Prairie Garden of TroublesBruno Borsari

Department of Biology, Winona State University

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Read the Case

Jim’s front yard in August

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Jim’s child near the neighbor’s fence in front of big blue stem

Jim’s front yard in the summer

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Jim’s neighbors’ yards

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Let’s talk now!Within each group………

• Who is going to be Jim?

• Who is going to be the City Inspector?

• Who is going to be Jim’s neighbors?

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What is a prairie?

CQ#1: What is a prairie?

A. A treeless environment dominated by herbaceous plants.

B. An environment with varying levels of soil fertility.

C. A habitat for a very diverse plant and animal community.

D. All of the above statements are correct.

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Prairie: A Community of perennial forbs and grasses.

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Prairie habitats have been lost due to large-scale, intensive, modern agriculture.

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Let’s look at some prairie plants now!

Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver’s root)

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Asclepias syriaca

(butterfly weed)

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Cone flowers (Ratibida pinnata)

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Sorgastrum nutans (Indian grass).16

Andropogon gerardii (Big blue stem)

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Schyzachrium scoparium (Little blue stem)

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CQ#2: Which one of the previous four slides is a grass species?

A. Veronicastrum v. (Culver’s root)

B. Asclepias (butterfly-weed)

C. Ratibida p. (cone flower)

D. Andropogon g. (big blue stem)

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Black-Eyed -Susan and Red Lobelia

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Pale Cone Flowers (Echinacea purpurea).

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Goldenrod (Solidago spp.).

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CQ#3: Prairies are complex systems where the interaction of several factors are involved often to enhance species richness. Which condition most effectively increased species diversity?

A. ControlB. Burned plotsC. Grazed plotsD. Plots that were burned

and grazed

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CQ#4: Prairie plantsgrow more underground than aboveground.

A. TrueB. False

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Aster spp.

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CQ#5: If you were Jim’s neighbor, would you complain to the City Inspector?

A. Absolutely! This form of landscape is unacceptable within the city limits.

B. Probably not. However, this form of landscape requires some specific regulations.

C. I do not know.D. Not at all. Jim’s landscape is attractive, diverse, and

beautiful.

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CQ#6: Can fire be a viable tool for managing prairies?

A. YesB. No

However, Jim did not burn his prairie to avoid more problems with his neighbors.

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EpilogueOn the day scheduled for the trial, the prosecutor decided to dropthe charges against Jim as the scientific documentation he providedindicated very precisely the safety of this form of landscape design,in addition to its environmental benefits.The judge dismissed Jim and invited him to join the ad hoc committee to be chaired by the City attorney so that the weed ordinance in the community could be revisited.

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Image credits

All images appearing in this presentation were created by the author, Bruno Borsari, and are used with permission.