Native flora ....................................... 10
	Significant plants ................................. 11
	Vegetation sampling ................................ 13
	Exotic species ..................................... 16

	Denison Prairie .................................... 33
	Drovers Prairie	.................................... 38
	Friendly Prairie ................................... 44
	Gayfeather Prairie ................................. 48
	Golden Prairie ..................................... 54
	LaPetite Gemme Prairie ............................. 59
	Penn-Sylvania Prairie .............................. 64
	Schwartz Prairie ................................... 70
	Stilwell Prairie ................................... 76

SUMMARY

Floristic assessments and exotic weed inventories were conducted on all Missouri Prairie Foundation Lands in 1997 and 1998. These results were combined with preliminary vegetation sampling and data from various sources to compile general ecological profiles of MPF sites, with general management recommendations and evaluations of exotic species problems.

MPF prairies occur in an unusual pattern on the landscape, largely concentrated along the interface between the Osage Plains and Ozark ecoregions. These lands encompass a good representation of Missouri's unglaciated prairie diversity, ranging from deep soil chert prairies to rocky prairies on shallow soils over both carbonate and silicious bedrock. All MPF properties have sufficient native diversity and conservatism to be regarded as potential natural areas (in the ecological rather than administrative sense). Native floristic diversity ranges from 220 to 337 species per site, with floristic quality indices ranging from 54 to 73. Native diversity is not explicitly correlated with site size, but rather more closely linked with habitat diversity and previous land use history.

A total of 563 native plant taxa were documented from all MPF sites. This represents about 28% of the total native flora of Missouri. The physiognomic profile of the flora closely approximates that for prairie vegetation throughout the Midwestern tallgrass region, with nearly 80% of the flora consisting of perennial species. Eleven plant species of conservation concern occur on MPF lands, including five taxa discovered during this study.

Weeds are present on all MPF lands, with 92 exotic weeds documented during this study. Individual sites had as few as 35 exotic taxa (Gayfeather and Penn-Sylvania prairies) to as many as 57 exotics (Stilwell prairie). An analysis of the weed flora of MPF sites reveals that the vast majority of weeds pose little threat to the integrity of intact, properly managed prairies -- encroachment from native woody vegetation is far more of a threat to MPF prairies today. A small group of exotics, notably five highly aggressive species, is potentially problematic and could preempt restoration or rehabilitative management in degraded sites. These taxa should be the focus of MPF control measures. One of these species, Sericea Lespedeza, is highly aggressive and may have the potential to invade intact prairie vegetation.

Government Land Survey data document that, with the exception of Gayfeather Prairie, virtually all MPF lands were tallgrass prairies immediately prior to European settlement. These prairies were embedded in landscapes with varying degrees and patterns of timber. Gayfeather prairie was once a complex of intercalated timbers and prairies, and much of the present prairie land was probably an open timber. This relationship is reflected by the unique composition of the site vegetation today, including a number of woodland-associated species not found on other MPF lands.

Management recommendations are provided for each MPF site, along with a general discussion of conservation and management issues. Appendices provide detailed information on the flora, vegetation, and exotic species for each site.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Sincere thanks to the Missouri Prairie Foundation folks who facilitated our work, assisted us in the field, and shared their knowledge throughout this study. These include Amy and Rex Hamilton, Warren Lammert, George Nichols, Lowell Pugh and especially Stan Parrish and Richard Datema. Numerous other people helped with various aspects of this study, including Kristen Austin, Carol Davit, Susanne Greenlee, Blane Heumann, Tim Nigh, Ron Oesch, Mike Skinner, John Sommerhof, Catherine Werner, and George Yatskievych. Thanks also go to Roger Still, The Nature Conservancy's Missouri State Director, and his predecessor, Rob McKim, for realizing the importance of prairie conservation and the value of vegetational information in increasing our effectiveness in managing prairie systems.

INTRODUCTION

The Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) owns nine prairies totalling 1,570 acres. These prairies, ranging in size from 37 to 376 acres, are located in the southwestern quarter of Missouri. In order to develop ecological and management information related to site vegetation, in May 1997 the Foundation and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) initiated a project with these objectives:

1. Compile baseline floristic inventories for each MPF prairie, with discussions of any special vegetation elements and endangered plant species.

2. Develop floristic quality indices, physiognomic profiles, and diversity rankings for the vegetation of each site.

3. Document the exotic plants at each site, with evaluation of potential problems, management recommendations, and an overall assessment of exotic plants on MPF lands.

4. Provide general descriptive assessments of each site, with site design and management recommendations.

This report is the product of the MPF/TNC agreement, and reflects field work conducted during the 1997 and 1998 growing seasons. In addition to the above objectives, this report includes an evaluation of the presettlement vegetation and original landscape context of each MPF prairie, descriptions of the current condition of adjacent lands, and preliminary quantitative vegetation sampling data. There is a general synopsis of ecological and management issues, as well as detailed profiles and recommendations for each site. These results can be used to direct management planning and conservation strategies, target priority research and monitoring needs, and provide a baseline reference against which to assess future changes.

Synopsis of MPF prairies

To understand the context and significance of MPF lands, it is helpful to evaluate these prairies from an ecoregional perspective. Ecoregions are large areas within which are broad commonalities among the physical environments, process regimes, and biota. The Nature Conservancy (1997) classifies the United States into 63 ecoregions, of which portions of four occur within Missouri:

1. Central Tallgrass (glaciated plains of the northern half of Missouri)

2. Mississippi River Alluvial Plain (lowlands of extreme southeastern Missouri)

3. Ozarks (dissected upland region of southern Missouri)

4. Osage Plains/Flint Hills (unglaciated plains of southwestern Missouri)

In presettlement times tallgrass prairies occurred in Missouri in each of these ecoregions, but only the Osage Plains/Flint Hills and Central Tallgrass ecoregions were characterized by largely prairie landscapes. All MPF lands occur in the Osage Plains/Flint Hills or the Ozarks ecoregions.

Prairies owned by MPF are shown in Figure 1 and summarized in Figure 2. These prairies occur in an interesting configuration associated with the transition between two major North American ecoregions. The two northernmost prairies, Drovers Prairie and Friendly Prairie, occur in a complex of deep-soil chert prairies on the upper Osage Plains. Schwartz, Penn-Sylvania, and Golden prairies occur directly along the transition zone between the Ozarks and Osage Plains/Flint Hills ecoregions. These prairies are characterized by a preponderance of acidic soils derived from sandstones and shales, sometimes with impermeable claypans in the shallow subsurface. La Petite Gemme Prairie is located well within the Ozark ecoregion, and consists of a complex of calcareous soils derived from carbonate bedrock, and acidic soils with an impermeable claypan in the shallow subsurface.

The other three MPF prairies are located in the lower portion of the Osage Plains/Flint Hills ecoregion. Two of these, Gayfeather and Denison Prairies, are on shallow acidic soils over sandstones and shales. Stilwell Prairie, the westernmost of the properties, consists of a complex of acidic and limestone-derived alkaline soils, and has some floristic elements characteristic of more western prairies.

Overall, MPF lands encompass a rich diversity of landscape, ecoregional, substrate, and habitat contexts. They provide a microcosm of the spectrum of diversity encompassed by the original unglaciated prairies of Missouri. The most conspicuous major prairie vegetation component missing from MPF holdings is wet prairie, which was a significant feature associated with major rivers in the Osage Plains.

METHODS

Flora and Vegetation

Each MPF prairie was visited a minimum of four times during the 1997 and 1998 growing seasons, with at least one visit each during spring, summer, and fall. All vascular species observed were recorded, and notes were made documenting site condition and exotic species presence. A few undetermined or problematic taxa were collected; these vouchers are deposited in the Missouri Botanical Garden Herbarium (MO) in St. Louis. During the 1998 summer visit at each site, a series of ten 0.25 M² square quadrats were sampled at randomized intervals along a line transect subjectively located in representative high quality dry-mesic prairie vegetation. Within each quadrat, all species present were assigned a cover-abundance value ranging from one to five (Ladd & Heumann 1994). Based on these data, frequency, cover, and a relative importance value based on frequency and cover (RIV₂₀₀) were calculated for every species sampled along each transect.

Since a goal of MPF is sustainable conservation of the full array of native prairie biota at each site, sheer abundance or diversity is not sufficient to assess site significance or evaluate management effects. Emphasis must be placed upon conserving arrays of plants obligately restricted to intact prairie environments, i.e. those most likely to be lost as a consequence of habitat degradation. These species, termed conservative species, are those least represented in the modern landscape, and, once lost from a system, are the least likely to become reestablished. A complete account of this concept and its application to natural area assessment and ecological monitoring is provided by Taft et al. (1997), and the application of the system in conservation work in Missouri is shown in Ladd & Heumann (1994, 1995).

