are bur oaks!</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The moral of this story? The restoration ecologist needs patience!<br />
<br />Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-30914159984249605492018-11-25T15:04:00.000-08:002018-11-25T15:04:27.781-08:00What happened to our fall burn weather?At Pleasant Valley Conservancy we have been doing major burns in both the spring and the fall since 1999. <b><a href="http://pleasantvalleyconservancy.org/burns.html#burnhistory" target="_blank">Here is a link to the complete burn record.</a></b><br />
<br />
I just went through the history and found that we have burned in the fall 16 years, every year since 1999 except 2009, 2013, and 2015. Most of our fall burns have been North Woods burns, but for various reasons we have occasionally done some prairie burns.<br />
<br />
We were all set to do another North Woods burn this fall, but the weather has not cooperated. I haven't looked at the weather bureau data, but I am certain that this has been the coldest October and November since we have started doing restoration work.<br />
<br />
Although the fall burn season is always shorter than the spring, we have always had at least a few days of favorable burn weather. October 1999 was the warmest and driest on record, and we had a fantastic North Woods burn on Hallowe'en when the temperature was in the low 70s and the R.H. % was in the upper 20s.<br />
<br />
Recently, 2014 and 2016 were great years for fall burns.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sT83lm6Gjj8/W_soJr4aIXI/AAAAAAAAEos/-2wqz36T1eQkxVWYovt6PF2vhkhBM7KKgCLcBGAs/s1600/Interior-lighting-closeup-of-flames-Vahldieck-photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sT83lm6Gjj8/W_soJr4aIXI/AAAAAAAAEos/-2wqz36T1eQkxVWYovt6PF2vhkhBM7KKgCLcBGAs/s1600/Interior-lighting-closeup-of-flames-Vahldieck-photo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nov 5, 2014 Vahldieck photo</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UhCITHk3PiA/W_soJj9jiLI/AAAAAAAAEoo/Nei74-9ynUoK-qLwld38uPlTYb6AjzNAgCLcBGAs/s1600/Interior-lighting-3-fire-lines-Vahldieck-photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UhCITHk3PiA/W_soJj9jiLI/AAAAAAAAEoo/Nei74-9ynUoK-qLwld38uPlTYb6AjzNAgCLcBGAs/s1600/Interior-lighting-3-fire-lines-Vahldieck-photo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Note how well the oak leaves are burning! Vahldieck photo</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Hopefully, we will be able to get our planned North Woods burn done this next spring. We'll see!<br />
<br />
<br />Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-90903006047628303382018-10-31T09:11:00.000-07:002018-10-31T09:14:57.611-07:00October is a great time to basal bark buckthorn in prairie and savanna remnants!Even a single stem of buckthorn stands out among all the brown senesced native species.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bbko88hMRN0/W9nLUGTVdSI/AAAAAAAAEn0/6cjLtJ9zURk9Iz17wXN5U0UCbZ8Wy5Y4gCLcBGAs/s1600/Buckthorn-green-late-Oct-2018-6754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Bbko88hMRN0/W9nLUGTVdSI/AAAAAAAAEn0/6cjLtJ9zURk9Iz17wXN5U0UCbZ8Wy5Y4gCLcBGAs/s320/Buckthorn-green-late-Oct-2018-6754.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Killed yesterday</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tz_uVdJhLa0/W9nLbROtKyI/AAAAAAAAEn4/M7-9LqagpKgIwksPd7K0V8YL9fXkX3nPwCLcBGAs/s1600/Buckthorn-green-7950.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tz_uVdJhLa0/W9nLbROtKyI/AAAAAAAAEn4/M7-9LqagpKgIwksPd7K0V8YL9fXkX3nPwCLcBGAs/s320/Buckthorn-green-7950.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Killed in 2013</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-crt1iwaBI2g/W9nLiTjC-3I/AAAAAAAAEn8/APyXNS6gyC4O9hJcR3vxDmRYHDIhQgsaQCLcBGAs/s1600/Buckthorn-green-10-27-2015-2328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-crt1iwaBI2g/W9nLiTjC-3I/AAAAAAAAEn8/APyXNS6gyC4O9hJcR3vxDmRYHDIhQgsaQCLcBGAs/s320/Buckthorn-green-10-27-2015-2328.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Killed in 2015</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wGwqnvNKNis/W9nRiM5JkoI/AAAAAAAAEoQ/qE6LyziwPU8xnIMkteBI9iC_3-lRN5JUACLcBGAs/s1600/buckthorn-clone-3426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wGwqnvNKNis/W9nRiM5JkoI/AAAAAAAAEoQ/qE6LyziwPU8xnIMkteBI9iC_3-lRN5JUACLcBGAs/s320/buckthorn-clone-3426.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Killed in 2008</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If it's green this time of year, it's probably bad.<br />
<br />
It may be too late for a foliar spray, but basal bark with triclopyr works all year long. Use 20% Garlon 4 in bark oil (20 parts Garlon 4 plus 80 parts bark oil). If you don't have bark oil, use diesel.<br />
<br />
Even a natural area where buckthorn has been eradicated will always have a few new shoots. If they are not treated NOW, they will be bigger next year! We always budget time in the fall for control of invasive shrubs. Not only buckthorn, but also honeysuckle, sumac, and brambles, all of which are easy to spot.<br />
<br />
In a tour of known buckthorn areas at Pleasant Valley Conservancy yesterday, we found only two stems. It took less than a minute to basal bark each one.Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-32504085002737373002018-10-22T15:49:00.004-07:002018-10-22T15:49:56.310-07:00How viable are our hand-collected seeds?<br />
<div class="BodyText1">
Kathie and I often discussed the quality of our collected
seeds. Would they grow when planted? Would the seeds germinate?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="BodyText1">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyText1">
Seed germination tests are not that hard to do and in early
January 2008 I set up number of tests. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="BodyText1">
Most prairie and savanna species need a period of cold moist
conditions to overcome dormancy. I used conventional petri plates with warm
absorbent paper (filter paper) in the bottom. 25 seeds were placed in each
plate, which was wrapped in Saran and placed in the back of the refrigerator.
In early January 2008 the plates were placed under lights (16 hours light; 8
hours dark), rewatered when necessary, and observed daily for germination.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h7Xp0k0t9_c/W85RbEVonxI/AAAAAAAAEnU/-7UUoozFaqw7yXZ3SuW9HKGm6-y1jfj6ACEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_1662.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h7Xp0k0t9_c/W85RbEVonxI/AAAAAAAAEnU/-7UUoozFaqw7yXZ3SuW9HKGm6-y1jfj6ACEwYBhgL/s400/IMG_1662.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="Caption1">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Petri plate with germinated seeds of purple milkweed. The
root comes out first. All the seeds have germinated. 2/15/2008<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<div class="Imagetitle" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Seed germination tests<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Species<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">State-listed<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Seed Year<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">% germ #1<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-left: none; border: double windowtext 1.5pt; height: 39.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
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<b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">% germ #2<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<td style="border-left: none; border: double windowtext 1.5pt; height: 39.0pt; mso-border-left-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">% germ both plates<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Aureolaria<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
