PLANTING THE SEED
A Guide to Establishing Prairie and Meadow Communities in Southern
Ontario
Contents:
Authors and Acknowledgements:
Kim Delaney, Rural Lambton Stewardship Network
Lindsay Rodger, Tallgrass Ontario
P. Allen Woodliffe, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Gail Rhynard, Otter Valley Native Plants
Paul Morris, Acorus Restoration
The authors would like to thank the following people
who provided valuable assistance in the development of this guide:
Substantial contributors:
John Fischer, Environment Canada; Mary Gartshore, Pterophylla;
Dr. John Ambrose, University of Guelph; and Dr. David Galbraith,
Canadian Botanical Conservation Network/Royal Botanical Gardens
Advisors and reviewers:
Aboud & Associates: Steven Aboud; C.
Brad Peterson Environmental Management and Landscape Architecture:
Brad Peterson; Centre for Land and Water
Stewardship: Peter Mitchell; City of Toronto:
Debby Morton; Dougan and Associates: Jim
Dougan; Ducks Unlimited Canada: Owen Steele,
Brent Wark; Ecological Outlook: Jean-Marc
Daigle, Donna Havinga; Environment
Canada: Sheila Allan, Alain
Baril, Lesley Dunn, Doug
Forder, Andy Hagen, Nancy
Patterson, John Shaw, Mike
Shiomi, Lee Suddick, Ken
Tuininga, Jennifer Vincent; Environmental
consultants: Lyn Hanna-Folkes, Brian
McHattie, Cathy Quinlan, David
White; Grand River Conservation Authority: Wayne
MacMillan, Trish Nash; Hamilton Naturalists’
Club: Pam Watts; Health Canada: Charles
Smith; Lambton-Kent District School Board: Tom
Burns; Natural Heritage Information Centre: Wasyl
Bakowsky, Mike Oldham, Don
Sutherland; Ojibway Nature Centre: Karen
Cedar, Paul Pratt; Ontario Ministry
of the Environment: Mark Chappel, Paul
McCubbin; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources: Jack
Chapman, Bill Droog, Al
Tithecott; Pterophylla: Peter Carson;
Royal Botanical Gardens: Jeremy Lundholm,
Tyler Smith; Rural Lambton Stewardship Network:
Ron Gould, Ron Ludolph;
Tallgrass Prairie Restoration Project: John Morgan;
Todmorden Mills Wildflower Preserve: Paula Davis;
University of Waterloo: Larry Lamb, John
Semple; Urban Forest Associates: Gavin Miller,
Stephen Smith; Waterfront Regeneration Trust:
Tija Luste; Willow Park Ecology Centre: Maria
Parish; Writer: Lorraine Johnson
Editor: Robyn Packard
Cover design: Tania Rihar
This guide was produced with the financial support of Environment
Canada’s EcoAction 2000 Community Funding
Program and Great Lakes 2000 Cleanup Fund,
the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Ontario
Stewardship. It is an initiative of Environment Canada and
the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to encourage the conservation
of biodiversity by rehabilitating wildlife habitat in the Great
Lakes basin. It also contributes to the goal of encouraging community
action and stewardship by informing the public of new techniques.
Many of these techniques have been demonstrated in projects supported
by Environment Canada through the Great Lakes
2000 Cleanup Fund and the EcoAction 2000
Community Funding Program, and by the Ontario Ministry of
Natural Resources and Ontario Stewardship.
Technology and information transfer is a priority of the Canada-Ontario
Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem.
To obtain further copies of this guide please contact:
Tallgrass Ontario
(Ontario Tallgrass Prairie and Savanna Association)
659 Exeter Road
London, ON
N6E 1L3
Phone: 519-873-4631
E-mail: info@tallgrassontario.org
Visit our Web site at http://www.tallgrassontario.org
Environment Canada
Environmental Conservation Branch
Conservation Strategies Division
4905 Dufferin Street
Downsview, Ontario
M3H 5T4
E-mail: Wildlife.Ontario@ec.gc.ca
Web site: www.on.ec.gc.ca/wildlife
Aussie disponible en français
About This Guide
There is a growing interest in restoring and recreating natural
areas. Together with this increasing enthusiasm is the recognition
that healthy communities include people, plants and wildlife in
balance. These trends are reflected in the growing number of restoration
and naturalization projects underway in the highly disturbed Southern
Ontario landscape. Restoration projects range from those in backyard
gardens to agricultural field buffer strips and large plantings
for wildlife habitat.
Restoration and naturalization are still new and developing fields,
and there is much to learn. Sharing information derived from practical
experience is the best way to develop better projects. This introductory
guide is designed to assist people interested in planting prairie
and meadow, two of Ontario’s non-forested plant communities.
The guide looks at the often confusing array of options and offers
recommendations drawn from the experience of many practitioners
working in Southern Ontario.
Prairie and meadow are complex communities and even the best attempts
to recreate them will be simplified versions that do not fully replace
the ones that have been lost. For this reason, protecting existing
natural habitat should always be a top priority. If habitat-creation
projects are well executed, however, they can provide a significant
contribution to the conservation of wildlife diversity in the province
and help improve the health and connectivity of natural landscapes.
Projects that involve naturalization often also offer the benefit
of reduced landscape maintenance costs.
Prairie and meadow are two distinct ecological communities; however,
many of the techniques for planning and undertaking a planting project
apply to both. This guide describes prairie and meadow separately
and then provides information common to both. While shrubs and trees
may be found in prairie and meadow, the focus here is on herbaceous
plants, which make up the bulk of the vegetation in these communities.
With few exceptions, common names mentioned in this guide are consistent
with the Ontario Plant List (Newmaster et
al. 1998). The corresponding botanical names are listed in Appendix
D. The term “prairie,” as used throughout the guide,
refers to the eastern tallgrass prairie. Words defined in the glossary
are italicized on first use.
Prairie
What Is a Prairie?
A prairie is an ecological community made
up of native grasses and wildflowers. Mature trees (predominantly
oaks) are a minor component on some sites, providing less than 10
percent canopy cover. Grasses such as big bluestem, Indian grass
and prairie cord grass can grow higher than 2 metres, their tops
swaying overhead as they move with the breeze. Tall sunflower, Virginia
Culver’s-root and dense blazing star are examples of the more
than 200 prairie wildflowers, or forbs, found
interspersed among the grasses in Ontario’s prairies.
Stepping into the lush landscape of an Ontario prairie will make
you feel as though you are stepping back in time. In some places,
grasses and wildflowers stretch as far as the eye can see, with
barely a tree in sight. From season to season, there is a continuous
and ever-changing show of blooms, from the brilliant orange of butterfly
milkweed and bright yellow of gray-headed coneflower to the showy
purple and white of fall-blooming asters.
Prairie is, however, not simply a mix of flowers and grasses. Stand
in a prairie, close your eyes, listen, and you’ll know why
some people call it “symphony grass.” A healthy prairie
is full of the humming, buzzing and singing of the many animals
who call it home. Most mammals are of the smaller variety, and include
meadow vole, common shrew, long-tailed weasel, American badger,
red fox, coyote and eastern cottontail rabbit. Birds such as bobolink,
eastern meadowlark and savannah sparrow depend on these open grasslands
for food and shelter. By far the most numerous prairie animal species
are invertebrates, including butterflies,
grasshoppers, dragonflies, ants, beetles and spiders.
Closely related to prairie is savanna, which
is also fire-dependent but with more tree cover – in between
open prairie and closed forests. Savanna usually has less grass
cover, with a correspondingly greater density of wildflowers and
ferns. Many of the remnant prairie-type communities
of Ontario are more like savanna.
Prairie Ecology
Prairie is largely the result of a climate that favoured grasslands,
not forest. Different types of prairie developed across North America.
