Title of Submission
Tallgrass Prairie Restoration: Denying a Deadly Legacy
Degree Program
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, PhD
Major Advisor Name
Marie-Anne de Graaff
Type of Submission
Scholarly Poster
Abstract
Current threats to the tallgrass prairie are invasion by non-native plants. The biological mechanisms facilitating invasion are unknown; alterations in belowground processes may play fundamental roles for success. Study objectives; 1) assess above- and belowground consequences of invasion by, Bothriochloa bladhii; 2) eradicate invasive; assess restoration management practices. Above- and belowground, species composition, soil biotic, abiotic parameters were assessed. Eradication, using solarization tarps, of B. bladhii was initiated spring 2016. Tarps were removed at the end of the growing season. We established treatments assessing inoculation with native AM fungi and establishment of native species while suppressing re-establishment of the invasive.
Funding Information
U.S. Department of Defense, Long-Term Ecological Research - Konza Prairie