Big View Prairie 2010

[To see photos and stories of this prairie in other years, go to the links on the main Big View Prairie page.]

2/13/2010

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5/14/2010  This is the bottom edge of the prairie – where the birches begin.  Below this there are prairie plants, but they’re shaded by the birches and other brushy plants that have grown up – mostly sumac and honeysuckle.  I girdled the birch trees this spring so they would die and let more light get to those prairie and savanna plants.

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5/14/2010  Frog Orchid – I found it growing under the birches.

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5/14/2010

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8/15/2010  Western Sunflower

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8/15/2010   This spring I tried an experiment.  The area right in front of the bench was all Smooth Brome (Bromus intermis) – a non native pasture grass that’s left over from when the land was grazed.  This spring, when the Brome grass was a few inches tall, but before most of the prairie plants had come up, I sprayed that area with glyphosate.  It was very successful!  All the Brome is gone, and now the area is all Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii – a native prairie grass).  The only problem is that the Bluestem is so tall that there’s no view from the bench.  There are other prairie plants coming up too – Violets and Ground-cherry (Physalis sp.) – so I’m hoping the area will become a little more diverse – and maybe a little shorter – next year.

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8/27/2010  Great Plains Lady’s Tresses – another orchid that blooms in late summer and fall in dry prairies.

Spiranthes magnicamporum

 

10/2/2010  More of the tall Big Bluestem in front of the bench

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