The west receives less precipitation and has shortgrass prairie;
the wetter east, including Southern Ontario, has tallgrass prairie.
Between these two regions occurs mixed grass prairie, which is of
intermediate height. Each type of prairie has a distinct mix of
grasses and wildflowers that change gradually from one to the other.
The root systems of prairie plants are extensive, sometimes growing
3 to 4 metres deep. This deep root system helps the plants survive
drought and prevents shallowly rooted non-prairie species from gaining
a foothold. As these root systems break down, they add large quantities
of organic matter to the soil. Many prairie plants are long-living
perennials and are able to withstand poor
growing conditions and periodic grazing.
From the time Europeans arrived in North America until fairly recently,
they thought of fire only as a destructive force. Historically,
fires were set both by lightning strikes and by Aboriginal peoples
who recognized their benefits. The First Peoples intentionally started
grassland fires as a technique to drive game while hunting or to
clear land for various reasons – for example, to attract additional
game to the tender grass shoots that appeared after a fire. It is
now widely known that fire is a natural process necessary for maintaining
tallgrass prairie. Fire maintains prairie by suppressing non-prairie
plants, clearing dead plant material and adjusting the nutrient
balance in the soil in favour of prairie vegetation. After a burn,
the blackened soil absorbs sunlight, which warms the soil and favours
the regrowth of heat-loving prairie plants. When fire is suppressed,
non-prairie species gain a competitive edge. The lack of fire is
one of the main reasons why many of Ontario’s remaining prairies
are overrun with non-prairie plants such as woody shrubs and trees,
which will eventually shade and kill the prairie grassland beneath
them.
It is recognized that in western prairie regions, grazing bison
had an important role in maintaining prairies. While bison herds
did not occur in Southern Ontario, elk were historically found here.
Today, a variety of browsers and grazers, from white-tailed deer
to grasshoppers, are still found in Ontario prairies, but their
importance in keeping prairies healthy is not well understood.
Unlike many non-native pasture grasses, the sturdy stems of prairie
grasses remain standing throughout winter, despite heavy snowfall
accumulation. These stems provide cover in early spring, when waterfowl
and ground nesting birds need it most.
Historical and Current Range
When Europeans first arrived, there were an estimated 1 million
square kilometres of tallgrass prairie in North America. The prairie
reached such heights that early explorers reportedly got lost on
horseback in the tall grass. The rich soils under the prairie grasses
were quickly converted to agriculture and became some of the most
productive agricultural areas on the continent. It is estimated
that Ontario may have had more than a thousand square kilometres
of tallgrass prairie and related communities; today, however, only
a few scattered but important remnants remain (see Figure 1 below).
Meadow
What Is a Meadow?
A meadow is a warm, sunny spot, brimming with a variety of life.
Wildflowers such as spotted Joe-pye-weed, boneset, blue vervain
and swamp milkweed, as well as a number of wetland sedges
and grasses, can be found in wetter areas. Black-eyed Susan, wild
strawberry and gray goldenrod may occupy drier spots. As most meadow
wildflowers are nectar sources, they attract a variety of butterflies
such as swallowtails, admirals, checkerspots and skippers. Meadows
provide feeding and nesting areas for songbirds such as bobolinks
and meadowlarks. They may also provide shelter for frogs and small
mammals, which in turn attract hawks, owls and snakes.
Meadow Ecology
A variety of meadow types can be found in Southern Ontario. Wet
meadow occurs in floodplain areas along rivers and streams, and
in areas of medium moisture between wetlands and higher, drier land.
This meadow is maintained by fluctuating water levels as well as
by intermittent floods and ice scours, which make it difficult for
trees and shrubs to become established. Dry meadow grows in parched
areas such as on ridges and slopes. Here, the dry conditions prevent
many trees from becoming established, which would shade out the
meadow species. Each meadow type has characteristic species, which
are adapted to the varying moisture conditions and soils.
The most familiar type of meadow is the old field meadow, which
is common on abandoned agricultural land, in overgrown pastures
and in roadside ditches in rural areas. This type of meadow is considered
a more or less temporary ecological community – a transition
stage between bare ground and forest. If adjacent to a wooded area,
old field meadow eventually reverts to woodland as shrubs become
established and are then followed by trees. This process of open
land becoming forest is called succession.
Succession from meadow to a forest is often slowed when rodents
girdle and deer browse on young woody plants.
In addition, dominant meadow species such as goldenrod can suppress
the growth of other species by releasing growth-inhibiting chemical
compounds from their roots.
Nowadays, much of the forest cover in Southern Ontario has been
cleared, removing seed-producing trees and slowing the transition
from old field meadow to forest. It is usually this kind of meadow
that people try to establish when they plant a “wildflower
meadow.” Most old field meadows in Southern Ontario, however,
contain many non-native plants that have been introduced to Ontario’s
landscape. Only native plant species should be used in the planting
of a meadow. See Native Plants in the
next section, How to Get Started,
for an explanation of native and non-native plants.
How to
Get Started
This section provides some important background information needed
for a planting project.
Identifying Goals
Set goals before beginning the project, and refer to them to help
guide decisions while planning and planting. Answering the following
questions will help to set goals: Does the project involve restoring
the former natural plant community to the area? Are there remnant
natural areas that can be reconnected or buffered? Is the main goal
to create a beautiful wildflower display? Does the project involve
providing a quality habitat for local wildlife?
Understanding Plant Communities
Plants exist in groupings, or communities, not in isolation from
one another. Each community is made up of plants that share similar
adaptations to particular soil type, climate, and moisture and light
levels. For example, big bluestem and dense blazing star are plants
that thrive in a fire-prone, full-sun environment; so they are found
in prairies. They would never be found in a mature forest, where
plants adapted to shady conditions thrive.
Species can often occur in more than one plant community. Some
plants can thrive over a broad range of conditions, whereas others
seem to survive in only a few places with a very particular set
of conditions. Planting a prairie or meadow, then, means first selecting
a set of plants that are adapted to growing together and, second,
establishing them on a site that provides the appropriate conditions
for those plants to thrive.
Choosing an Appropriate Plant Community
When you are undertaking a restoration or naturalization
project, it is important to choose a type of plant community that
will be suited to both the conditions of the planting site and the
natural habitat in the region. Take note of the plant communities
that occur naturally in the area and observe the way they fit together.
If there are no natural areas nearby to provide models, try to find
some historical information. Consult historical records or ask local
ecologists, botanists or naturalists for help.
Native Plants
A plant is considered to be native to North America if it existed
here prior to European settlement. Native plants are an integral
part of their community. They have evolved over time with the insects,
birds, mammals and other animals that rely on them for food and
shelter. In turn, native plants depend on local wildlife to pollinate
flowers and disperse seed. They are well adapted to the rigours
of the regional climate, pests and diseases. Plants to be used in
restoration and naturalization projects should be native to the
project area (see Appendix
A).
Be aware, however, that the term “native plant” is
sometimes used very broadly. For example, the Douglas-fir is a tree
species native to Canada but not native to the forests of Southern
Ontario, and so is not an appropriate choice for a forest naturalization
project here. Species that are native to the county or watershed
are the most appropriate candidates. For more details, refer to
Developing a Species List.
Meadow or Prairie?
Figure 1 illustrates the historical
and existing range of prairie in Ontario. If the project is outside
this range and the goal is to plant a herbaceous
community, meadow would be the appropriate choice. If it is within
this area, either prairie or meadow may be appropriate. Use additional
information to determine which community would be the most suitable.
Consider, for example, site conditions, whether the site can be
burned, and current and historical information about natural habitat
types in the local area. Look for nearby remnants and use them as
a model for the project. If there are no remnants nearby, as is
often the case in agricultural regions and large cities, consult
experts (see Helpful
Organizations under Sources
of Information) to determine which community would be the best
choice.
