Prairie Remnants at Pleasant Valley Conservancy |
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Before restoration began, the south-facing slope contained isolated areas of prairie remnant, but was being rapidly invaded by red cedar and other trees, as well as invasive shrubs such as buckthorn and honeysuckle.. Also, a former owner had planted red pines.
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The south-facing slope in the early 1980s. At this time, restoration had not been considered. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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South slope prairie remnant (Unit 1) in early summer 2008, 10 years after clearing. See below for history
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Plants found on prairie remnant (Unit
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Plants found on prairie remnant Unit
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South slope prairie remnants in early summer 2008, 10 years after clearing, |
In addition to these larger sites, a number of smaller prairie remnants existed at Pleasant Valley Conservancy at the time restoration work began. Most of these were areas that had not been plowed, or had been too far from the barn for much grazing. Some of these remnants were important because they were the sources of seeds of particular prairie species. Here is a list:
- An unplowed area at the north end of Toby's Prairie which had (and still has) a fine population of white wild indigo (Baptisia alba).
- An unplowed area at the southeast corner of Toby's Prairie (which we call Toby's Annex). This had (and still has) a fine population of showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), plus Missouri goldenrod, round-headed bush clover, and flowering spurge, all of which were used as seed sources for restoration work.
- An open area at the southeast side of Unit 11A which had small amounts of lead plant and New Jersey tea. This area responded to restoration and further plants of these two species have developed.
- Two areas in Unit 12A, one in the southeast corner, near the ravine, which had a fine population of great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) and Lobelia inflata; one at the top (northeast) corner which had (and still does) a fine population of shooting star (Dodecatheon meadii). The Lobelia sp. have mostly disappeared as the savanna area has been opened up, presumably because the area is now too dry.
- An area at the southeast corner of Unit 18 which had (and still has) a large population of spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) as well as some Virginia wild rye (Elymus virginicus). This was an area that had a large population of black walnut (removed in the winter of 2000-2001). Walnut produces juglone, a plant toxin, but both spiderwort and rye are known to be resistant to this, which probably explains why they were able to maintain themselves in this area.
- The road cut of County Highway F, which has a large number of mostly savanna species, and served as an early seed source for restoration work. This road cut is now under protection from the county mowers and is maintained by Pleasant Valley Conservancy staff.
- In addition to these "remnants", there were a number of other native species scattered here and there across the Conservancy and served as sources of seed for restoration work, such as glade mallow, purple milkweed, poke wilkweed, swamp milkweed, whorled milkweed, Kuhnia, tall boneset, Illinois trefoil, cup plant, blue vervain, Kalm's brome, etc.
Seeing this summary for a property that some people had considered too degraded to restore, makes one realize that there is good hope for many other so-called degraded sites!