Based on their observed performance in the Missouri landscape, each native species in the Missouri flora has been assigned a number indicating its relative degree of conservatism. These conservatism rankings, or C values, range from 0 for plants with no degree of fidelity to natural vegetation (such as Common Ragweed - Ambrosia artemisiifolia) to 10 for plants obligately associated with high quality natural areas⁽¹⁾, such as Mead's Milkweed (Asclepias meadii) and Prairie Turnip (Psoralea esculenta). Within this conceptual spectrum is a range of degrees of conservatism, which can be expressed by assigning values between 0 and 10, again based on the ecological performance of each species. Introduced, or exotic, species are by definition incapable of being conservative and are not assigned coefficients. C values for all species documented from MPF lands are provided in Appendix 1.

An inventory of the flora of an area can be used to derive a Floristic Quality Index (Taft et al. 1997), providing a relative measure of that site's overall natural potential and recoverability from a restoration perspective, given a suitable management regime. The floristic quality index derived from plot-based vegetation sampling provides a measure of the current condition of a site. Taken together, these two metrics provide a valuable tool for site assessment and measuring management success⁽²⁾.

Mapping and Original Vegetation

Site observations were combined with soil data, aerial photographs, topographic maps, and available literature to develop GIS-based current land cover maps for each MPF site and adjacent lands. The resulting maps included in this report are intended to provide a conceptual background for site-design and management planning. Often, assigning a land cover class to non-prairie land was difficult. For instance, at what point does a pasture become sufficiently overgrown and brushy to classify as woody vegetation? Similarly, formerly plowed lands planted with warm season grasses quickly lose the ecological attributes of crop fields but are still not prairie. Because of problems like these, mapping conventions for adjacent lands should be regarded as provisional, particularly with regard to the distinctions between cropland and pasture, with long-fallow crop areas sometimes mapped as pasture.

Presettlement vegetation data was determined by an analysis of Government Land Survey maps for the townships containing MPF lands, augmented in a few cases by analysis of the original land survey notes compiled by the surveyors. These plat maps and survey notes are archived in the land survey repository of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Division of Geology and Land Survey in Rolla.

Presettlement vegetation data are essential to developing an understanding of the modern landscape, and for planning site management and restoration activities. It should not be a goal to attempt to recreate a static condition from the past -- even if this were possible -- but rather to use the presettlement data as a tool to learn about the system. Presettlement vegetation data provide our only detailed window into a period when the systems were in some type of dynamic equilibrium, sustaining all the components of their biota. By studying the context of the presettlement landscape, we can gain insights into the configuration, and thus function and dynamism, of the systems we are attempting to sustain through time.

RESULTS

Native Flora

As shown in Appendix 1, a total of 563 native species have been documented from MPF lands. Additionally, 92 species of exotic weeds occur on MPF lands, amounting to 14% of the flora of all sites. For comparison, in Missouri as a whole, nearly 28% of the total flora consists of introduced species (Yatskievych 1999).

The total flora of the MPF sites constitutes an impressive diversity, representing some 28% of the total native vascular flora documented from Missouri. In an analysis of the 988 species of native vascular plants characteristic of Midwestern tallgrass prairies (Ladd 1997), more than 80% of the flora was perennial, with slightly more than half of the flora (52%) consisting of perennial forbs. The physiognomic profile of the aggregate flora of MPF sites is provided at the beginning of Appendix 1, and closely approximates the physiognomic profile of prairie flora for the entire Midwest. Approximately half (46%) of the MPF site flora consists of perennial forbs, and 77% of the flora is perennial.

Figure 3 provides a floristic summary for all MPF sites. More detailed floristic information is provided at the beginning of the individual accounts for each prairie, and in Appendix 1. Floristic diversity at each MPF prairie is relatively high, ranging from 220 to 337 native species per site. The Floristic Quality Index for each MPF site exceeds 50, the threshold value sometimes used to identify potential natural areas. The index value is not linear -- an increase of a few points indicates an exponential increase in diversity, or a highly significant increase in mean conservatism. The mean conservatism of the vegetation is fairly consistent among sites, ranging from 3.6 to 4.0. This indicates a reasonably diverse native vegetation component that has been influenced by post-settlement perturbations, and is far higher than the mean conservatism values for the vast majority of the Missouri landscape.

As shown in Figure 4, coefficients of similarity⁽³⁾ were calculated among the floras of each possible pair of MPF prairies to determine the degree of floristic resemblance. The coefficients of similarity for the vegetation at MPF sites were uniformly high and constrained within a narrow range from 0.62 to 0.75. Generally, values above 0.50 indicate high levels of floristic resemblance. These values suggest that prairie vegetation, despite occurring in a range of habitats, substrates, and ecoregional contexts, tends to have common floristic attributes. This would be expected for a formerly wide-ranging vegetation type influenced by a common set of climatic conditions and process regimes.

Significant Plants

Eleven noteworthy species of plants are documented from Missouri Prairie Foundation sites. These species, discussed individually below, are either listed by the Missouri Department of Conservation (1998), or are rare or of limited distribution in Missouri. Where available, the global rank (G rank) and state rank (S rank) are provided for species discussed below. These ranks, ranging from 1 to 5, were developed by The Nature Conservancy to categorize the relative degree of conservation concern from both global and statewide perspectives. Common and demonstrably secure taxa are ranked 5, while taxa in imminent danger of extirpation are ranked 1. Thus, dandelion would be G5S5, indicating that its continued survival as a species is demonstrably secure both globally and within Missouri. A species threatened with imminent global extirpation which also occurred in Missouri would be ranked G1S1, while a globally common species that was extremely rare in Missouri, such as the Xyris torta reported here, would be ranked G5S1. Generally, ranks numbered 3 and lower are considered to be of potential conservation significance.

Asclepias meadii [Mead's Milkweed] - G2S2; Federally Threatened. This milkweed, now rare throughout its range, was once widely distributed throughout the tallgrass prairie biome. Most of the world's remaining populations are in western Missouri and eastern Kansas. Recent research has indicated that many populations of this long-lived perennial are small, isolated, and not reproducing (Bowles et al. 1995). Although not seen during the course of this study, documented populations of Mead's Milkweed are known from Friendly, Gayfeather, and Stilwell prairies. Additionally, there is an unconfirmed report from La Petite Gemme Prairie. Management considerations for Mead's Milkweed should include protection from growing season haying, and regular dormant season fire.

Astragalus caryocarpus [Indian Pea, Ground Plum]. This low, purple-flowered vetch is known from several open to lightly shaded sites scattered in western Missouri, mostly in the counties bordering Kansas. It occurs on loess hill prairies and in prairies and open grassy woodlands associated with limestone. Missouri populations are at the southeastern edge of the range for this primarily Great Plains species. During this study, a single small population was discovered in an area of rocky, high quality prairie at Stilwell Prairie, associated with Lomatium foeniculaceum.

Calopogon oklahomensis [Prairie Grass Pink]. Missouri populations of Grass Pink Orchids have recently been divided into two separate species. The element in acidic uplands on prairies in the Osage Plains is now considered to be separate from the more eastern and northern element that occurs in the minerotrophic fens of the eastern Ozarks (Goldman 1995). A small population of C. oklahomensis, discovered by Stan Parrish, grows on a sandy slope at Schwartz Prairie.

Camassia angusta [Prairie Hyacinth] - G5?S3. This species has been confused with the common Wild Hyacinth (C. scilloides). Although identification of preserved specimens can be difficult, in the field the two are absolutely distinct in appearance, habitat, and flowering time. Camassia angusta is an obligate tallgrass prairie species. Missouri comprises a substantial portion of the plant's global range. The global rank is probably erroneous. Documented populations of the plant are known from Drovers, La Petite Gemme, and Penn-Sylvania prairies, and a previous report of C. scilloides from Gayfeather Prairie may also be referable to this species.

Geocarpon minimum [Little Geo; Tom Thumb] - G2S2; Federally Threatened. This diminutive vernal annual is restricted to glades on channel sandstones in southwestern portion of Missouri, and disjunct populations in Arkansas and Louisiana. Channel sandstones are unusual rocks of limited distribution; they formed in braided freshwater streams. A small population of Geocarpon occurs on a degraded sandstone glade at Schwartz Prairie.

Gerardia skinneriana (=Agalinis skinneriana) [Pale False Foxglove] - G3S3. This sporadically distributed, wide ranging species is known in Missouri from prairies in the southwestern part of the state and from a small area of dolomite glades in east-central Missouri. Populations are known from Gayfeather and La Petite Gemme prairies.

Lomatium foeniculaceum [Hairy Parsley]. This plant attains the eastern edge of its range in the western part of the tallgrass prairie, ranging east to extreme western Missouri. Although Steyermark (1963) maps it from numerous counties along the western border of Missouri and it is not considered to be of conservation concern by the Missouri Department of Conservation (1998), the authors have seen very few healthy populations in Missouri. During this study, a population was discovered at Stilwell Prairie, associated with Astragalus caryocarpus. The presence of two predominately western prairie taxa in a small area of this property is interesting, and raises the possibility that additional western floristic elements will reappear as site restoration progresses.