Planning
the Project
While many people think that planting is the first step in a project,
actually many activities must take place before the first seed touches
the soil. Careful planning is crucial to the success of a project.
It is important to establish the timing of each activity and obtain
the necessary equipment, supplies, plant material and labour. In
most cases, completing the project over a minimum of two years is
highly recommended. The first year is dedicated to planning and
site preparation, and the actual planting is done in the second
year. The tasks necessary for a well-planned project are outlined
in the timeline below. In addition, talk to others who have completed
similar projects, and learn from their experience.
A Sample Project Timeline
(Modified from Morgan, Collicutt and Thompson 1995)
Year 1
- Set project goals
- Select and analyze the site
- Talk to the community
- Consult with experts
- Inspect local natural communities
- Decide on the appropriate plant community
- Prepare site plan and work plan
- Select the species
- Ensure availability of equipment
- Organize volunteers
- Prepare the site
- Acquire plant material
- If doing it yourself: harvest, process and store seed; or
- If purchasing: order plant material from
suppliers
Year 2
- Propagate plants (if growing your own plant plugs)
- Plant seed and plugs
- Conduct post-planting maintenance (e.g., watering)
- Control weeds
- Monitor to determine success
- Obtain seed or order plant material for year-3 supplementary
planting
Years 3 to 6
- Engage in supplementary seeding or planting
- Control weeds
- Conduct prescribed burning (for prairie)
or tree and shrub control (for meadow)
- Monitor to determine success
Years 7+
- Engage in long-term management and monitoring
- Continue prescribed burning or tree- and shrub-control regime
Selecting the Project Site
Sometimes you have a project in mind and go looking for a site.
There are many interesting opportunities to restore historical natural
communities. Some landowners are willing to restore portions of
their property, and many other areas require revegetation –
for example, roadsides, landfills, pits and quarries that are closing,
utility corridors and parklands. Consider these potential project
sites when you are looking for opportunities to plant prairie or
meadow. Not all this work can be considered true restoration, but
it provides opportunities to establish native vegetation where turf
grasses would normally be used.
Often you will already have a site to work with, and you will have
to decide what to do with it. Before deciding whether a site is
appropriate for establishing a prairie or meadow, ask the following
questions.
- Is the existing vegetation native and healthy? Should it be
left alone or managed appropriately?
- What are the owner’s long-term plans for the site? Do
not invest significant time, money or plant material on a project
that will be altered or destroyed within a few years.
- Does the site receive a minimum of eight hours of direct sunlight
daily (preferably more)?
- Is the site wet? Meadows and prairies occur on seasonally wet
sites; however, permanently wet locations are usually better suited
for the establishment of wetland plant communities (see Planting
the Seed: A Guide to Establishing Aquatic Plants, Hagen 1996).
- Is the site accessible to the necessary equipment and is it
near a water supply?
- If the intention is to plant a prairie, is prescribed burning
possible?
- Is the site located in a priority area for restoration? For
example, is it adjacent to other natural areas? Will it expand
existing habitat? Will it provide a buffer between sensitive land
and adjacent land use?
Project Size
Deciding on the size of the planting project will depend on many
factors, including your resources for obtaining plant material,
available equipment (mechanized or non-mechanized) and the number
of people available to help. While “small” and “large”
projects are referred to in this guide, they are relative terms.
A 0.2-hectare project will seem very large to an individual who
is hand-planting plants and weeding by hand. But that same project
may seem small and much more manageable to a group using mechanized
equipment to prepare, plant and maintain the site. Use your judgment
and make a decision based on your capacity to complete the work
involved.
Involving Others
In some communities, naturalization and restoration are well-understood
and accepted activities; in other areas, they may be quite strange
and new ideas. Depending on ownership of the project site, there
may not be a legal requirement to inform other members of the community
or get their approval, but it is in the project’s best interest
to do so. In fact, acceptance of and interest in the project should
be viewed as an important indicator of success. For more detailed
discussion of this important issue, see Restoring
Nature’s Place (Daigle and Havinga 1996). If this is
your first project, ask local experts for their assistance when
you are explaining the project details and answering questions.
Take time to listen and respond to any community concerns.
Much help is needed throughout a restoration project, from site
inventory and design through to after-planting maintenance. Restoration
projects can be even more enjoyable and fulfilling when everyone
pitches in. While some jobs (e.g., the use of heavy equipment, herbicide
application and prescribed burning) must be done by specially trained
persons, many jobs do not require such specialized skills.
Issues to Consider
- A lot of time and effort is required to train, coordinate and
guide workers successfully.
- All safety issues must be faced and dealt with.
- Certain tasks should not be attempted without specialized training
(e.g., prescribed burns, herbicide application, use of certain
equipment).
- Volunteers can suffer from burnout.
- Volunteers should be shown appreciation (e.g., offered refreshments
or a meal; sent a letter of thanks; given a slide show).
Selling Points of the Project
- Conserves natural heritage
- Provides wildlife habitat
- Pleases aesthetically
- Offers educational opportunities
- Offers recreational opportunities
- Provides an enjoyable community project
- Reduces traditional landscape maintenance (frequent mowing,
long-term herbicide use)
Ways to Spread the Word
- Write short articles (providing background information on the
type of project and examples of similar projects) in local newspapers
and community newsletters
- Inform local television
- Have personal contact with neighbours
- Hand out information flyers to nearby residents
- Advise at community meetings
- Arrange speakers and/or displays at local service club meetings
(horticulturists, naturalists, anglers, hunters)
- Post explanatory signs
Analyzing the Site
Once the site has been chosen and the local community is on board,
you will need to learn more about the site’s features. Gather
the required information from as many sources as possible. Consult
historical survey records, soil and topographic maps and aerial
photos. Visit the site, talk to current and past owners and users
of the land; seek assistance from local experts and others doing
planting projects in the area. All this research will require time
and effort, but will greatly increase the chance of the project’s
success – for example, by helping you to make correct decisions,
such as which plant mix is most suitable and what kind of management
activities are likely to be necessary on a continual basis.
Consider the information in the following chart
when analyzing the project site. Not all of this information will
apply to every project but it would be wise to be aware of each
item.
Site Features: Click to view chart
Making a Site Plan
The best designed prairie restorations look like
they were not designed at all. They simply look like a natural part
of the landscape. They fit the contours of the land, enhance other
natural features and human made structures and hide their faults.
(Morgan, Collicutt and Thompson 1995)
Just as a blueprint is drawn before a house is built, a site plan
should be produced before a planting project is undertaken. A site
plan is a detailed picture of the finished project; it can also
be used to help plan the work schedule and sell the project to others.
Producing a good site plan involves various ecological, practical
and aesthetic considerations. The types of features to include and
the level of detail in the site plan depend on several things, including
the size, location and intended use of the site. For example, if
the project is a small, decorative natural garden, one might design
the location of individual plants to produce the desired effect
of colour, height and texture (for references on natural
gardening, see Restoration,
Naturalization and Management as well as Plant
Propagation and Cultivation under Sources
of Information). For a large-scale restoration, you may not
be concerned about individual plant placement, but will be much
more interested in planning for equipment access and firebreaks.
Start the site plan by making a scale drawing of the site (for
large sites, refer to existing survey maps or aerial photos). Add
the detailed information collected during the site analysis. For
example, sketch in low wet spots, high dry areas, buildings, utility
lines and prevailing wind direction. Next, sketch the planting area
and add management features such as firebreaks, trails and access
lanes if required. Now is the time to look at the developing project
to make sure the project goals will be met. Will the project provide
wildlife habitat and/or environmental education opportunities, and
does it make sense? Use the following checklist to keep on track.
Considerations for a Site Plan
- How much of the area is to be planted? Where?
