1. Can Prairies and Agriculture Coexist
Can Prairies and Agriculture Coexist? A Tale of Two Projects Russ Benedict, Biology Department, Central College Lisa Schulte Moore, Dept. of NREM, Iowa State University

2. What is Tallgrass Prairie?
Grassland dominated by specific grasses Can you identify these?

3. The BIG Picture

4. Tallgrass Prairie is (or used to be) BIG
Dispersal
Fire
Grazers
Gene Flow

5. Tallgrass Prairie is . . . One of Earth’s Most Endangered Ecosystems.
96 – 98 % gone continent-wide
99.9 % gone in Iowa
99.99 % gone in Illinois
Why?

6. Creating its own demise
Tallgrass prairie builds GREAT soil.
TGP was easy to plow once the technology was perfected.
Other factors

7. What Remains? Remnants – extremely valuable but face problems.
Found in un-farmable places: sandy soils, steep hills, railroad right-of-ways, old cemeteries . . .
Average less than 15 acres in size; most are isolated from other remnants.
Magical places to experience the Midwest’s legacy.

8. But Remnants are in Trouble
Small and Isolated – creates many problems
Can’t support species that need space.
Populations are small.
Populations inbreed & face genetic drift.
Climate Change is a Coming Disaster
Species currently are moving poleward.
Many prairie species can’t move because they are surrounded by crops.

9. Moving Forward by Going Back
Protect remnants – even the best plantings are poor imitations.
Further build roadside prairies.
Encourage prairie plantings in yards.
Incorporate prairie into agriculture.

10. Prairies For Agriculture Project Benefitting Farms and Nature
Central College Pella, Iowa

11. Prairies For Agriculture Project
Mission: To benefit Midwestern farms AND the environment by increasing the use of high-diversity, native prairie plantings in agriculture.

12. The Prairies For Agriculture Project
Initiated summer 2007; Planting began in
Broad goals: test different combinations of prairie plants to assess their ability to cost effectively:
Produce consistent yields of biomass for energy.
Create habitat for plants & animals.
Sequester carbon in the soil.
Provide ecosystem services for agriculture: reduce soil erosion, reduce runoff of chemicals, increase pollinators, produce livestock forage, etc.

13. Where would these plantings be used?
Roadsides and Field Edges
Filter Strips
Terraces

14. The Project Site divided into 378 plots (9x9 m).
Testing different combinations of
prairie plants (1 to 64 species)
plus common plants used in ag.
Compare plots for:
- biomass produced per year
- amount of pollinator use
- Carbon sequestration
- forage value of plants

15. Early Findings – Planting Season
Evaluated 41 sp in 42 plots

16. Early Findings Winners and Losers
Sawtooth Sunflower
Prairie Violet
Evaluated 52 plots and 63 species

17. Early Findings: Mowing in Years 1 & 2

18. Current Work: Pollinators and Plant Diversity

19. Current Work: Favorite Flowers of Pollinators
May
Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) – 396 visits
Long-bracted Spiderwort (Tradescantia bracteata) – 318 visits
Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) – 80 visits
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) – 46 visits
June
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) – 184 visits
False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) – 92 visits
Wild Quinine (Parthenium integrifolium) – 79 visits
Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) – 68 visits
White Wild Indigo (Baptisia alba) – 61 visits

20. Coming This Fall: Plant Diversity & Carbon Sequestration

21. A Place to Learn and Connect

22. Funding Sources A Huge Thanks to:
Blank Park Zoo – Coins For Conservation
Central College Alumni
Second Reformed Church, Pella
MidWestOne Bank
Iowa Living Roadway Trust Fund
State of Iowa’s Grow Iowa Values Fund
ISU EPSCOR / Iowa Office of Energy Independence
Mark & Kay De Cook and Stan & Gayle Poortinga for Land Donation.
Moore Family Foundation
MAC Foundation