Rhynchospora harveyi [Harvey's Beak Rush] - G4S1. This diminutive sedge occurs on sandstone glades and on thin sandstone-derived soils in prairies at scattered locations on southern Missouri, mostly in the Osage Plains region. Missouri populations are at the northwestern edges of the range of this species. A population occurs at Schwartz Prairie, in thin sandy soils at the base of a gentle slope.

Rhynchospora macrostachya [Horned Beak Rush] - G4S1. Despite the erroneous records mapped in Steyermark (1963), this species is currently known in Missouri from only four sites: an historical collection from near Lamar in Barton County, Osage Prairie in Vernon County, a wet prairie at Tingler Lake in Howell County, and a population discovered during this study at Drovers Prairie in Pettis County. Here there is a large population along the shore and inflow of an old artificial pond. This is the northernmost population in the state.

Trifolium reflexum [Buffalo Clover]. Although not listed by the Department of Conservation (1998), this is a conservative species associated with high quality savanna woodlands and prairies. It has become far rarer in recent years. A small population occurs at Stilwell Prairie.

Xyris torta [Yellow-Eyed Grass] - G5S1. This is an unusual wetland plant of uncertain habitat affinities in Missouri. It was known from three sites in the state: a historical and presumably extirpated population in Lawrence County, Taberville Prairie in St. Clair County, and a fen in Ripley County. During this study, we discovered a large population in an old pond remnant at Gayfeather Prairie in Vernon County.

Vegetation Sampling

Results of the vegetation sampling are shown in Figure 5. The complete transect data summary and analysis is provided in Appendix 3. Just as with the site floras, there are compelling similarities among the vegetation of MPF sites. At each prairie, the mean per-plot conservatism, native diversity, and floristic quality index fall within a fairly constrained range. The total number of species encountered along the transect in all plots ranges from 40 at Denison Prairie, probably reflecting the lack of recent fire in the sample area, to a high of 60, inexplicably obtained at Friendly Prairie.

An interesting contradiction to the prevailing notion that prairies are dominated by grasses is provided by the data in Figure 5. In every case, the aggregate forb importance value well exceeds the aggregate grass importance value. This reinforces data from vegetation sampling in high quality prairies throughout Missouri. Although grasses are typically among the most visually prominent components of prairie vegetation, they are seldom the dominant physiognomic class from a cover or importance value perspective. Similarly, although grasses are visually dominant, the grass diversity on a prairie is invariably dwarfed by the forb diversity of the site.

This is not to say that grasses are a minor or insignificant part of prairies - these are after all grassland systems. Evidence of the prominence of grasses is provided by the fact that a grass has the highest importance value on all nine MPF prairies. On every prairie but Stilwell, Little Bluestem (Andropogon scoparius) has the highest importance value. Of the two transects sampled at Stilwell, one was dominated by Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) and the other by Gama Grass (Tripsacum dactyloides).

The species with the five highest importance values at each prairie comprise a varied mix of grasses, forbs, and two sedges, and comprise 24-36% of the total vegetational presence in the sample plots. In this and other respects, the structural and physiognomic commonalities among the vegetation of each MPF site is striking: just as with the floristic attributes, there are strong commonalities that largely transcend location, substrate, and, to an extent, previous land use history, provided that the native matrix is intact. Each prairie is unique and has a unique character and biological components, but at a coarser level, there is a fundamental "prairieness" that can be characterized and quantified across Missouri's unglaciated tallgrass communities.

Exotic Species

A fact of life in contemporary North America is the ubiquity of exotic biota. Virtually every acre of the landscape, particularly here in the Midwest, is influenced by organisms that were not components of the pre-European landscape. As an illustration, about one quarter of the vascular flora of Missouri consists of exotic species. Exotic plants and animals are superbly adapted to the conditions and process regimes associated with modern civilization, and have become accepted, unremarkable components of daily life. In some cases, they have become so inculcated into the ecosystem and public conception that they are deemed to be a part of the native environment. Thus, although honeybees, most terrestrial isopods, most earthworms, and most slugs are exotic species, they are popularly associated with a nonjudgmental concept of "nature".

An understanding of the impacts and role of exotic species in natural vegetation requires consideration of the historical antecedents of both our exotic species and our native landscape. Exotic species have been receiving increasing amounts of both popular and scientific attention, but an unfortunate ancillary consequence of this has been the branding of exotic species as the culprits responsible for many of the ailments afflicting natural areas. This approach trivializes the complexities of the situation and results in counterproductive management strategies that do not target core problems. As one eminent biologist has remarked, trying to sustain our natural areas by removing the weeds is like "trying to cure measles by cutting off the spots"!

Most of the invasive exotic plants afflicting our landscape have their origins in the beginnings of sedentary, agricultural societies in the Old World. From the first time someone scratched the soil to benefit a food or fiber plant, some of the local vegetation were better adapted to this type of disturbance. Over time these plants gradually evolved into our modern weed flora, becoming increasingly more disturbance tolerant even as agriculture, urbanization, and husbandry became more intensified and technologically advanced. This gradual co-evolution has resulted in a suite of species that are supremely adapted to the processes and conditions associated with our inhabitancy of an area.

The role of humans in shaping the vegetation of the New World was no less pervasive but vastly different. Human populations in midwestern North America were not primarily associated with sedentary agricultural societies, and until very recently domesticated few plants and animals. The environment supported a complex human culture largely dependent upon hunting, gathering, and a low level of transient, short-duration agricultural activities. Associated with this was an increasingly sophisticated interaction with, understanding of, and capability to influence the natural environment for human needs through a variety of mechanisms, notably fire.

For thousands of years the human history of earth experienced the parallel development in the Old and New worlds of these vastly different approaches to interacting with and shaping the landscape. The differing process regimes imposed in part by humans resulted in the development of biological associations - suites of plants and animals - adapted to different sets of conditions and disturbance dynamics.

All of this changed with the arrival of European people in North America. Even as this culture imposed its own disturbance dynamic on the landscape, altering patterns of process and site conditions that had prevailed for millennia, it brought along a plethora of plants and animals completely adapted to these circumstances. In biological time, the process dynamics of an entire continent were drastically shifted virtually overnight, often rendering a competitive advantage to the Old World species adapted to the new dynamic.

It is difficult to comprehend the magnitude or rapidity with which modern civilization has changed forever the biological fate of the continent. Few episodes in the more than four billion year history of life on earth have occurred with such rapidity or pervasiveness. Our native biota are still reeling from the dual onslaught of a suite of new players and altered process regimes and disturbance dynamics.

This essentially instantaneous, catastrophic perturbation has resulted in draconian alteration of and often loss of sustainability in our native biological systems, with accompanying species losses. In the space of some three centuries - an eyeblink on the evolutionary time scale - we have rended the gently rippling fabric of biological stability and shredded the integrity of our native landscapes. This rich, delicate tapestry has instead been in all too many places supplanted by the coarse, undifferentiated burlap of exotic species and our few native weeds.

Given this, a goal of conservation should be to identify and curate in some sustainable array those areas of the landscape that harbor irreplaceable constellations of diversity. These are sites that have continuity with their pre-European settlement incarnations in terms of biotic composition, site conditions, and process regimes. Such areas must be sustained by maintaining or emulating the dynamics of the system within the dynamic amplitude to which the system and its component organisms have become attuned through millennia of selection as interactive groups of species.

The establishment of exotic plants in conservation landscapes is more of a symptom of larger problems than an evil in and of itself. Once established, however, exotics can themselves cause increased system degradation and diversity loss. In virtually all cases in the Midwest, exotic species do not invade functional, synecologically intact native systems unless these systems or the process regimes to which they are attuned have undergone perturbations for which there are no presettlement antecedents. From the perspective of an organization such as the Missouri Prairie Foundation, conceptually addressing exotic species issues should take a two-pronged approach:

1. The presence of exotic weeds at a site should be regarded as symptomatic of more pervasive problems, and these problems should be identified and to the degree possible addressed. Factors favoring the establishment and increase of weeds over native vegetation include fragmentation, previous land use deleterious to native diversity, such as intensive grazing, spraying, or overseeding, hydrologic alterations, and passive nonmanagement in a fire- and nomadic herbivore-free landscape.

2. Direct exotic species reduction efforts should be implemented and designed to minimize impacts to native biota. These efforts are necessary to prevent established species from increasing and causing further system degradation, as well as to restore already degraded areas. Direct control of exotics alone, without addressing the issues that facilitated their initial establishment, will ultimately be unsuccessful.

Planning for exotic species issues should be integrated with overall site management planning designed to insure sustainable, functional, biologically rich native systems. Given the condition of the ambient landscape, and the configuration of MPF sites within that landscape, there will always be populations of aggressive exotic weeds nearby. A key management goal should be to design sustainable site configurations that insure physical site integrity and facilitate the maintenance or emulation of prevailing presettlement process regimes to which the native biota are attuned. By playing to the genetic memory of the native biota, which for thousands of years have become superbly adapted to the nuances and vagaries of a given site and its microenvironment, the competitive advantage will be with the native biota, precluding exotic establishment.