- Is there any native vegetation on site that should be retained?
- Will plants having different requirements for soil type and
moisture level be planted in suitable locations on the planting
site?
- Is aesthetics important – for example, should placement
of plants produce complementary colour, height and texture combinations?
- Will the planting be designed around existing natural and built
features in a safe and effective manner?
- If firebreaks are necessary, where will they be located? Consider
combining them with other features, such as trails.
- If public facilities such as buildings and trails are planned,
where will they be built?
- How much site maintenance will be required?
- Have the needs of wildlife, such as food and shelter, been considered?
- Is the project compatible with local human land uses?
- Is the plan reasonable, given the budget, labour and other resources
available?
Scheduling the Work
Once the project is planned on paper, it is time to schedule the
work to ensure that each step runs smoothly. See the sample project
timeline provided earlier in this section.
Obtaining Seed or Plants
A decision will have to be made whether to plant seed or plants,
or a combination of both. Seed is usually less expensive and tends
to do better when planted on heavy soils; however, seeds take longer
to develop into plants, usually requiring an additional season to
reach flowering stage. For this reason, plants are often chosen
for small, highly visible sites so that a showy display develops
earlier. Volunteers often find it more enjoyable to plant plants.
A combination of seed and plants may be considered to best suit
the needs of the project.
Decisions regarding which species to plant must be made well in
advance to ensure availability. When seed and plant material are
to be obtained from a local supplier of native plants, they may
need to be ordered at least a few months in advance, especially
if large amounts are required. It is better to contact appropriate
suppliers at least one year in advance to make sure that they can
provide seed and/or grow the plants that are required. If you intend
to collect the seed yourself, remember that this must be accomplished
in the growing season before planting (see Acquiring
Seed and Plants for more information).
Ensuring Availability of Equipment and Assistance
Once the size and scope of the project is known and the site has
been analyzed, the type of equipment that will be required and the
necessary help can be determined. Allow enough time to find appropriate
equipment and sufficient “people power” to prepare the
site, plant and undertake ongoing maintenance.
Taking Time to Prepare the Site
Putting the appropriate time and effort into site preparation is
critically important – it can mean the difference between
a successful project and a failure. The time and amount of work
involved in preparing the site before planting vary, but may entail
several activities over a whole year, so it is important to plan
ahead. Use the results of the site analysis and information from
Preparing the Site to help determine
the necessary timeline for site preparation. Remember, the effort
expended at this stage will more than pay off in terms of time spent
dealing with weeds in the future.
Planning for Ongoing Management
You cannot just walk away from a naturalization and restoration
project and expect it to succeed. Just like any other planting,
continual maintenance is required, so be prepared to put in a fair
amount of effort in the first few years. As the plants are trying
to establish, they may require water, supplementary planting and
some help in overcoming weeds. Once the plants are established,
some ongoing maintenance activities will still be necessary (see
Maintenance and Monitoring)
– for example, regular prescribed burns for prairie plantings,
weed removal (especially for meadows) and control of damaging human
activities. Make sure to plan for regular help as well as the necessary
equipment and supplies for ongoing management. Public acceptance
of the project will increase if litter is removed and edges are
kept tidy. Keeping a mowed edge, installing a rail fence or putting
up an interpretive sign, for example, indicate that someone is maintaining
the planting.
Developing a Species List
There is no such thing as an all-purpose species list for a meadow
or prairie planting. A dry sandy site in the Peterborough area will
be home to a very different group of plants than those found on
a wet clay-loam site near Chatham. Use the following checklist to
help determine which species are best for the project.
- Determine the plant community
Is the intention to plant a meadow or a prairie?
- Choose native species that occur locally
Consult Appendix
A, regional plant lists (called floras)
and local naturalists. Ask resource managers to assist in determining
appropriate species (see Regional
Plant Lists under Sources
of Information). In addition, visit nearby natural areas to
become familiar with the local native plants.
- Tailor species to project site and goals
Match information about plant preference, particularly moisture
and soil preferences, to the conditions of the project site (see
Appendix A).
Make sure the choice of species matches the project goals. For
instance, some species provide excellent erosion control, and
cover and food for wildlife, whereas others provide a colourful
show for aesthetic purposes.
- Focus on core species
Core species form the backbone of naturally
occurring prairies and meadows. Core species that are common in
nature should likewise be common in the planting. Rare species
(such as those so noted in Appendix
A) should only be added to the list with guidance from experts.
Appendix A lists core species recommended for most planting projects
in Southern Ontario.
- Determine ratio of grasses to wildflowers
In naturally occurring prairies, the ratio of grasses to wildflowers
varies. A prairie planting of half grasses and half wildflowers
(a 50:50 ratio) is recommended for Ontario prairies. Meadows are
highly variable in their composition, but a good general guideline
is to include no less than 30 percent grasses and sedges.
- Consider availability of species
When you develop the species list, consult seed suppliers to determine
which local-source seed or plants are currently available. Planning
a year in advance will increase the likelihood of obtaining seed
of the desired species.
Preparing
the Site
Selecting the best site-preparation technique for the project can
involve many different options and considerations. For example,
if some prairie or meadow plants are already present, the site-preparation
choices are different from those that would be suitable if the site
had no native vegetation. The choice of planting method –
use of seeds or plants, mechanized or hand-planted – will
also affect the type of site preparation.
Controlling Weeds
Whether you are planting meadow species in a garden or restoring
the “back forty” to tallgrass prairie, pay special attention
to site preparation. Clearing away undesirable vegetation will remove
competition and give seeds and plants the best possible start. The
weeds growing on the planting site aren’t the only ones to
contend with. Weed seeds accumulate in the soil, sometimes for decades,
waiting for an opportunity to germinate. This is called a seed bank.
When the soil is cleared of surface vegetation, the seed bank has
an opportunity to germinate. What looked like bare soil will be
covered with weed seedlings that need to be removed. Weed removal
may need to be done several times, over one or more growing seasons,
to deplete the seed bank and adequately control the weeds. In a
small garden, a hoe may be the tool of choice, but for a 2-hectare
field, mechanized equipment and/or the application of a glyphosate-based
herbicide may be required.
There is a lot of debate about whether a herbicide should be used
to prepare a site. After all, one of the goals of many restoration
projects is to reduce the use of herbicides, insecticides and fertilizers.
Many herbicides have associated negative environmental impacts,
but not all herbicides are equally harmful – for instance,
glyphosate-based herbicide, in particular, can be used without causing
harm to upland environments.
Non-chemical site-preparation methods have environmental costs
as well. For example, repeated use of heavy equipment on a site
with heavy soils can harm or even destroy soil structure, which
takes many years to form. Frequent ploughing can deplete vital organic
material, disrupt intricate soil life and leave the site prone to
erosion problems. Before making a final decision about site preparation,
think carefully about the environmental costs, and choose the method
that will achieve the desired results with minimum harm. Each site
is different, so it is naive to make a blanket statement that one
technique is more environmentally sound than another before investigating
each one thoroughly. Use Table
1 to assist in comparing the potential environmental impacts
of the various site-preparation techniques. Then choose a method
on the basis of both relative practicality and environmental risk
factors.
TABLE 1: Weed-Control
Techniques
Choosing Appropriate Site-Preparation Techniques
Deciding which site-preparation techniques are the most appropriate
can be confusing. The Site-Preparation
Key in Appendix
C will assist you in making the right decisions. Also consult
local farmers or the extension staff of the Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture for information on which techniques work locally.
Soil Amendment
Nutrients
Do not add nitrogen to soil when planting prairie and meadow species
because these plants can compete better with weeds when the soil
is low in nitrogen; and do not bring in topsoil, compost or manure
since this material often contains weed seeds as well as nutrients.
