2025 Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) symposium
Location
Dr. Ken Budke Family Auditorium, Schindler Education Center, University of Nothern Iowa
Presentation Type
Open Access Poster Presentation
Document Type
poster
Abstract
Iowa was originally found with 85% of tallgrass prairie covering the landscape1. Iowa is the state with the most land conversion and native habitat destruction compared to any other place around the globe2. Now almost all the native prairie has been converted to land used for production crops, which has degraded water quality, soil quality, and genetic diversity among plants and animals3. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) provides compensation to farmers to take land out of production and restore it back into tallgrass prairie4. Woody encroachment has become a widespread issue affecting large areas of grassland that span several states. Within these grasslands, invasive woody species can increase in density by over 60% in a relatively short time5. The fields were surveyed by walking through the prairie to collect accurate and precise data. This research aims to provide farmers with effective advice aimed towards preventing woody encroachment on CRP fields. We hypothesize that woody stem density and stem diameter would be positively related with the field age and surrounding forest cover.
Start Date
1-8-2025 11:00 AM
End Date
1-8-2025 1:30 PM
Event Host
Summer Undergraduate Research Program, University of Northern Iowa
Faculty Advisor
Laura Jackson
Department
Department of Biology
Copyright
©2025 Drew DenOtter, Tyler Evans, and Laura Jackson
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
DenOtter, Drew; Evans, Tyler; and Jackson, Laura, "Does Woody Encroachment in Eastern Iowa CRP Fields Depend on Age or Surrounding Forest Cover?" (2025). Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium. 27.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/surp/2025/all/27
Does Woody Encroachment in Eastern Iowa CRP Fields Depend on Age or Surrounding Forest Cover?
Dr. Ken Budke Family Auditorium, Schindler Education Center, University of Nothern Iowa
Iowa was originally found with 85% of tallgrass prairie covering the landscape1. Iowa is the state with the most land conversion and native habitat destruction compared to any other place around the globe2. Now almost all the native prairie has been converted to land used for production crops, which has degraded water quality, soil quality, and genetic diversity among plants and animals3. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) provides compensation to farmers to take land out of production and restore it back into tallgrass prairie4. Woody encroachment has become a widespread issue affecting large areas of grassland that span several states. Within these grasslands, invasive woody species can increase in density by over 60% in a relatively short time5. The fields were surveyed by walking through the prairie to collect accurate and precise data. This research aims to provide farmers with effective advice aimed towards preventing woody encroachment on CRP fields. We hypothesize that woody stem density and stem diameter would be positively related with the field age and surrounding forest cover.