Exotic species are a reality, and it would be impossible to remove all exotic species from any MPF site. To that end, monitoring exotic weeds, while it may be necessary to assess the effectiveness of control measures, should not be used as an indicator of site quality or overall management success. Exotic species are a problem only to the extent to which they reduce site integrity or native richness. A more meaningful measure of exotic species impacts is through a direct assessment of the native biota.

Ninety-two species of exotic plants were documented from MPF lands during this study. This represents 14% of the total flora of the study sites. Exotic plants range from 35 to 57 species per site, although in terms of cover the vegetation at each site is overwhelmingly native. Many of the exotic species on MPF lands are restricted to recently disturbed areas, and pose no threat to the integrity of the native vegetation. As would be expected from a disturbance-adapted group of organisms, a large proportion (58%) are annuals or biennials, as contrasted with only 19% of the native flora being annuals or biennials. Appendix 1 provides the physiognomy of the plants comprising the weed flora of MPF lands.

To evaluate the implications and management issues associated with these weeds, a weed category ranking was developed. Each weed was given a ranking from 1 to 5, based on its observed performance in the landscape and its potential to become problematic once established in an area. Appendix 2 provides an annotated enumeration of all exotic plant species and their assigned weed class, according to the general categories summarized below

Class 1 Accidentals - uncommon, sporadically distributed taxa appearing here and there, usually in small numbers and generally not persistent, or, if persistent, incapable of proliferating on MPF lands. This category includes casual escapes from cultivation and some of the rarer and less offensive weeds.

Class 2 Obligate ruderals - invaders of newly exposed or perennially disturbed soils; not capable of persisting without continual recent ground disturbance. This category includes many of our cropland weeds.

Class 3 Potentially persistent ruderals - invaders of recently or severely disturbed ground that, once established, have the potential to proliferate, or preempt vegetation succession patterns and remain major components of the system. This category includes many widespread weeds that are not extremely aggressive, but can be stubbornly persistent once established.

Class 4 Weak to moderate grassland competitors - weeds capable of invading and becoming established in degraded or stressed tallgrass vegetation, or persisting and pre-empting native succession. Once established, these species can be difficult to control unless proper management, including fire, is maintained. This category includes many of the Old World pasture grasses and meadow weeds.

Class 5 Aggressive grassland invaders - aggressive exotics which, once established, are difficult to displace, and under favorable conditions can continue to spread in stressed native grasslands. These are the potentially most problematic exotic taxa on MPF sites, although it should be noted that many of our native woody species such as Rough-Leaved Dogwood (Cornus drummondii) and Winged Sumac (Rhus copallina) display similar ecological attributes in contemporary prairie systems.

Distribution of the 92 taxa of exotic plants documented from MPF sites among the five weed classes is shown in Figure 6. These data reveal that half of the weeds are class 1 or 2, meaning that they are accidentals or essentially restricted to newly disturbed sites, and pose little threat to the integrity of the remnant prairie vegetation. An additional 35% of the weed flora, categorized as class 3 weeds, consists of species that are not a threat to the integrity of remnant prairie vegetation, provided a proper management regime is maintained. These species may be difficult to eradicate from degraded prairie stands, and may thus pose problems for prairie restoration efforts, but do not pose an imminent threat to the survival of existing high quality remnants. The remaining 15 % of the weed flora are the species deserving of the most attention and eradication resources.

Each of the five class 5 weeds designated in this study is discussed individually below. These species are all problematically aggressive competitors which under favorable conditions are capable of displacing native vegetation. Two of these are woody species which will not invade systems that experience regular fire, but given the lack of fire in much of the modern landscape, and the fact that these taxa are well-established on several MPF sites and are capable of rapidly proliferating, they pose immediate threats to the survival of high quality prairie systems.

Class 5 weeds

Tall Fescue (Festuca elatior) is an aggressive, cool season grass that is invasive in open habitats. It spreads mostly by seeds and can form dense monocultures. Most spontaneous populations have an endophytic fungus that confers competitive advantages on the plant, possibly including allelopathy. Tall Fescue flourishes in severely degraded areas and is tolerant of overgrazing and other abusive land management. It is widely used as a pasture and hay grass throughout Missouri, and is ubiquitous in the contemporary landscape. Fescue thrives in disturbed prairies, or where light shade impedes the vigor of prairie plants, such as along fencerows.

Most control strategies for fescue in prairie systems are based on the cool season attributed of the plant. Repeated late spring burns are effective in reducing population, as are fall burns timed before the onset of a period of sustained subfreezing temperatures. A combination of burning and late season foliar application of 1-2% Roundup can achieve significant reduction of fescue populations in a single season. Although grazing is generally considered ineffective, the role of targeted high intensity, short duration grazing in early spring and late fall in mixed stands of fescue and remnant prairie vegetation need to be further tested. In some cases, a grass specific herbicide such as Fusilade 2000 may be effective in spot infestations where there are forbs present and proximal sources of warm season grasses to recolonize the site.

Dense stands of tall fescue can be treated in the spring with a mixture of 1.25% Roundup Ultra, 0.47% Plateau, 1.25% methylated seed oil, and 0.2% (by weight) ammonium sulfate applied at a rate of 20 gallons per acre. The mixture should be applied to recently burned fescue with 4-8 inches of regrowth. This mixture provides some residual control, and is somewhat friendly to warm season grasses (Hodges 1998).

One concern with Tall Fescue control in areas with remnant native vegetation is that a small but significant proportion of our native prairie grasses are cool season grasses. Determination of appropriate control measures should take into account the remnant native potential of the area being treated.

Sericea Lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) is a deep-rooted warm season perennial capable of proliferating in degraded prairies, pastures, and open woodlands. Once established, this species may be capable of invading intact, high-quality prairies, although evidence of this is anecdotal and inconclusive. Once established, this plant can quickly form dense stands excluding other vegetation. It is a prolific seed producer and can develop an extensive soil seed bank. These seeds are capable of surviving for decades -- once account mentions a 60% germination rate in 55 year old seed! This is potentially the most serious exotic threat to MPF prairies.

Suggested control strategies for Sericea Lespedeza rely on various timings and types of herbicide treatments. Spraying with a 2% solution of triclopyr or 0.5% clopyralid in water has been reported to be effective if applied in the early growing stages (typically up to mid June) prior to branch formation. Effectiveness of these treatments appears to be enhanced by the addition of a 0.5% concentration of a non-ionic surfactant. Another treatment is spraying with a 2% solution of glyphosate from early summer to late August. A 1% Remedy solution applied when plants are 12-15 inches tall has also been used. Discussions of chemical controls and their effectiveness are included in Altom et al. (1992) and Yonce and Skroch (1989).

Dormant season burning has been reported to favor Sericea Lespedeza. However, Hamilton (1998) recently reported success in reducing Sericea Lespedeza with late growing season fires timed to coincide with flowering. Preliminary results indicate that these fires produce high rates of seedling mortality, decrease plant vigor, and produce significant mortality in adult plants.

Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is a trailing or high-climbing woody vine capable of forming dense patches to the exclusion of most other vegetation. In Missouri prairies it generally infests thickets, woody fencerows, and draws. Because stems can root at the nodes, and branch roots can spread up to three meters laterally, established infestations can spread rapidly and be difficult to eradicate.

Multiple fires can be an effective control strategy, although single fires have limited effects, and ground layer fuels are often sparse in heavy infestations. Japanese Honeysuckle leaves are evergreen and contain flammable constituents. Although difficult start, once ignited they burn, intensely, producing a "jackpotting" effect that can effectively decimate above ground stems, but which also poses potential problems from long-glowing, convection-lofted firebrands.

Grazing and repeated low mowing have been variously described as successful and ineffective as control strategies, although our observations suggest that these treatments are usually ineffective in Missouri. Foliar application of Roundup or Crossbow in autumn is effective in controlling Japanese Honeysuckle, although timing is critical. Application should occur after most native vegetation is dormant, but before there is a several hour interval of temperatures below 25^o F. More detailed information is provided by Evans (1984) and Solecki (1997).

For MPF sites, the key to honeysuckle control is opening up dense infestations through a combination of fire and chemical treatments, and insuring that there is a source of native materials to recolonize the site, which may require seeding.

Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) is an aggressive thorny tree native just southwest of the Osage Plains. It has been widely planted for fencerows and windbreaks, and rapidly invades disturbed open or lightly shaded sites. It is a prolific seed producer, and can also spread by root sprouts. Cut stumps readily resprout.

Fire is an effective control method for smaller trees -- typically less than 8" DBH -- although sufficient fuel must be present to achieve cambial mortality. In most cases, heavy infestations require cutting and stump treating. Girdling is often ineffective because of frequently convoluted circumference makes complete severing of the phloem difficult. Immediate treatment of cut stumps with a 50% Garlon solution is effective (Glass 1992), but extreme care must be taken to protect adjacent ground. This treatment should not be used in areas immediately adjacent to high quality vegetation if rain is forecast in the next several days, because runoff will damage other vegetation.