If the soil is very poor (e.g., subsoil remaining after construction
activities), a fertilizer high in phosphorus (P) and potassium (K)
may be added to assist root growth.
Beneficial Soil Organisms
Some specific types of bacteria are associated with plant species
such as showy tick-trefoil, round-headed bush-clover, shrubby false-indigo
and wild lupine. Such plant species are called legumes.
Bacteria assist legume growth by taking nitrogen from the air and
“fixing” it in nodules on the plant’s roots. These
nodules will eventually decay, and nitrogen will be released into
the soil where other plants can access it. This bacteria can be
introduced to the plants by shaking seed in bacterial inoculant
prior to planting (for source of inoculum see Sources
of Materials, Specialized Equipment and Services). Plants may
show satisfactory growth without the inoculant, but with it, nodule
formation will increase.
Acquiring Seed and Plants
Acquiring seed and plants can be one of the most enjoyable aspects
of a project. Most prairie and meadow plants are perennial, returning
every spring from the same root system. For these plants, seed production
is a secondary means of reproduction. Seed is produced mainly for
dispersal to other locations or as a backup in case the parent plant
dies. You can assist seed dispersal by collecting some of this seed
and planting it in appropriate areas.
Collecting seed can provide an opportunity to learn more about
local plants and ecosystems, but it can also threaten the health
and vigour of the few remaining wild stands. As the need for seed
grows, wild stands may not be able to continue to satisfy the demand.
Furthermore, removing seed from wild plants removes food that would
otherwise be available for insects, birds and small mammals. Consider
purchasing most of the seed for the project from a reputable native-plant
nursery. These companies use small quantities of wild seed to grow
plants in a nursery setting; the plants in turn produce large quantities
of seed. This approach relieves the collection pressure on plants
in the wild.
Use Local Seed
Seed for naturalization projects should be of local origin. Defining
“local,” however, is easier said than done. In the absence
of research on the issue, even the experts are unable to agree on
a definition. Recommendations for seed collection range widely:
from no more than a few kilometres to more than 300 kilometres from
the project site. Keep in mind that the growing conditions a hundred
or more kilometres north or south of a project site will probably
be quite different from the conditions the same distance east or
west.
If you are purchasing seed, ask about its source. Reputable suppliers
will tell you where they obtain their seed. Also consider hiring
a person to collect seed; but make sure that the person contracted
to do this is qualified and uses ethical seed-collection techniques
(see below for further details). The Ontario Chapter of the Society
for Ecological Restoration (SER) publishes a directory that lists
growers and collectors located in Southern Ontario (see Helpful
Organizations under Sources
of Information).
Plants, too, should come from a local seed source. Grow them from
seed collected as close to the project site as possible or purchase
them from a native-plant nursery that grows plants from local seed.
It is surprising how many plants sold as native wildflowers have
been grown from seed imported from as far away as Europe.
Avoid Planting Cultivars
Many nurseries sell horticultural varieties or cultivars of native
plants. These varieties have been developed by the horticultural
trade for traits such as showier blooms, more attractive leaf colour
or larger flowers. They are often exact copies of the parent plant
and therefore have extremely low genetic diversity.
Cultivars of the following native species are widely available,
but are unsuitable for restoration or naturalization projects: asters,
goldenrods, wild strawberry, wild bergamot, sneezeweed, black-eyed
Susan and blazing star.
Ethical Seed Collection
Reputable seed collectors follow guidelines for ethical seed collection.
Spread the word and help new seed collectors understand the issues.
- Always obtain permission from the landowner before collecting.
Remember that seed-collecting is normally prohibited in national
and provincial parks, national wildlife areas, nature reserves
and nature sanctuaries.
- Do not collect all the seed from one stand of plants. Guidelines
on the amount to collect recommend a maximum of 50 percent of
the seed from perennial plants and 10 percent of the seed from
annual plants. The problem with this approach is that you may
not know whether a plant is an annual or a perennial, and you
have no idea how much seed has already been collected before you
begin, or if others will harvest after you. Use your judgment
and leave a lot more than you take.
- Do not collect seed from vulnerable,
threatened or endangered species without
the guidance of a qualified ecologist or biologist. Under Ontario’s
Endangered Species Act, it is illegal to
pick the seeds of various endangered plant species.
- Store and handle this valuable, perishable resource wisely.
- Share seed and information with other local seed collectors
and propagators.
Ethical Plant Salvage
- Do not dig plants from natural areas unless the donor site is
to be cleared for development.
- Ask permission from the landowner to enter the site, and strictly
follow the landowner’s directions with respect to access.
- If salvaged prairie and meadow plants are properly potted and
watered, they can be stored outdoors in a sunny location for at
least a year, until a suitable recipient site is found.
- Keep in mind that it is always a priority to help protect natural
areas, and salvaging a few plants from a development site does
not save the complete habitat.
Ensure Genetic Diversity
Weather in Southern Ontario is extremely variable and plants need
to be able to adapt to these changes. Genetic diversity allows plants
the ability to do so. Increase the genetic diversity of a planting
by observing the following guidelines.
- Collect seed from a large population. Take small quantities
of seed from many individual plants rather than large quantities
from a few specimens. Avoid choosing only the most handsome plants.
Valuable genetic traits for long-term survival may be missed if
you are too selective.
- Collect seed of each species from several different locations
with varying soil and moisture conditions.
- The seed of some species ripens over a period of time. In these
cases, collect early-, mid- and late-ripening seed.
- Collect in different years and add to your planting site.
Seed-Collecting Tips
- Seed for most prairie and meadow species begins to ripen by
mid-summer (except for some early-blooming species such as prairie
buttercup, hoary puccoon and narrow-leaved blue-eyed-grass).
- Most seed is ready for collection six to eight weeks from time
of blooming.
- Let seed ripen thoroughly on the plant because not all seed
will continue to mature once picked.
- Seed is ripe when
- it is dry and falls away readily when seed head is handled;
- individual seeds are brown, tan or grey, and hard
(pinch with fingernails to test for hardness); or
- seed pods are brown or tan and beginning to split open, and
seed is easily dislodged or readily falls from pod when it is
shaken.
- Plants in seed often bear little resemblance to the same plants
in full bloom. Identify species and record locations when plants
are in bloom in order to help find them and ensure accurate identification
later in the season. Tying colour-coded yarn on typical specimens
of species works well.
- Use a hand lens and pen knife to check the quality of seed in
the field before spending time collecting it. Look for full seeds
with no insect damage.
- Use paper or burlap bags to hold seed, and store in a cool,
dark place. Do not use plastic because it heats up and retains
moisture, which will damage the seed.
- Immediately after collecting, label each bag with the species
name, the date when and the location where the seed was collected.
Seed Drying and Cleaning
Seed should be thoroughly dry before it is stored; for most seed,
this will take four or five days in good conditions. Place it in
shallow pans or on screens in an area free of rodents, or place
it in a paper bag and hang it from a rafter of an unheated garage
or barn. Do not use a conventional oven, microwave oven or food-drying
machine. Make sure each container is labelled with the species name,
collection date and location. Low humidity and warm temperatures
will speed the drying process, but higher temperatures will reduce
seed viability.
Before seed can be cleaned, pods and hulls need to be shattered,
and seed heads broken up. Always wear a mask when processing dried
seed because there can be a lot of dust, and, in some cases, the
potential for contracting disease associated with mouse feces. Separate
the dried seed from the waste plant material (chaff) using one of
the following techniques:
- Sift seed through a variety of sieves and/or screens.
- Separate seed from its pappus (fluff) by rubbing it gently through
a screen. Use a hand lens to check periodically for seed damage.
- Pour the seed from one container into another outside in a light
breeze or indoors in front of a fan. The heavier seed will land
in the container or in front of the fan, and the lighter chaff
will blow away.
