Undergraduate Student Work
Work/Availability
Open Access Undergraduate Student Work
Type of Work
Poster Presentation
Keywords
Prairie restoration; Prairie plants--Effect of floods on; Birds--Effect of floods on; Butterflies--Effect of floods on;
Abstract
Prairie restoration for the purpose of biofuel production has the potential to be much more beneficial than using corn-based ethanol. These benefits include less damage to soil from fertilizers or pesticides, less management and greater suitability for native fauna. The current study of this restoration consists of surveying vegetation characteristics on four different soil types seeded with four different mixes, as well as observing bird and butterfly use of the restoration. In the fourth year of management of this particular prairie restoration a great deal of flooding occurred. The frequency and intensity of the flooding had a great affect on the vegetation in terms of what was able to survive long periods of saturation. Species abundance and richness for both butterflies and birds dropped significantly this year compared to the past three years of management. These factors lead to the conclusion that periodic flooding will alter flora and fauna composition of restored prairies and sets a basis for further observations of the effect on the ecosystem. As prairie restorations take several years to fully express, the full impact of the flood may take some time to determine.
Date of Work
2013
Department
Department of Biology
Department
Tallgrass Prairie Center
First Advisor
Mark C. Myers
Repository
UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa
Copyright
©2013 Andrew Ridgway, Dr. Mark Myers, Benjamin Hoksch
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Ridgway, Andrew J.; Myers, Mark C.; and Hoksch, Benjamin, "Effects of flooding on the flora and fauna of a reconstructed tallgrass prairie" (2013). Undergraduate Student Work. 28.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ugswork/28