Johnson Grass (Sorghum halapense) is a coarse, aggressive, perennial, warm-season bunchgrass. It is capable of invading and forming dense stands in fields and severely disturbed sites, and can spread rapidly, to the exclusion of other vegetation. It is generally not a problem in high quality prairies, but can be a major problem in prairie restoration work. It spreads by seeds and rhizomes, including small fragments of rhizomes. Soil disturbance in infested sites often results in a proliferation of Johnson Grass.

Fire management alone seems to be ineffective as a control strategy, although regular burning when there is a diverse mix of established prairie plants will reduce Johnson Grass infestations. Unfortunately, most Johnson Grass occurs in areas without a diverse component of prairie natives. Application of a 2% foliar spray of Roundup prior to see maturity, typically in June, will achieve significant reduction, but will impact all species in the area. Repeated treatments will probably be required. Repeated close mowing or repeated tilling are also effective control strategies, although by themselves will not result in complete eradication (Solecki 1997).

The potential of this plant to impede prairie recovery mandates that all infestations be spot treated rapidly to prevent their proliferation.

As stated in the methods section, vegetation sampling transects were located in representative areas of high quality, dry-mesic prairie vegetation. Except for attempting to locate the plots in high quality prairie vegetation, no attempts were made to exclude areas with exotic species from the sampling area. It is notable that, despite this, exotic species were an extremely minor component of the vegetation at all sites except Stilwell Prairie. This supports observations that exotic species problems on MPF lands are largely restricted to discrete areas of degraded prairie. The areas where exotic species populations tend to be high are in areas of degraded or nonexistent prairie vegetation, which leads to a "which came first" question. Did the exotics invade areas of previously degraded prairie, or did the infestation of exotics cause the degradation of the prairie vegetation?

The answer probably involves components of both scenarios, but all evidence to date indicates that most of the exotic species present on MPF lands are opportunists infesting areas where the diversity and integrity of the perennial component of the prairie vegetation have been impacted by past disturbances. Once established in these areas, some exotics are capable of precluding successional patterns of native vegetation, and in some cases of even expanding into less disturbed areas.

GENERAL MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS

All MPF prairies are afflicted with threats to their sustainability and biological integrity. These threats are largely analogous to the stresses impacting all natural areas in the Midwest. In the case of the MPF lands, some of these stresses are exacerbated because of the small size of most MPF preserves and the highly fragmented, intensively utilized landscapes within which they are embedded. Virtually all of these stresses are direct or indirect results of the site impacts, exotic biota, and altered process regimes associated with the contemporary post-European-settlement society we have established throughout the continent. Exotic species issues have been discussed previously. The following section discusses some other considerations and recommendations for management of MPF prairies, grouped according to the following headings:

1. Woody vegetation

2. Rare species

3. Fire management

4. Other vegetation manipulation

5. Existing ponds

6. Ecological restoration

7. Site conservation planning/conservation goals

8. Monitoring/inventory/research

1. Woody Vegetation

Every Missouri prairie remnant today has problems with encroachment of woody vegetation. Most of the species comprising this vegetation are native, including Rough Dogwood (Cornus drummondii), Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), Winged Sumac (Rhus copallina), Smooth Sumac ((Rhus glabra), Poison Ivy (Rhus radicans), blackberries (Rubus spp.), Bristly Greenbriar (Smilax tamnoides hispida), Buckbrush (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus), Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra), and Summer Grape (Vitis aestivalis). There are also some equally aggressive woody exotics, notably Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) and Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora).

These species typically become established in prairies under one of two conditions. Sometimes, previous severe disturbance results in a loss of vegetational diversity and integrity, and the woody plants become established from a nearby donor source. This scenario, when following an episode of catastrophic overgrazing, seems especially likely to lead to the establishment of populations of Osage Orange and other exotic species, as well as some of the native woody invaders.

The second scenario involves prairie vegetation that remains essentially intact, but has altered process regimes, such as in prairies with a long history of hay production and ongoing fire suppression. In such sites, although the prairie vegetation on the uplands remains high quality, altered process regimes disproportionately impact inaccessible, rocky, or wet sites that are not hayed. In these areas, such as along fencerows, the lack of regular fire or haying allows the establishment and flourishing of woody vegetation. Although most of these woody species are native, and undoubtedly existed through the prairie region, they now exploit the altered conditions, and proliferate at the direct expense of herbaceous prairie vegetation.

This has caused the loss of most of the mesic and moist prairie vegetation in upland systems, as small depressions once replete with a rich assemblage of mesic plant species become brush choked and barren in the ground layer. Today, invasion by native woody species is a more pressing threat to the integrity of MPF prairies than exotic species. Actually, exotics and invasive native woody species often impact prairies synergistically, compounding the impacts to the site.

A major share of MPF management resources should continue to be devoted to aggressive reduction of woody vegetation while minimizing impacts to site integrity or native biota. The presettlement vegetation analysis completed in this project for each MPF prairie should serve as a guide for directing woody removal efforts; those few areas of potential presettlement timbers should be treated more cautiously, with more reliance on fire and selective cutting. Other areas should be treated with the goal of reestablishment of prairie vegetation. The goal is not the eradication of all woody vegetation -- most of these taxa were components of the presettlement prairies, albeit in diffuse and discontinuous populations. Once invasive woody vegetation is removed and a prairie fuel matrix is reestablished, regular fire should be sufficient to insure site maintenance.

In most cases after cutting woody vegetation, it will be desirable to treat stumps with herbicides to prevent resprouting. In the past year, MPF has tried several different herbicide treatments, with varying results. Although it is beyond the scope of this project to delve into herbicide-specific management issues, the following should be kept in mind when developing control plans for woody or exotic species reduction:

-Most of the existing data on secondary lethality of herbicides from leaching, runoff, or root transport are developed using assays involving agricultural weeds. These plants are typically more stress tolerant than many prairie species; hence supporting documentation regarding benign secondary effects should be treated with skepticism. Additionally, given how little we know about the incredibly diverse and complex interrelationships among the prairie biota, particularly in the rhizosphere, herbicides with a short active phase are generally preferable. Although chemical treatment is a necessary evil in the contemporary environment, we need to be constantly vigilant against regarding their use as routine or benign.

-Little systematic information exists regarding use of herbicides in natural areas restoration. It is thus critical that accurate, disciplined information be kept for every herbicide application interval. This information need not be onerous, but should include the type of treatment, timing, dosage, concentration, application technique, exact area applied, weather (including weather and soil moisture notes), total quantity used, and any relevant comments. This will build a knowledge base that will advance restoration science, and allow correlation of any delayed effects with treatments. If herbicide types, dosages and treatment areas are not well documented, it severely limits the learning that can be derived from past work. Detailed information of this nature is important, because so many environmental variables affect success of chemical treatments. Accurate records are essential to determining why one treatment worked and the same treatment under seemingly similar circumstances was not as effective. We recommend that MPF establish a policy that all herbicide application be accompanied by a standard form documenting the relevant information, and that site monitors conduct post-treatment evaluations of application areas to observe collateral damage and success on target species.

Whenever chemical treatments are used, attempts should be made to minimize drift, leaching, runoff, and anything else that exposes native vegetation to herbicides. In some cases, particularly for exotic infestations or dense brush concentrations, foliar spraying may be needed, which will require precise control and absolute adherence to maximum windspeed guidelines. Where possible, dormant season spraying should be used in these cases, such as for fescue and honeysuckle.

2. Rare Species

As documented in this study, numerous rare plants occur on MPF prairies, as well as populations of some rare animal species. While management of MPF lands should never be geared to a single species, considerations of the ecological needs of priority species should be incorporated into management planning. Consideration should also be given to the rangewide conservation status of target species. Thus, although Prairie Chickens are of considerable conservation concern in Missouri, and an appropriate conservation target, they are currently secure elsewhere in the prairie biome and not as globally compromised as other species on MPF lands, such as Prairie Mole Crickets and Mead's Milkweed.

Natural areas (and parts of all MPF sites are natural area quality) should be holistically managed for system integrity, with the goal of conserving self-replicating arrays of all the native biota present. System integrity and sustainability should be the primary focus of all management actions, filtered, to the extent possible, by management considerations aimed at single species needs. Often, particularly for motile animals, it is preferable to provide certain habitat attributes on adjacent buffer lands or by agreement or incentive with neighboring private landowners. Specific examples of this would include agreements with adjacent producers to maintain certain lands in grazed grassland for prairie chickens, or payments to leave specific levels of crop residue for prairie chicken feeding and wintering areas.

A rare plant of particular concern reported from four MPF sites is Mead's Milkweed (Asclepias meadii). Missouri populations of Mead's Milkweed are small, widely scattered, and not producing viable seed (Bowles et al. 1995). Just as it has been involved in a cooperative effort to insure Missouri prairie chickens remain extant and viable, MPF should consider engaging a coalition of partners in a Mead's Milkweed recovery effort. The goal of this effort should be to establish fertile populations of Mead's Milkweed at several Missouri sites. This will involve nursery growth and reintroduction, targeted demographic monitoring, and a variety of other research and restoration activities.

