| Abstract Detail
Recent Topics Posters Antlfinger, Ann [1], Pletka, Angel [2], Parys, Therese [1]. Evaluation of the plant diversity and productivity of a restored urban tallgrass prairie. Stolley Prairie is one of the few remnant prairies in the Omaha area. A 160-acre city park, named Northwest Park, was created from donated farmland surrounding Stolley Prairie. In 2000-01, Northwest Park was seeded with 57 forb and 10 grass species collected from local native prairies. We evaluated the remnant and restored sites in 2007 and 2010. Three 15-m transects were established in the remnant and in two parts of the restoration (168th St. and Blondo St.). The three sites were similar in elevation, slope and aspect. Vegetation was harvested in three 30 cm x 50 cm plots on each transect in summer and fall. The plants were separated into species, dried and weighed. Species richness and aboveground biomass were used to calculate the Shannon-Weiner diversity index (H') for each transect and site and the entire Northwest Park. In 2007 there were 46 species in the plots (29 forbs, 14 grasses and 3 trees). Of these, 13 were undesirable species. We found 36 species in 2010 (27 forbs, 11 grasses and 1 tree) and 7 were undesirable. The remnant had higher diversity and evenness (H2007= 1.77, H2010= 1.57; E2007= 0.75, E2010= 0.60) than either restored site (H2007= 0.86-1.18, H2010= 1.04-1.33; E2007= 0.44-0.50, E2010= 0.46-0.55). These site differences were not statistically significant within years. We identified an additional 13 species outside the plots in 2010. The proportion of native grasses to forbs was lower in the restored sites (17-29%) than in the remnant (43-50%) but the ratio was not significantly different among sites. From 2007 to 2010, Jaccard̢۪s index of similarity increased between the two restored sites (26 to 42%) and between the Blondo St. and remnant sites (15 to 50%). Stolley Prairie and the 168th St. site were not very similar in either year (19 and 14%, respectively). Biomass was greater in the restored sites (317 and 393 gdw/m2) than in the remnant (227 gdw/m2) in 2007. This trend was also found in 2010. The diversity of Northwest Park (H2007= 2.18, H2010= 1.65) was lower than other restored tallgrass prairies. This may be due to the limited area we sampled. Further, Northwest Park is adjacent to residential developments, which has made regular prescribed burning difficult. Progress was noted in the smaller number of undesirable species, the increase in restored site diversity and the greater species similarity of the remnant and one restored site. Broader Impacts:
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1 - University of Nebraska at Omaha, Biology, 6001 Dodge St, Omaha, NE, 68182, USA
2 - US Army Corps of Engineers, Natural Resources, Omaha, NE, USA
Keywords:
none specified
Presentation Type: Recent Topics Poster
Session: P
Location: Khorassan Ballroom/Chase Park Plaza
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2011
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PRT013
Abstract ID:1075 |
