Two sets of mowing treatments, including four treatments each, were applied to each type of seeding treatment over the summer of 1998. These treatments were continued in 1999, and plant diversity was assessed in late summer. Some mounds were seeded with native prairie species in December 1998. Colonization and survival of plants on the mounds, as compared with undisturbed areas, was monitored during summer 1999. Another study investigated the spatial patterns in vegetation of native prairies in 1999.
Data analyses for all projects currently are under way.
Jurik TW, Kliebenstein H. Canopy architecture, light extinction, and self-shading of a prairie grass, Andropogon gerardii. The effects of seeding method and early mowing management on plant diversity and community composition in new tallgrass prairie reconstructions. M.S. Thesis, Iowa State University, 1999. Recruitment on the artificial disturbance mounds will again be monitored in 2000. Spatial patterns of natural prairies will be investigated more completely.