In order to insure that ongoing management activities, or region-wide land use trends, do not threaten rare species on MPF lands, some level of monitoring should be implemented for all target species on MPF lands, as discussed in part 8 below.

3. Fire Management

It is well established that fire is an essential component of prairie management, particularly given the proliferation of exotic species that can invade prairies in the absence of fire, even under a haying regime. Fire should be a component of the management of every MPF site. Much remains unknown about timing and return intervals for optimum prairie management, but some general statements and recommendations can be made.

-the prevailing fire regime in presettlement Missouri prairies was frequent, dormant season, largely autumnal, fires. These fires were mostly human set fires; Native American fire practices in the presettlement period vastly outnumbered the relatively small number of natural ignitions.

-for restoring degraded prairie or establishing prairie plantings, annual fire is often the most effective tool for the first five years or more.

-a diversity of fire treatments, timings, and return intervals is desirable in intact native vegetation. Except for very small areas where fireline impacts would be deleterious, entire sites should not be burned at once. On the other hand, a bewildering (and poorly supported) array of numbers for the maximum portion of an area that can be burned exits in the literature and as rules of thumb...most of these are too conservative to allow recovery of degraded prairie vegetation, and in some cases may not allow sufficient fire return intervals for maintaining diverse, synecologically intact prairie vegetation.

-a lot of supposed "facts" about fire effects on prairie vegetation remain uncertain. For instance, an oft-cited point is that spring burning increases grasses at the expense of forbs. This was documented in degraded prairies in Kansas, and some Missouri studies appear to suggest this trend. However, some of the most diverse prairies in the Midwest have decades long histories of annual or nearly annual spring burning, without a shred of evidence that grasses are increasing at the expense of forb diversity, nor do any of the annual spring burn data from Cook Meadow support this. The lesson here is that we still know little regarding fire timing on vegetation, especially in a predictive sense, and the tallgrass biome may be too diverse to impute universal truths based on studies remote from Missouri.

-The Nature Conservancy has adopted a regime of mostly autumnal fires on its prairies, augmented by occasional spring fires, especially in degraded areas prone to erosion. The Conservancy also pioneered some small scale summer prairie fires in the mid 1980's, with initially encouraging effects on brush and perennial exotics, but disappointing impacts on exotic annual grasses. Fall burns are more heterogenous in their coverage and fire effects, due to a remnant live fuel component. MPF should implement an integrated fire management program on all of its preserves, with a mix of fire timing and fire return intervals.

Although fire management is an essential component of tallgrass prairie systems, it is also a potentially dangerous activity fraught with liabilities. As one of the key prairie management organizations in the Midwest, MPF has a responsibility to its members, its neighbors, and the rest of the natural resource community to insure safe, professional, effective fire management. To effectively use fire as a management tool and protect the surrounding public, the following should be implemented in the MPF fire management program:

- All MPF sites should have a written fire management plan, including detailed prescriptions for every burn unit. Prescriptions should be based on USFS or TNC prescription models, and explicitly detail management goals, weather parameters, fuels, contingencies, hazards, minimum equipment, fireline preparation, ignition pattern, crew training and experience, mop-up, and smoke considerations. There should be at least informal internal review of prescriptions before burning. All fireline personnel should have read or received a detailed briefing on the prescription prior to ignition.

- All MPF burns should have a window of acceptable weather, and this should be religiously adhered to during fire management activities. Any deviation from acceptable weather parameters, or alteration of prescription parameters, should be made in writing prior to starting the burn. A brief fire summary memo should be completed after every burn, including recommendations for future burns.

- MPF should supply Nomex coveralls for all fireline personnel. This is a basic safety item that should be requisite, especially considering the limited experience of many MPF crew members. One disastrous miscalculation will result in a personal and organizational cost vastly outweighing the limited expense to secure adequate protective gear. Requiring all fireline personnel to wear Nomex also facilitates rapid identification of crew members when mingled with non-fireline personnel, and helps to create an image of professionalism.

- There should be consideration of minimum experience and fitness guidelines for leaders and core crew members at each burn. A clearly designated fire leader should be responsible for each burn; we would recommend that MPF, for its own protection, mandate training requirements for fire leaders. The prescribed burn training provided by MDC is excellent, although in itself insufficient for fire leader training. Some of the federal level courses, such as S130/S190 for crew members and S290/S390 for fire leaders, would be beneficial. Additionally, specific fire leader training for prescribed fires, such as the nationwide series cosponsored by TNC and various agencies, would be useful. MPF might want to explore the possibility of hosting prescribed burn training for potential crew members (and neighboring landowners?), perhaps in conjunction with other agencies and organizations.

- Every fire event on MPF lands should be preceded by an evaluation of possible problems and escapes, and the appropriate response. Much of the equipment, planning and preparation at any fire, prescribed or wild, is for unlikely contingencies. There should be on hand some level of contingency response capability at all MPF fires.

4. Other Vegetation Manipulation

Haying and grazing have been used as prairie management tools, and all MPF sites have a long history of some combination of these two treatments. As with fire management, there remain more questions than answers surrounding the use of these techniques in prairie management.

Tallgrass prairie evolved under a regime of regular fire and some level of large animal herbivory, although opinions differ greatly about the intensity of the latter, particularly in the tallgrass region. The structural and process attributes associated with grazing are probably an essential component for maintaining a full array of prairie biodiversity. The degree to which adjacent, intensively utilized private lands provide this context in a modern setting is unknown.

For healthy prairie, seasonally varied, short-duration, intensive grazing at infrequent intervals is probably a beneficial component of prairie management, provided that ancillary impacts, such as exotic species introductions and mechanical damage, can be controlled. The size and distribution of MPF lands makes this difficult or impossible in most areas, but some sites might lend themselves to this type of management in the future. Some producers have reported encouraging results by intensively grazing cattle early and late on cool season infestations, and resting the area during peak warm season growth intervals. This might be useful for targeted recovery areas, but sustaining this pattern would provoke concerns for the vernal flora and native cool season component of our prairies.

Since European settlement some 150 years ago, many prairies in Missouri's Osage Plains and Ozarks regions have been maintained by a regime of annual haying. While it is probable that imposition of an annual haying regime, and the associated annual mining of mineral nutrients fixed in plant tissues, resulted in some declines in diversity, this very haying was the salvation of the prairie, as the surrounding prairie regions were plowed or reverted to degraded woodlands through fire suppression.

We feel that repeated haying is not an ideal prairie management practice, but has a role at specific sites, if combined with fire and other management techniques. Localized or pattern haying can provide some structural attributes for specific wildlife. There is a compelling need to determine the extent of nutrient impacts associated with more than a century of forage removal without corresponding nutrient inputs. Any opportunities MPF has to stimulate or sponsor such work would advance our understanding of the role of haying in prairie management.

An often underestimated impact to prairies is the result of large bale storage on the prairie landscape. If stored sufficiently long, large bales kill the vegetation under them. Subsequent recovery to high quality prairie vegetation is often slow or incomplete, and these sites are frequently inhabited by weeds. To prevent this, any haying agreements should include contract wording that limits hay storage on site to no more than 5 days.

An alternative to haying is native seed production from prairie systems. This allows revenue generation while limiting biomass removal, and potentially providing a more structurally heterogeneous habitat manipulation. MPF and other agencies and organizations should continue to expand the use of native seed production as a prairie management tool, providing always that entire seed crops are never harvested from any one site, leaving sufficient remnants for plant colonization and wildlife food sources.

5. Existing Ponds

Many MPF lands have artificial ponds. Prior to MPF ownership, these were established for stock watering or wildlife enhancement. Some of these ponds are surrounded by high quality vegetation, with minimal evident disruption associated with their construction, while others have more disturbance impacts associated with them. There has been a trend among conservation organizations and restorationists to remove artificial features such as these ponds as standard practice in a comprehensive restoration program.

For MPF, adopting a universal policy of removing all artificial ponds would be counterproductive. Many of these ponds harbor considerable native diversity of both plants and animals, and in many cases the disturbances associated with pond removal would outweigh any benefits.

The biota of many of the ponds is something of an historic artifact: were the same ponds to be constructed today, they would not be colonized by the diverse suite of native organisms that inhabit the existing ponds. Many of the ponds were constructed in a period when the landscape was less fragmented, exotic species were less pervasive, and the wettest phases of our prairie systems were more intact. There was thus available a source of plants and animals to colonize the ponds and their environs. Over decades, some of these ponds have stabilized and even support species of conservation concern. Those ponds with relatively stable water levels provide a refugium for wetland organisms that have been lost from their former habitats as the landscape has been dewatered and the draws have filled in with brush. Many of these ponds may serve as breeding sites for amphibians.

Decisions regarding the disposition of ponds should be made on a case by case basis after an evaluation of the impact of the existing pond on the local surface watershed, an assessment of the current biota of the poind and environs, and an assessment of what would be gained by pond removal, balanced against the disturbance impacts and losses associated with removal activity.

