Visit the latest Berry Go Round

The latest edition of the famed Berry Go Round is blooming across the internet. Click here and read about Orchids, Trillies and many other spring time goodies!

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A Quick Guide to Midwestern Andropogon

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Whenever one thinks of Tallgrass Prairie grasses, the “big four” often come to mind. The “big four” being Big Bluestem ( Andropogon gerardii ), Little Bluestem ( A. scoparius ), Switch Grass ( Panicum virgatum ) and Indian Grass ( Sorghastrum nutans ). Though they represent only a fraction of the grass diversity that prairie is capable of expressing, they often make up a significant portion of the vegetative biomass. All four of these species are easy to identify by their flowering structures and many folks working in prairies can distinguish these species by vegetative (non-floral) means. It is really just a matter of stem bases; Panicum virgatum is the only one with a circular cross section, both A. gerardii and S. nutans have an oval cross section and A. scoparius has a very flat base. Andropogon gerardii and S. nutans can then be separated by ligule length where S. nutans has a prominent and cartilaginous ligule compared to the shorter membranaceous ligule of A. gerardii . Y...
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Strolling the Remnants: Sand Prairie Conservation Area

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My work through the Institute of Botanical Training takes me all over the Midwest. In 2009, I was working on a contract in southeastern Missouri that was about an hour from Sand Prairie Conservation Area. An admirer of prairies of all kinds, I visited the site twice over the season and would like to share my observations below. Visit One: April 17: A chilling spring breeze blows across the sand prairie. Sun-warmed sand dislodges, rolls and re-accumulates as it gradually exposes and conceals scattered pebbles in this sandy scene. Small dune-like hills stabilized by vegetation subtly gradate into expansive flats. The surrounding landscape speaks of the early Holocene winds and braided waters of glacial outwash that are responsible for the sandy deposition. A sprinkling of sand islands scattered within a matrix of wet forests of the Mississippi floodplain. Here, inches in elevation separate desert from swamp. Weathered gray stems spinning in the wind draw solar systems in the sand. The...
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Fall Fire for Effective Management: Is There a Seasonal Affective Disorder in Prescribed Fire?

Over the years, I have noticed several intriguing responses in natural communities to seasonal variations in prescribed fire. I've discussed this issue with many folks, have initiated several interesting, though largely unsatisfying, email strings on the subject and wrote an essay on the subject in a recent Missouri Natural Areas Newsletter. Through this process, I have found that the increasing utilization of spring burning, as opposed to the more historically relevant application of autumnal anthropogenic burning, is primarily driven by convenience rather than ecological soundness. And, that the assumptions underlying the prescription of spring fire (that either spring fire is harmless or that it is at least better than no fire at all) are potentially more wishful than accurate. Having observed significant losses in plant diversity and subsequent increases in weedy shrubs like sumac and blackberries in areas where spring fire has reigned supreme, my concern has only grown. Steve...
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