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<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">20%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">12%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 13.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 1.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">16%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Butterfly MW BE<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">60%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">80%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">70%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Butterfly MW PVC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">76%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">92%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">84%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Cacalia tuberosa<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">X<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2005<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">11%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">3%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Cacalia tuberosa PVC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">X<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">8%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">4%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Eupatorium sessilifolium<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">X<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2005<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Eupatorium sessilifolium<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">X<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">4%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 25.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 25.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Eupatorium sessilifolium
Parrish<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 25.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">X<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 25.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 25.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">4%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 25.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 25.5pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Green MW BE<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">96%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">72%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">84%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Indian grass<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">56%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">60%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">58%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Little bluestem<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2005<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">16%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">16%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">16%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Little bluestem<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">12%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">12%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">12%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Napaea<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">X<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2005<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">4%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 14;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Napaea<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">X<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">4%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">8%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">6%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 15;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Poke MW PVC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">80%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">92%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">86%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 16;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Prairie dropseed forbs garden<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">24%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">20%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">22%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 17;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Prenanthes crepidinia<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">X<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2005<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 18;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Purple MW<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">X<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2005<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">100%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71"></td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 19;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Purple MW forbs garden<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">X<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">100%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">84%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">92%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 20;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Sweet Indian plantain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">X<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2005<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">28%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">28%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">28%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 21;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Sweet Indian plantain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">X<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">12%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">32%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">22%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 22;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Taenidia integrifolium<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2005<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 23;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Taenidia integrifolium PVC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 24;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Wood betony Mark<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">0%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 25; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 145.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="193">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Yellow hyssop<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="top" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">X<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 35.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="47">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2007<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 52.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="69">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">60%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="71">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">44%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64">
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">52%<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="BodyText1" style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">BE: From Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="BodyText1" style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">PVC: From Pleasant Valley Conservancy</span></i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="BodyText1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyText1" style="text-align: left;">
As the table shows, the milkweeds germinated very well, as
did the grasses, but some of the other forbs germinated poorly or not at all.