Ponds on MPF lands are inherited artifacts, but in some cases provide significant biodiversity attributes, and help to buffer against species losses associated with site disturbance. While new ponds would not be desirable, many of the existing ponds should be retained, and, in some cases, actively and sensitively maintained. Of particular note are the ponds at Drovers and Gayfeather prairies, each of which supports a diverse assemblage of wetland and aquatic plants, and each of which has a species of statewide conservation concern.

5. Ecological Restoration

Many areas on MPF sites, particularly at Schwartz and Stilwell prairies, are completely devoid of prairie vegetation and will require restoration. As MPF moves to complete more viable site designs at its other preserves, and acquires additional sites elsewhere, prairie restoration will become an increasingly important issue for the organization.

As used here, ecological restoration includes two aspects: rehabilitative restoration of previously impacted sites with sufficient on-site native diversity to be recovered through intensive management, and reconstructive restoration, involving previously plowed or otherwise converted sites with essentially no remnant native potential, which must be restored by importing sources of native vegetation. Some level of rehabilitative restoration is required for virtually all prairie remnants in Missouri. This section addresses some general issues involving reconstructive restoration.

Despite much glib discussion of successful prairie restoration, no one has even come close to restoring a diverse, fully functional prairie matrix. Most attempts fall short of even modest diversity goals. This should not hinder restoration attempts, since many restorations are still invaluable from an ecological perspective, but it should enforce a realization that much remains to be learned about the art and science of prairie restoration. MPF is in a position to make major contributions to our knowledge of prairie restoration in Missouri, and should make concerted efforts to document all aspects of its ongoing restoration work.

In general, local seed sources (within the 8 immediate counties if possible) should be utilized as donor sources for restoration plantings. These mixes should be aimed at maximizing the diversity of native seed materials incorporated in the planting mix, including prairie species typically associated with areas both wetter and drier than the intended planting site. This will accommodate undetected complexities in soil and microhydrologic regimes, and also buffer against changes in site conditions that inevitably occur as the restoration becomes established and influences site conditions. Precise determinations of specific habitat character at a site is difficult, and restoration plantings should include species with a variety of pH and substrate requirements, to accommodate unanticipated microhabitat variability. Restoration activities should not assume that a particular species will or will not grow in a given location, since our knowledge of autecological dynamics of most prairie plants, especially in a restoration setting, is embarrassingly meager.

Much contemporary prairie restoration work is derived from antecedents in agriculture, where rapid establishment of a productive resource is a goal. Biodiversity-based prairie restoration is a more complex and slower process. Here the goal is to install as diverse a mix of native forbs, sedges, and grasses as possible, and to insure the recruitment and establishment of a diverse cohort from this mix. To that end, planting mix selection should be focused on diversity above all else; specific quantities per acre of this species or that are only paper comforts, and convey in themselves little assurance of restoration success. Diversity potential may be enhanced by reducing the seeding rates for native warm season grasses such as Big and Little Bluestem, Panic Grass, and Indian Grass. Seeding rates of a few pounds per acre or less may allow germinated forbs a better chance to become established. In some cases, a weakly competitive nurse grass such as Red Fescue or Rice Cut Grass might be useful as a temporary space filler and fuel bed. Any restoration plantings should include provision for weed management (usually by mowing), and annual prescribed fire as soon as there is sufficient fuel accumulation to carry combustion.

Management activities in restoration plantings should not be geared towards maintaining populations of any single elements, but at sustaining or emulating the process regimes and site conditions that prevailed at the site during the presettlement period, and thus providing a context of stability within which the biota can change and adapt to the gradual alterations that affect all systems.

7. Site Conservation Planning/Conservation Goals

To insure maximum viability and effectiveness, every MPF site should have a brief site conservation plan. Key aspects of site conservation plans are a synopsis of the site and its ecological significance, an initial site design, analysis of site stresses and their sources, evaluation of management needs and restoration issues, and an assessment of the feasibility, costs, and viability of the conservation design for the area. Management discussions should be inclusive of all relevant activities, and may range from specific prescribed fire issues to community based activities such as establishing erosion control incentives for private landowners in targeted watersheds or working with local road districts to alter herbicide application practices along critical right of way zones bordering a site.

Site conservation plans can be used to direct site conservation activities, prioritize tasks and actions, apportion available resources, develop budget and fundraising plans, and gauge conservation success. Site designs should be flexible, evolving documents that focus appropriate conservation actions while not becoming onerous or overly rigid.

Conservation goals for MPF should be aimed at sustaining or restoring the full array of native organisms at a site, and maintaining site integrity and process regimes integral to the genesis and perpetuation of the biological systems of the site in the presettlement period.

8. Monitoring/Inventory/Research

A crucial need in landscapes throughout the Midwest is to establish the current condition and composition of existing remnant natural areas, and to implement ecological monitoring protocols which will provide an accurate, efficient means of assessing changes over time and direct site management actions. There are also critical data or answers relevant to management and site design issues that can only be answered through research. These data-intensive issues are some of the most important long term considerations facing conservation organizations, yet they are often neglected or misunderstood.

Especially for a membership-supported organization such as MPF, it is imperative that sufficient baseline and monitoring data be secured for every site involving MPF resources or actions to be accountable for how well the organization is using donor resources to accomplish its mission. To this end, baseline ecological data and a preliminary site design should be completed for every potential acquisition prior to purchase. These data should include at least preliminary vegetation assessments, as well as an evaluation of potential for faunal targets and restoration issues.

For sites that MPF owns or manages, there should be ecological monitoring systems in place to insure periodic, dispassionate assessments of the degree to which conservation goals are being achieved. Ecological monitoring is unglamorous work that typically does not attract publicity or funding, but is a fundamental responsibility of any entity engaged in stewardship of irreplaceable biodiversity resources.

In addition to vegetation monitoring, there are abundant opportunities for additional monitoring that will be of direct benefit to MPF. These opportunities can involve a broad spectrum of the membership in activities such as photomonitoring of restoration efforts and rare plant monitoring (which should be conducted at some level for all listed taxa). In every case, the primary requirements are to develop and implement an efficient, repeatable, archival system.

Missouri Prairie Foundation lands are an irreplaceable facet of the nation's tallgrass heritage. The Foundation has recently expanded its stewardship efforts to become a leader in hands-on rehabilitative management. As these efforts continue and intensify, and as baseline data and ecological monitoring are expanded, site conservation plans are developed, and site designs are implemented, the Foundation stands poised to enter the twenty-first century with a sound foundation for insuring the long term viability of these critical areas.

INDIVIDUAL SITE DESCRIPTIONS

This section contains an account for each MPF prairie, sequenced alphabetically by site name. Each account includes the following information:

-summary of site size and location

-floristic quality summary, providing total native and introduced taxa, mean C values, floristic quality index value for site, and wetland ratings (see Ladd 1997)

-conservatism distribution among site flora, with percentages

-physiognomic profile of site flora, with percentages, for both native and exotic vegetation

-presettlement vegetation map for each prairie and the surrounding area

-vegetation/land cover map of each site and its immediate surroundings, with locations of vegetation sampling transects

-description of the site and its landscape character

-synopsis of site soils and geology

-description of presettlement vegetation

-description of current vegetation

-discussion of exotic species problems

-site-specific management recommendations

-site design considerations

-brief evaluation of conservation significance

Denison Prairie

[240 acres, in Barton (160 acres in N1/2 sec. 5 T33N R31W) and Vernon (E1/2 SW1/4 sec. 32 TT34N R31W) counties; Sheldon 7.5' USGS quad]

FLORISTIC QUALITY SUMMARY

281 Native taxa

39 Introduced taxa

4.00 mean conservatism (C value)

67.23 floristic quality index

1.1 native wetness

wetland category: FACULTATIVE (-)

CONSERVATISM DISTRIBUTION OF SITE FLORA

C value No. %

* 39 12.2%

0 12 3.8%

1 20 6.3%

2 33 10.3%

3 43 13.4%

4 64 20.0%

5 51 15.9%

6 29 9.1%

7 17 5.3%

8 8 2.5%

9 4 1.3%

10 1 0.3%

PHYSIOGNOMIC PROFILE

NATIVE 87.8% ADVENTIVE 12.2%

16 Tree 5.0% 1 Tree 0.3%

16 Shrub 5.0% 2 Shrub 0.6%

10 W-Vine 3.1% 1 W-Vine 0.3%

3 H-Vine 0.9% 0 H-Vine 0.0%

139 P-Forb 43.4% 6 P-Forb 1.9%

6 B-Forb 1.9% 4 B-Forb 1.3%

34 A-Forb 10.6% 13 A-Forb 4.1%

34 P-Grass 10.6% 7 P-Grass 2.2%

3 A-Grass 0.9% 4 A-Grass 1.3%

18 P-Sedge 5.6% 0 P-Sedge 0.0%

1 A-Sedge 0.3% 0 A-Sedge 0.0%

2 Fern 0.6% 0 Fern 0.0%

Description

As treated here, Denison Prairie includes the tracts formerly known as Lipscomb Prairie and Lattner Prairie. Located just inside the Ozark ecoregion along the Ozark/Osage Plains division (Figure 1), this site consists of a level to gently rolling upland prairie dissected by the upper reaches of two shallow, west-trending draws with intermittent streams. Total topographic relief at the site is about 55 feet. At the southeast corner of the northern half of the tract is a large pond in the upper reaches of the northernmost draw. A short distance down drainage, south of the road, is the remnant of another small pond that is dry for much of the year.