- On a smaller scale, a hair dryer can be useful for blowing chaff
from a pan of seed.
Seed Storage
To remain viable for as long as possible, dry seed should be stored
at low temperatures (4 degrees Celsius) and low humidity (no more
than 10 percent). Store dry seed in airtight containers (jars or
plastic pails with tight-fitting lids) in a refrigerator or in an
unheated building over the winter, and in a space that can be kept
as cool as possible during summer months. Seed stored above 28 degrees
Celsius will lose viability quickly.
Insect eggs that are present at the time of collection can hatch,
and the larvae can damage seed. Just because insects are not visible,
do not assume there are no eggs. Eggs are often present inside the
seed. Check stored seed periodically for the presence of insects.
At the first sign of insect activity, place seed along with small
pieces of No-Pest® strips in sealed bags
or containers. Alternatively, sprinkle diatomaceous
earth (obtained at garden centres or farm supply stores)
throughout the seed. This will kill any insect larvae that emerge
while the seed is in storage. Only a very small amount of diatomaceous
earth is needed. Be sure to wear a dust mask while handling seed
treated with diatomaceous earth. Squirrels and mice can also damage
the seed; however, cats can be a good deterrent for mice in indoor
storage areas.
Seed Treatment
The majority of prairie and meadow plants native to Ontario produce
seeds that require a period of chilling, or stratification,
before germination. This cold period approximates
conditions that the seed would experience during the fall and winter
months. Many species require additional treatments to induce germination.
Appendix A lists
germination codes on a species-by-species basis, and Appendix
B explains germination requirements and corresponding codes.
Growing Plants
If a heated space with a lot of sunlight is available, you can
consider growing some of the plants for the project. For example,
teachers may have their students produce a few trays of plants in
a south-facing window, under grow lights or in a cold frame. Many
high schools have empty greenhouse space that could be put to use.
Consider the size of the project when deciding whether or not to
grow your own plants. Growing plants can be an enjoyable experience
if small quantities are required and there are appropriate facilities
and enough time. Keep in mind that at a recommended planting rate
of 25,000 plants per hectare, it is usually best to have a grower
produce most or all of the plants.
Basic Growing Techniques
Many good books are available on growing plants from seed, and
these can be consulted to learn more about basic growing techniques
(see Plant
Propagation and Cultivation under Sources
of Information). Here is a brief summary of the process:
- Sterilize all containers by dipping them in a 2 to 3 percent
bleach solution to prevent diseases.
- Fill containers with a growing medium of either a no-soil seedling
mix or a sterilized potting soil, which will prevent fungal diseases
such as damping off. Potting soil can be
sterilized by heating one large zipper bag of soil in a microwave
and then allowing it to cool. The moist growing medium should
be settled by tamping down firmly; add more soil if necessary.
- Place four or five seeds on top of the soil in each container.
If the seed requires light to germinate (see Appendix
A and Appendix
B), simply press the seed lightly into the soil. Otherwise,
cover the seed with soil to a depth of approximately two times
the diameter of the seed. A flour sifter is useful for this.
- Mist soil lightly after seeding. Plastic covers can be used
to keep moisture in until germination occurs. Don’t overwater
new seedlings since waterlogged soil prevents the oxygen exchange
necessary for proper root growth.
- Thin seedlings to one per container.
- Once plants are growing strongly, water them generously and
allow the soil surface to become slightly dry before watering
again. Water the edges of the growing area thoroughly –
they dry out quickly. If fungus gnat larvae infest plant roots,
or if other insects become a problem, lightly work the soil surface
and hang yellow sticky plastic cards above the plants to capture
adults. Insects are attracted to the yellow colour of the card
and will be trapped by the sticky surface. These cards are readily
available at most garden centres. Predatory mites are another
non-chemical means of insect control (see Greenhouse
Supplies under Sources
of Materials, Specialized Equipment and Services).
- About four to six weeks after germination, fertilize lightly
with a diluted solution of a balanced fertilizer such as 7-7-7.
Organic growers can use fish emulsion or liquid seaweed.
- Harden off plants by gradually exposing
them to outdoor conditions before they are planted permanently
outside; initially, allow them only indirect sunlight since even
10 minutes in full sun can burn the leaves.
Planting the Project Site
All the hard work so far has been geared towards getting seeds
and plants ready to put into the ground. Planting is one of the
most rewarding aspects of naturalization and offers a perfect opportunity
to involve interested community members in some hands-on work. Children,
in particular, love planting, and many will watch the progress of
their plants with great interest.
Planting Seed or Plants: Timing and Techniques
Choose appropriate timing as well as a suitable planting technique
to give the planting the best possible chance of success. Use the
information in Tables 2,
3 and 4
to help make decisions regarding the timing and techniques of putting
the seed or plants into the ground.
Make sure that the seeds and plants are cared for on planting day.
Seed left in a container in the hot sun will be damaged, maybe even
killed; so keep seed containers in a cool, shaded spot. Plants will
need protection from the sun and wind prior to planting, and they
may also need watering. Keep an eye on them because they can dry
out very quickly on a windy day.
TABLE
2: Appropriate Seeding and Planting Times
TABLE
3: Seeding Techniques
TABLE
4: Planting Techniques
Seeding and Planting Rates
The following guidelines will assist you in determining the appropriate
amounts of plants or seed to use. Before planting, take note of
any major differences in conditions such as soil moisture within
the site, and match species to conditions. For seeding, this may
mean preparing two seed mixes – for example, one mix with
species suited to moist conditions and the other with species preferring
dry conditions.
Seed
In the tallgrass prairie region of Southern Ontario, the recommended
seeding rate for drilling
seed is 13 kilograms per hectare (see Table
3 for information on hand and machine broadcasting). Of this,
9 kilograms is grass seed and 4 kilograms is wildflower seed. This
guideline aims at achieving a 50:50 grass-to-wildflower ratio. Double
the amount of seed per hectare when broadcast seeding. Certain projects
may require different seeding rates. For example, wildlife managers
planting for northern bobwhite prefer a more open planting to facilitate
the movement of birds. This would requiring a drill-seeding rate
of approximately 9 kilograms per hectare.
Meadows can be seeded at a similar rate, but to accommodate the
higher percentage of wildflowers, divide the 13 kilograms into 7
kilograms of grass seed and 6 kilograms of wildflower seed. This
is a general guideline; quantities can be adjusted to suit the project
goals, such as providing food plants for a butterfly meadow, seed-producing
species for birds or a high percentage of showy blooms.
If you use equipment such as a seed drill that can be calibrated,
the seed should be spread at a rate of 320 to 540 seeds per square
metre. If you are hand broadcasting the seed, mix it with dampened
sand and divide into two batches. Take the first batch and starting
at one end of the site, spread it as evenly as possible over the
entire area. Then take the second batch and starting at right angles
to the first pass, spread it as evenly as possible. This technique
will ensure that there is enough seed to cover the entire area.
Plug Plants
Plant plugs at a rate of 25,000 per hectare. This works out to
2.5 plants per square metre, or 25 plants per 10 square metres.
For some projects, and where funding permits, plugs can be planted
closer. Spacing the plugs 25 to 40 centimetres apart (that is, between
9 and 5 plants per square metre respectively) will result in a thicker
and showier planting. Mix species during planting so that grasses
and wildflowers are evenly distributed throughout the project area.
Successional Planting
Prairies and meadows change over time. When you are establishing
either a prairie or a meadow from seed, certain species will be
more successful in the early stages and create conditions that allow
other species to establish more readily later on as the community
matures. You may wish to plant a prairie or meadow by seed and patiently
wait up to five years or more for
the later-successional species to appear. Or you may prefer to initially
plant only the seed of early-successional species and add plugs
of the later-successional species in subsequent years.
