• Undesirable Plants
• Savanna Restoration

Project 2: Savanna Restoration

Project Name
Savanna Restoration

Location
North Liberty, IA

Synopsis
The property contains several pockets of degraded native savanna. Much of the native vegetation in these pockets, or remnants, has been lost - due mostly to the suppression of naturally occurring wildfire. Arresting degradation is a multi-stepped process beginning with the mechanical removal and chemical treatment of invasive or undesirable species. Additional steps in the restoration process may include prescribed fire, additional herbicidal treatments, and inter-seeding of native species. Increased native presence and biodiversity will go along way towards ensuring the survival of these areas. In the end, the landowners will need to remain vigilant against future attacks from invasive species.

Project Goals

• Control and diminish undesirable plant species.
• Increase the presence and biodiversity of native plants in remnants slated for restoration.
• Foster resistance to new undesirable plant incursion through increased native species presence and diversity.

Project Timeframe: 2005-2008

Date	Action	Target
Spring 2005	Mechanical Thinning & Herbicidal Treatments	Phase I
Fall 2005	Mechanical Thinning & Herbicidal Treatments	Phase II
Spring 2006	Prescribed Fire	Phase I & II
Fall 2006	Herbicidal Treatments	Phase I & II
Spring 2007	Prescribed Fire	Phase I & II

Next Steps

• Prescribed fire in spring 2007 will encourage native plant regeneration, while discouraging undesirable species.
• Area specific attack on undesirables, especially bush honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.).
• Property-wide attack on undesirables, especially garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata).
• Possible inter-seeding, reseeding and/or replanting with natives in areas lacking in acceptable levels of natives.

Savanna can be described as an ecosystem that was historically part of a larger complex bordered by the prairies of the west and the deciduous forests of the east. This complex was a temporally shifting mosaic of vegetative community types that represented a continuum from treeless prairie to forest. Savannas were the communities in the middle of this continuum. This mosaic was maintained by frequent fire (both natural and man-made) and possibly by large ungulates like bison and elk.

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