« New Research Briefs!

These one- to two-page briefs feature research that can be directly applied to management of prairies and savannas across the region. Each document highlights the implications for management.

You can view and comment on the complete collection of research briefs for resources managers at our blog.

Current Briefs:

Using fire and grazing to promote bird diversity

Researchers at Iowa State University were motivated by research that has shown an increase in the population size and diversity of grassland bird species when a fire-grazing interaction is used in the western tallgrass prairie. The research team compared three management strategies and their effect on grassland bird species richness and density in fragmented landscapes.

Prairie Burn Management and Native Species Diversity

This study, in the eastern tallgrass prairie region, took a close look at species composition changes over a 45-52 year period in remnant prairies. They interviewed managers to document fire history on each site and grouped the sites almost evenly into three classes based on number of fires in the last 20 years: 4-17 fires, (8 sites), 1-2 fires (7 sites), and no fires (6 sites).

Oak Barrens Management and Understory Plant Recovery

This study focuses on the continuing, long-term restoration work at a large site in central Wisconsin, dominated by oak and jack pine and where understory diversity tends to be low, with Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica) often the dominant species. The site is typical and representative of former oak and pine barrens habitats throughout the Upper Midwest that have converted to closed-canopy forests following European settlement. Common restoration treatments include reintroduction of fire as well as canopy thinning and removal.