- Some early-successional species are black-eyed Susan, gray-headed
coneflower, wild bergamot and showy tick-trefoil.
- Some later-successional species are dense blazing star, closed
gentian, fringed gentian and round-headed bush-clover.
See Appendix A
for more listings of early- and later-successional species.
Cover Crops
Cover crops are sometimes planted for aesthetic reasons or to prevent
erosion on steep slopes. They also provide quick cover that helps
to suppress the growth of weeds while prairie or meadow plants become
established. The non-native annual oats is a good cover crop because
it suppresses weeds before disappearing from the planting. Annual
oats is broadcast on the surface of the soil at the same time as
planting or seeding, or up to two months before the first fall frost.
Canada wild rye, a cool season, early-successional
grass species that is native to tallgrass prairie, is gaining popularity
as a cover crop. It establishes quickly, overwhelms many weeds and
becomes less prevalent as the other prairie species become established.
Do not use rye grain, rye grass or winter wheat because these species
grow aggressively and are often persistent. They are also thought
to release toxins that interfere with the growth of other plants.
There is debate about the effectiveness of cover crops. On the
one hand, cover crops:
- protect tender young plants from sun scald and wind burn;
- shelter the soil, thereby helping it retain moisture and reducing
compaction from driving rains;
- provide quick cover, which protects the soil from erosion due
to wind and rain;
- compete with annual weeds;
- provide fuel for a prescribed burn the following spring; and
- can be harvested as hay or grain crop, which may provide income.
On the other hand, they:
- compete for sunlight, moisture and nutrients with the young
plants they are intended to protect;
- often require mowing when in bloom to prevent seed from maturing;
and
- may persist in the planting for several years longer than desired.
Cover crops such as annual oats are most effective when used with
plug plants because the plugs have a head start on the seeded cover
crop. When a cover crop is used in a seeding project, the results
are more unpredictable. Experience suggests that annual oats may
work better on sand than on clay. If a cover crop is used, broadcast
it at a rate of 30 kilograms per hectare, and mow it to a height
of 20 centimetres in midsummer.
Mulch
Mulch can be considered for the planting. Mulch will:
- protect the soil from erosion;
- shelter the soil and keep it moist;
- help prevent weed seeds in the soil from germinating (although
seed may blow in and root in the mulch itself); and
- use nitrogen while decomposing, which depletes soil reserves
of the nutrient. This nitrogen depletion, known as reverse fertilization,
favours the growth of prairie and meadow species over weedy species.
Mulch is best used on small plantings since it is far too labour
intensive for large projects. Use weed-free, biodegradable material
such as aged sawdust or shredded or chopped straw (not hay, which
contains weed seeds), and spread it between plants – deeper
around more established plants (sawdust 3 to 5 centimetres, straw
5 to 10 centimetres). Do not allow the mulch to touch the individual
plants because it can trap moisture against the plant tissue and
cause rot. Mulch can also be used on seeded sites, but must be spread
very lightly over the seed bed.
Maintenance and Monitoring
Many Hands Make Light Work
Some aspects of maintenance and monitoring are periodic and somewhat
labour intensive. The involvement of community members who have
a passionate desire to help out and see the project progress can
make a valuable contribution to the long-term success of the project.
Local youth groups, such as Scouts or Girl Guides, can gain insight
into a natural ecosystem while working towards an environment or
a community badge. Students from a local high school, college or
university may be interested in undertaking monitoring work as a
school project. The more involvement from the local community, the
greater the understanding of and interest in the project goals.
The most successful kind of project is one that all members of the
community understand, participate in and enjoy.
Maintaining the New Planting
Watering
Seedlings and small plugs are particularly vulnerable to drought
as they are becoming established in their new environment. If rainfall
is not regular and sufficient, the plants will benefit from watering.
Watering is rarely necessary if seed is used, since most seed will
not germinate until there is adequate moisture. The exception to
this rule occurs when there is a prolonged dry period after the
seedlings have started growing. Plug plants, however, may require
periodic watering during their first season in the ground. Portable
sprinkler systems are an advantage if a large water supply is readily
available. Any water is better than none, however, for watering
will improve almost any project’s results, especially in the
first year.
Once the seedlings are established, they should need no further
watering; even in dry years they will survive much better than most
surrounding vegetation. Prairie plants, in particular, spend most
of the first season developing a good root system, an adaptation
critical to survival in a drought-prone environment.
Weeding
One of the biggest challenges in the early stages after planting
is the suppression of weeds. Even with the most rigorous site preparation,
weeds will appear, although this is less of a problem in sandy soils
than in clay or organic (nutrient-rich) soil.
It is important to identify the weeds growing in your planting
and to determine which are annual, which are biennial and which
are perennial (see Restoration,
Naturalization and Management under Sources
of Information). It is quite possible that there may be some
of each.
In the case of annual weeds such as common barnyard grass, it is
not necessary to remove the whole plant, since it only lives to
produce seed once and then dies. Annuals can be controlled effectively
by preventing them from producing seed; this is best done by mowing
them in the growing season to remove the flowers. Mowing might have
to be done several times in one season to keep seed from forming.
A tractor-mounted mower may be necessary for the first mowing. Setting
the mower at about 20 centimetres high should allow for the cutting
of the flower parts of the weeds, which, in the first year of planting,
will likely shoot up above most of the planted species. Even if
you mow the tops off the perennial prairie or meadow species, this
will not harm them, but will prevent them from flowering. Follow-up
weed control can be done with a gas-powered “weed eater”
to control problem patches while minimizing the impact on growing
prairie or meadow.
Biennial weeds, such as white sweet-clover, won’t flower
until the second season of growth, so it isn’t necessary to
mow them during the first season of growth. In the second year,
they should be mowed to prevent them from flowering and setting
seed. If there are only a few biennial weeds in a planting, individual
flowering stems can be cut off by hand, at the base just above the
root.
For hard-to-control species, including biennials and most perennials
such as red clover, Queen Anne’s lace and Canada thistle,
spot spraying with a glyphosate-based herbicide is recommended.
Remember that glyphosate will kill all actively growing plants it
comes into contact with, including the planted species, so it must
be applied in a way that only undesirable plants are sprayed. Mowing
perennial weeds is not an effective technique. While mowing can
keep them from setting seed, it will not remove them from the planting
and will provide, at best, only limited control.
Hand pulling is an option for weed control, but not the preferred
method in most cases. Pulling up roots disturbs the soil, which
brings dormant weed seeds to the surface where they are likely to
germinate and thus exacerbate the weed problem. It is hard, time-consuming
work, and it is often difficult to interest volunteers in this activity.
If you wish to hand-pull, it is important to remove the entire root,
especially when pulling perennials, because even the smallest piece
of root may be capable of producing a new plant. If not done properly,
pulling can compound the problem. On sandy sites, weeds can be pulled
anytime. On clay sites, it is easiest to get the entire root when
the soil is damp – for example, the day after a good rain.
Removing the material from the site is recommended, especially if
the plants are mature enough to have begun to set seed. If it rains
before the weeds die, they may have a chance to reroot and all the
hard work will go to waste!
Long-Term Maintenance
After the planting has become established and has covered all exposed
ground, maintenance requirements will be substantially reduced.
The deep roots of prairie plants, in particular, help minimize the
establishment and growth of weedy species. Long-term maintenance
involves simulating natural disturbance to keep woody species from
moving in and turning the prairie or meadow into a woodland. This
can best be done with prescribed burning for prairie plantings and
with tree and shrub control for meadows.