Soils/Geology

Most of the uplands at the site are on soils formed from sandstone or shale under prairie grasses. These soils, of the Barco, Barden, and Collinsville series, are all acid and have permeabilities ranging from good to slow. The eastern quarter of the southern half of the tract is Parsons soil, which is a shale-derived, acidic prairie soil with an impermeable clay pan that creates a perched water table for much of the year. Level, poorly drained areas of Parsons soil have hardpan prairie vegetation. The area near the large pond is mapped as Lebanon soil, which is a sterile, acidic cherty loam typically formed under sparse woodlands. A narrow region along the lower reaches of the main draw in the southwestern part of the tract consists of Hepler-Radley soils. These are acidic bottomland soils formed under prairies and hardwoods, and have poor permeability, leading to seasonal ponding.

Presettlement Vegetation

The 1841 Government Land Survey map for the area (Figure 8) reveals that this site was part of a large expanse of prairie, with extensive timbered lands to the south, west, and north. These timbers approach within one quarter mile of the southwest corner of the tract, and undoubtedly influenced the fire regimes and other forces shaping the character is the landscape.

Current Vegetation

Vegetation at the site consists of predominately dry-mesic sandstone/shale prairie. Much of the perimeter fenceline, pond environs, and draws are overgrown with dense woody thickets. The hardpan prairie character of the southeastern part of the tract is evidenced by areas with sparser vegetation including such characteristic hardpan prairie plants as Liatris pycnostachya, Polygala sanguinea, and Rhynchospora capitellata. Two prairie species closely associated with the hardpan soils at this site are known only from Denison Prairie among all MPF lands: Melanthium virginicum and Muhlenbergia capillaris.

The area of Lebanon soils around the large pond is interesting in that it was mapped as prairie in the land survey notes, but consists of a typically woodland soil, and supports several plants characteristic of low woodland, including six species unique to this site among all MPF lands: Asimina triloba, Bidens discoidea, Cocculus carolinianus, Laportea canadensis, Peplis diandra, and Pilea pumila. This suggests that there may have been at least some scattered shrubby or woodland vegetation associated with the draw, although its proximity to a section line would have resulted in notes to that effect if the vegetation were dense or luxuriant. As in most Missouri prairies, the wettest phase of the prairie vegetation, associated with the draws, has been lost through dense woody invasion and subsequent loss of the prairie flora through shading and possibly erosion. Erosion in the draws is generally minimal.

Exotic Species

A total of 39 exotic plants have been documented from this site. The most problematic weeds are locally dense infestations of Japanese Honeysuckle associated with overgrown woody areas along the draws and pond borders. Some of the peripheral areas along the boundaries of the south half of the tract have minor to moderate Tall Fescue populations interspersed in a matrix of prairie vegetation, sometimes also with minor amounts of Kentucky Bluegrass. Although we did not note any Sericea Lespedeza on the tract during this study, we did note small populations south and west of the tract. The annual Korean and Japanese Bush Clovers are minor weeds scattered through some of the prairie areas, particularly in more sterile zones. Overall, exotic species, while present on the site, are not critically impacting native vegetation.

Management Recommendations

Management activities should include removal of invasive woody vegetation in the draws. These pose far more of a threat to the integrity of the prairie system than most of the exotic species at the site. This is exacerbated by the locally dense infestations of Japanese Honeysuckle accelerating degradation of overgrown zones. Woody vegetation associated with fencelines and draws should be cleared, except for the area around the pond at the southeastern corner of the southwest quarter of section 32. Although this pond is artificial, a presettlement antecedent in that the draw probably supported wetland vegetation, some of which persists at the site today. The presence of Lebanon soils raises the possibility that this small area was possibly more of a moist thicket or supported a more shrubby or diffusely timbered habitat than is typical for draws in this region. This zone is undoubtedly more overgrown and densely stocked than its presettlement incarnation, and should be exposed to regular fire as an initial management treatment. Pending more detailed examination, we recommend against wholesale clearing of all woody vegetation in this area.

Site Design Considerations

As indicated in the site map (Figure 7), much of the land to the south of Denison Prairie is cropland, and lands to the east of the southern half of the site are formerly cropped and have been fallow for several years. Lands west of the site are grazed pasture with some native vegetation. The northern half of these lands are heavily infested with brush and small trees. There is an area of high quality prairie north of the road near the middle of the east boundary. Most of the lands north and east of this area are heavily degraded pasture, with a remnant native component and varying degrees of brush and fescue. From a watershed perspective, the hydrologic integrity of the 80-acre tract east of the north half of Denison Prairie is a priority, as are the 80 acres in the northern half of the southeast quarter of section 5. The only high quality habitat adjacent to the prairie is the prairie area east of the middle of the north boundary, and this should be secured in some type of conservation status to insure the prairie integrity is maintained. Although not high priorities, there is potential for warm season grass or prairie restoration on all surrounding lands, should suitable opportunities arise.

Conservation Significance

This is a large tract of high quality prairie. Parts of the site are among the highest quality vegetation of MPF lands. Overall native diversity is fourth highest in the study, with a correspondingly high mean conservatism and a floristic quality index of 67, also the fourth highest in the study. Denison Prairie is located within the Liberal focus area developed by the Grassland Coalition and its partners. There are several private and protected prairie remnants of varying conditions within a 5 mile radius of the site, and it plays a potentially critical role in the regional prairie landscape.

Drovers Prairie

[80 acres, in Pettis County (NE1/4 & SW1/4 of NE1/4 sec. 1 T43N R22W; Ionia 7.5' USGS quad]

FLORISTIC QUALITY SUMMARY

223 Native taxa

41 Introduced taxa

3.59 mean conservatism (C value)

53.64 floristic quality index

1.2 native wetness

wetland category: FACULTATIVE (-)

CONSERVATISM DISTRIBUTION OF SITE FLORA

C value No. %

* 41 15.5%

0 23 8.7%

1 20 7.6%

2 28 10.6%

3 35 13.3%

4 43 16.3%

5 32 12.1%

6 23 8.7%

7 9 3.4%

8 5 1.9%

9 3 1.1%

10 2 0.8%

PHYSIOGNOMIC PROFILE

NATIVE 84.5% ADVENTIVE 15.5%

11 Tree 4.2% 2 Tree 0.8%

14 Shrub 5.3% 1 Shrub 0.4%

8 W-Vine 3.0% 0 W-Vine 0.0%

1 H-Vine 0.4% 0 H-Vine 0.0%

101 P-Forb 38.3% 9 P-Forb 3.4%

7 B-Forb 2.7% 4 B-Forb 1.5%

35 A-Forb 13.3% 11 A-Forb 4.2%

25 P-Grass 9.5% 6 P-Grass 2.3%

5 A-Grass 1.9% 8 A-Grass 3.0%

16 P-Sedge 6.1% 0 P-Sedge 0.0%

0 A-Sedge 0.0 0 A-Sedge 0.0%

0 Fern 0.0% 0 Fern 0.0%

Description

Drovers Prairie is located in the northern portion of the Osage Plains/Flint Hills ecoregion, not far from the transition to the Ozark ecoregion to the south and east (Figure 1). The site consists of slightly rolling upland prairie with minimal upstream drainage onto the tract. The south portion of the site has a gentle westerly aspect, while the north portion ranges from neutral to a very slight northerly aspect. Total relief across the entire tract is about 70 feet. There is a pond along the northern edge of the north tract. A small stream along the west boundary of the south tract meanders into the property; the bed of this stream notable down cutting and post-settlement erosion.

Soils/Geology

Soils at the site are deep to very deep silt loams in the Eldon, Friendly, Maplewood, Paintbrush and Pershing series. These soils have varying degrees of clay subsoil components, and permeabilities ranging from moderate to slow. These soils were derived from varying combinations of loess and cherty dolomite and limestones. All of these soils are at least slightly acidic. The least permeable soil, Pershing, predominates in the western half of the southern tract. Here the strong clay component of the subsoil creates seasonally saturated conditions. The area along the stream at the western edge of the south tract is Dameron silt loam, a deep, well-drained, neutral to slightly acidic floodplain soil formed in loess.

Presettlement Vegetation

According to the 1838 Government Land Survey map (Figure 10), Drovers Prairie was part of a large expanse of prairie some three miles east of a relatively narrow band of timber along Flat Creek. The notes indicate a small spring just south of the present location of the pond in the northeastern part of the site.

Current Vegetation

According to Toney (1989), the northeastern tract had a history of grazing, with resultant invasion of fescue and bluegrass. Management by Missouri Department of Conservation has resulted in recovery of much of the prairie vegetation, and an apparent reduction in weedy grasses. Most of the area would be classified in Nelson (1985) as dry-mesic