AN ASSESSMENT OF CURTIS PRAIRIE IN 2021: 86 YEARS OF RECONSTRUCTION and CHANGES TO ITS PRAIRE-WETLAND CONTINUUM and THE MOTIVATIONS OF THE VOLUNTEERS WHO COLLABORATED
Date
2025-01-17Author
Glasenhardt, Mary-Claire Helen
Department
Enviroment and Resources
Advisor(s)
Zedler, Paul
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
As the oldest prairie restoration in the world, Curtis Prairie serves as a benchmark in restoration ecology. Its development provides knowledge and insights to others trying to achieve similar objectives. The 2021 survey is the most recent in the 75-year history of vegetation monitoring of Curtis Prairie which has been surveyed semi-regularly since 1946. This comparative study focuses on the vegetation changes that occurred within the prairie-wetland continuum since the last survey 19 years prior by resampling 1,010 1-m2 plots.
Species presence was recorded, as well as species cover for the first time along a 16.8 m grid system. Shifts along the prairie-wetland continuum were rated by presence of the Curtis indicator species in combination with average wetland indicator status (WIS). Ecological integrity was assessed by the Floristic Quality Index (FQI) and mean coefficient of conservatism. Additionally, the changes in native status, growth form, life span, and invasive status were measured.
Considered a successful restoration – as the ecological integrity of Curtis Prairie is on par with the contemporary remnant prairies of Wisconsin – its integrity has declined. The decline is due to the native plant assemblage of Curtis Prairie becoming less conservative coupled with increasing richness of non-native species. The decline in integrity is offset by a decrease in the frequency (proportion of plots occupied) of non-natives combined with an increased frequency of native species. Overall, diversity is increasing, but average abundance is decreasing. On average plant communities with higher integrity in 2002 declined in species richness.
The 1976 and 2002 surveys reported successful restoration of the prairie based upon continuous frequency increases in native prairie species. This survey reveals dramatic loss of drier prairie species, especially mesic prairie, as 78% of plots shifted towards more hydrophytic communities. Existing wetlands expanded dramatically while a new hydric habitat, emergent marsh, appeared. Characteristic tallgrasses diminished the most with Sorghastrum nutans (Indian grass) contracting 5-fold and
Andropogon gerardi (big bluestem) contracting almost by half, while many prairie forbs also diminished in frequency.
The shift to wetlands was likely caused by the increased average annual precipitation compounded by urbanization. Observed changes echo outcomes recorded in rainfall variability manipulation studies in Konza Prairie. Options for future sampling efforts are discussed. Curtis Prairie is a valuable living experiment documenting the reversal of European anthropogenic disturbance back to an adaptive ecosystem that warrants more attention now and into the future.
Concurrently, nonprofit organizations rely on volunteers to accomplish their conservation goals.
Research has shown that matching volunteer motivations to tasks increases volunteer satisfaction, which in turn increases volunteer retention. Most citizen science literature focuses on contributory volunteers who collect data independently, not teamed with a professional. This study aimed to fill the knowledge gap of collaborative volunteer motivations for conservation. All the volunteers who collected plant monitoring data were interviewed to assess their motivations, connection to nature, backgrounds, and suggestions for improvement. Revealed volunteer motivations aligned with past studies, but the number of categories largely depended upon the philosophical definition of ‘others’.
Subject
Enviroment and Resources
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/90780Type
Thesis