Maintaining Meadow Plantings
Natural meadows along rivers, on floodplains and on very dry sites
often rely on the natural processes of flooding or drought to maintain
them. This periodic disturbance keeps woody species from becoming
established and prevents succession to a treed landscape. In a meadow
planting, these disturbance processes are likely to be absent, thereby
allowing woody species to become established. The key to long-term
meadow maintenance, then, is to keep a balance between herbaceous
and woody species. When trees and shrubs become too numerous, selective
removal is necessary. Some can be controlled by mowing with a heavy-duty
mower or hand-held brush saw. Mowing, however, may actually encourage
the spread of other species such as dogwoods and willows. Removing
these species requires a different approach: cut the woody stems
near ground level and have a commercial herbicide applicator (see
Sources of Materials, Specialized
Equipment and Services) follow immediately behind to treat the
stumps with a glyphosate-based herbicide (e.g., Roundup®, Vision®)
as per label instructions to prevent resprouting.
Prescribed Burns for Prairie Plantings
CAUTION: This guide does not provide detailed
instruction for successfully carrying out a prescribed burn. It
merely highlights some of the concerns to be considered and provides
contacts where proper assistance can be obtained. If you have no
experience with prescribed burning, seek help and training from
someone who does. For assistance in planning and preparation, read
reference material such as How to Manage Small Prairie
Fires (Pauly 1988). Contact the local Ontario Ministry of
Natural Resources (OMNR) district office for guidance, and the local
fire department for permission to conduct the burn.
CAUTION: It is necessary to obtain permission
before conducting a prescribed burn. In some areas, municipal bylaws
prohibit the setting of fires. In other places, permits may be necessary.
Check local regulations by contacting the municipal office, and
discuss the plans with the local fire department. A written burn
plan helps to satisfy local requirements.
Fire is a key maintenance tool for prairie remnants and plantings.
When performed correctly, a prescribed burn will serve to both discourage
weeds and stimulate growth of the fire-adapted prairie plants.
Unlike a forest wildfire, a prairie prescribed burn is a low-intensity
fire that moves quickly over the landscape. Extensive experience
with prescribed burns in Southern Ontario has demonstrated that
they can be carried out safely on prairie remnants and plantings,
even in cities (see Fire in the City).
However, a prescribed burn must be carefully planned and conducted,
with experienced people advising and assisting.
A Prescribed Burn Plan
Preparing a prescribed burn plan is an essential first step that
will help you think through all the necessary preparations and precautions.
Keep in mind that simple small-scale prescribed burns have fewer
planning requirements than larger burns, and that the OMNR can provide
advice on preparing a plan that is appropriate for the complexity
of the burn. Once this plan is in place, it can be revised annually,
and, depending on the complexity of fire issues, can possibly be
carried out with minimal OMNR involvement. If additional assistance
is needed in subsequent years, the local OMNR fire-management office
will be able to provide information on consultants and contractors
who are involved with prescribed burning in the area (see Sources
of Materials, Specialized Equipment and Services).
A prescribed burn plan should cover the following:
- A list of the objectives and how they will be accomplished
- Amount of land to be burned
- Timing and frequency of burns
- Site preparation (e.g., setting up firebreaks)
- Appropriate weather conditions for conducting the burn (e.g.,
wind direction and humidity)
- Equipment and people required
- Water sources available
- A step-by-step outline of how the burn will be conducted
- The necessary fire permits
- A communications plan (notifying appropriate local authorities
and local residents)
- Safety and emergency procedures
Use the following information to develop a prescribed burn plan:
- Burn frequency
For new plantings, fire should be used when there is enough build-up
of dry grass to carry the fire, usually by the second or third
year after planting. Burning every year initially and every two
years on average after the planted vegetation is well established
can be the most effective tool in controlling weedy and/or non-native
competition as well as in stimulating the prairie vegetation.
As the prairie matures (once non-native plants are largely removed
and the prairie plants have covered the bare ground), conduct
burns less frequently (every three to five years).
- Time of year
In the past, prairie fires would be sparked by lightning strikes
and they likely occurred at different times of the year. Most
prescribed burns are done in early spring (mid-March to late April
in southwestern Ontario, late April to mid-May in more northerly
areas) for both ecological and practical reasons. Fires set at
other times may favour certain weed species that do not cope as
well with early spring burns. Consult an expert if you would like
help in fine-tuning the timing of the burn to manage the planting
for specific prairie species within the mix of forbs and grasses.
- Animal refuges
Many animals will be able to escape the flames, but some wildlife,
such as insect eggs and larvae, will be lost. If practical, leave
some areas unburned to allow refuges for wildlife. Consider burning
half of the site each time on a rotating basis.
- Safety
Ensure that adequate firebreaks are created by ploughing a 2-metre
strip of vegetation or mowing a strip and laying out a soaker
hose or treating it with fire-retardant foam. Take advantage of
existing firebreaks such as rivers or roads. Fire should be managed
so that smoke does not become a nuisance or hazard to residents
or motorists.
Alternatives to Burning Prairie
Burning will not be an option at every location. If this is the
case at your site, mowing can be a partial substitute for fire.
Mow in late fall, according to the same cycle that would be used
for burning. By then, birds have finished nesting, and prairie and
meadow plants have set seed. Consider mowing only half the site
on a rotating basis to retain adequate winter cover for wildlife.
Remove the cut stems because the thatch (dead grass) layer will
provide an additional nitrogen source for weed growth. Once the
thatch is removed, sunlight will warm the ground and encourage the
growth of prairie plants.
Monitoring and Reporting
There is nothing like hard evidence to demonstrate the successes
(and pitfalls) of any project. Written notes, photos and numerical
data provide a record of what has been done for your own satisfaction.
But this information can also be useful to
- demonstrate success to project funders;
- nullify potential opposition to secondary phases of a project;
- advertise and promote for future fund-raising;
- add to the knowledge base in your local area and encourage others;
and
- learn which approaches and techniques worked and which did not;
this is valuable information for modifying management methods
and for future projects.
Monitoring a project requires patience and realistic expectations
– a ploughed field does not become a dense, weed-free flowering
prairie or meadow in one season. Use the information in
Table 5 to assess
progress or troubleshoot.
Photo Monitoring
One of the easiest monitoring methods is using photos to record
the process from the beginning, the species that are present and
the people involved. Photos taken from fixed reference points can
be useful to demonstrate both obvious and subtle changes over time.
This should be done seasonally and annually.
Statistical Monitoring
Although a statistical evaluation of a project is more involved
than photo monitoring, it can be useful. Over time, the data recorded
will demonstrate even subtle changes and provide information that
can be used to make appropriate management decisions. This works
best for plantings greater than 0.5 hectares. Methods for collecting
data will differ from project to project. The Tallgrass
Restoration Handbook for Prairies, Savannas and Woodlands
(Packard and Mutel 1997) has a chapter devoted to vegetation monitoring
(see Restoration,
Naturalization and Management under Sources
of Information). Check an academic library for other introductory
field biology books that cover vegetation-sampling techniques. Ask
an ecologist for some assistance with appropriate data collection
and statistical-analysis techniques for the project, and check with
a nearby college or university to see if students might like to
assist as part of a course project.
Table 5: Assessing
the Success of the Planting Project
A Final Thought
Natural landscapes need not be confined to parks, conservation
areas and nature reserves. Restoring ecological communities to settled
landscapes can provide vital connections among remnant natural areas.
Opportunities for prairie and meadow restoration exist everywhere,
including in local community parks, along highway shoulders, on
marginal rural land and even in backyards.
Prairie and meadow are low-maintenance, high-biodiversity habitats
that add beauty and value to settled landscapes. Well-planned prairie
and meadow naturalization projects will help to restore the health
of our settled landscapes and bring back some of the rich diversity
of Ontario’s natural heritage.
Cultivating these changes in community landscapes can involve everyone,
offering both fun and an educational experience. This guide provides
the basic tools to help you dig in and restore Southern Ontario’s
grassland communities.
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