Oak savanna restoration plant survey and assessment

Term

2012

Capstone

Thesis

Degree Name

MAED: NSEE

Abstract

Oak savannas once comprised 30% of Minnesota landscape, but now only cover 0.2%. Much of this remaining rare ecosystem is in a degraded state. Two sites, Pilot Knob and Lake Edith in Belwin Conservancy were recently restored as part of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources project, Linking Habitat Restoration to Bioenergy. This project removed invasive woody species and planted native seeds. The purpose of this study was to determine what species of plants are growing on these two restored oak savannas. Plant surveys were taken during July-September 2011. High numbers of invasive and non-native species are evident. Also, contrary to other reports, both sites have a higher percentage of forbs to graminoids, indicating forbs as a dominant specie type. This study can be used as baseline data for future investigations on these restored oak savannas.

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