We confirmed some of these data with greenhouse studies in future years.
Obviously, if the seeds do not germinate, the chance of getting plants from
planted seeds is not good. However, with most species we generally plant a lot
of seed, so if the % germination is only 1-2%, there is still chance of getting
some plants started from seed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="BodyText1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyText1" style="text-align: left;">
The best approach for those poor germinators was to use the
greenhouse. We planted large amounts of seeds in flats and put them under
lights after cold, moist stratification. We transferred the few plants we got
to tubes and raised plugs. Most of the plugs we transplanted to the field grew,
and became established. This worked especially well for E. sessilifolium, one
of the state-listed species.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="BodyText1" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyText1" style="text-align: left;">
Of course, every year will be different, depending on conditions at the time seed formation is taking place.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103022479923797010.post-62856710299947269572018-09-28T11:31:00.000-07:002018-09-28T11:31:34.966-07:00New England asters and Monarch butterfliesThis is the time of year when the last brood of Monarch butterflies is stoking up for their long journey to Mexico. Asters and goldenrods are the principal nectar sources, but by now most of them have stopped flowering. Fortunately, New England aster is still flowering and this is what the Monarchs are using. Often considered a weed by purists, it has the good graces to hang on longer than anything else.<br />
<br />
A few years ago at Pleasant Valley Conservancy a butterfly watcher about this time of year counted 43 Monarchs on a single NE aster plant.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vu8TyF7yNSk/W65uPPLwaPI/AAAAAAAAEmk/Y5Re9sUvgaksPWI32MLLZPZuVviTiREsACLcBGAs/s1600/Monarch-feeding-0473.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="600" height="211" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vu8TyF7yNSk/W65uPPLwaPI/AAAAAAAAEmk/Y5Re9sUvgaksPWI32MLLZPZuVviTiREsACLcBGAs/s320/Monarch-feeding-0473.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nwC98puxwds/W65unZFd_cI/AAAAAAAAEms/NI1IjJta8n8olPvCZpiBeRDq1wn7k0BlACLcBGAs/s1600/NE-aster-Unit-10-monarch-9-27-2018-6715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nwC98puxwds/W65unZFd_cI/AAAAAAAAEms/NI1IjJta8n8olPvCZpiBeRDq1wn7k0BlACLcBGAs/s400/NE-aster-Unit-10-monarch-9-27-2018-6715.jpg" width="362" /></a></div>
<br />
Although both of the above photos are from restored savannas, you can find New England aster as a volunteer in old fields and roadsides as well. I've been watching one of my neighbor's fields since it was last cropped four years ago and have been fascinated at how quickly "weedy" prairie species from PVC have moved in.<br />
<br />
Last year it was old field thistle that had moved in. <a href="http://pvcblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/old-field-thistle-in-old-field.html" target="_blank">See this link.</a><br />
<br />
This year it is New England aster, as the photo below shows.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W1Si203lUo0/W65wQPLh8dI/AAAAAAAAEm4/f-N1JJ6ZMlgAgJCARh26dFZpbIi8kSS4ACLcBGAs/s1600/NE-aster-Kremer-field-9-27-2018-6708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W1Si203lUo0/W65wQPLh8dI/AAAAAAAAEm4/f-N1JJ6ZMlgAgJCARh26dFZpbIi8kSS4ACLcBGAs/s1600/NE-aster-Kremer-field-9-27-2018-6708.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>New England aster growing in an old field adjacent to PVC that is gradually being colonized. Two plants of old field thistle can be seen in the background. The seed source is our East Basin prairie which is about 100 feet away. This field has been fallow for only four years. The small white flowers are probably frost </i><i>aster. The goldenrod is (predictably) Canadense.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Tom's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06303842090134286497noreply@blogger.com0