Prairie Restoration at St. John�s
Presentation at the Master Gardener Conference - June 2004

 Natural History of Prairie:

• mix of grasses and forbs, few trees
• high diversity in a native prairie (300+ species)
• common grasses:  Big blue stem, Little blue stem, Indian grass, Side oats grama
• once covered roughly a third of Minnesota; > 18 million acres
• < 1% of original prairie remains, often only because conditions were unsuitable for agriculture (too hilly, too wet, railroad right-of-way, cemeteries)
• plants adapted to sunny, hot, dry conditions (thick cuticle, stomatal pores underside of leaves, hairs, deep roots)
• adapted to periodic fire (lightening, accidental or intentional) � buds below soil surface
• fire kills trees (except thicker-barked species like Bur oak), recycles nutrients, removes duff layer allows quicker penetration of water, soil heats more quickly
• grazing important to the ecology of the prairie; pastured areas may have high diversity

Prairie Restoration: General Techniques:

• site selection (avoid flammable structures, few weeds), analysis (pH, exposure, soil, drainage), develop plan
• remove pre-existing vegetation (mow followed by herbicide, e.g., RoundUp�)
• till/disk
• plant � seed or plugs; typical ratio grass: forb (40:60); local sources (ecotypes)
• mow first year
• weed (spot spray/hand pull)
• periodic prescribed burns to manage
• fall burns favor forbs, spring burns favor grasses

Overview of St. John�s Project:

• cropped until about 1975; in 1940�s & 1950�s used for experiments on fertilizers by science students
• original land survey records don�t show any prairie on campus in 1850�s, but probably within a few miles; Watab meadows lowland grasses
• initiated by Fr. Paul Schweitz, O.S.B.
• 56 acre restoration
• site preparation begun in 1990, including grading
• hilly area for dry site species; wet areas
• planted 1991: 4,800 plugs, seeds of 90 species of forbs and grasses
• two different seed mixes:  (a) drier soils included big bluestem, little bluestem, side oats grama, Canada wild rye, Kalm�s brome, Indian grass, giant hyssop, butterfly milkweed, black-eyed Susan, leadplant, prairie clover; (b) moister sites included big blue, switch grass, bottle gentian, tall blazing star, boneset, blue vervain
• Prairie Restorations, Inc (Princeton, MN)
• additional plantings in 1992
• currently over 250 species (St. John's Arboretum List; Saupe Web site)
• prescribed burns conducted annually; areas rotated, spring and fall burns
• project continues with partnership with MN DOT to continue prairie into highway right-of-way

 
Resources:

• Kyhl, JF, MH Meyer, VA Krischik (1997) Establishing and Maintaining a Prairie Garden.  Minnesota Extension Service, Univ. of Minnesota.
• Kilde, Rebecca (2000) Going Native: A prairie restoration Handbook for Minnesota Landowners.  MN DNR. 63 pp. print or available on-line
• McGreevy, S (1999) A Century of Prairie.  unpublished summer project, St. John�s University.
• St. John�s Arboretum website
• Sedivec & WT Barker.  1998.  Selected North Dakota and Minnesota Range Plants.  North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Science & USDA.  270 pages.  Jamestown, ND (available on line). Map image was borrowed from this source.
• Grondahl, Chris, and Andrea Evelsizer.  2002.  Prairie wildflowers and grasses of North Dakota.  North Dakota Game and Fish Department, Bismarck, ND. Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Home Page. (Version 30DEC2002).
• Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
• assorted wildflower books