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Abstract

 

Welch, C.M. and A.G. Endress. 2008. Successional Changes in an Ongoing Ecological Restoration at the Grassy Slough Protected Area, Illinois. JEMREST 4:01-10

 

DOI: 10.4029/2007jemrest4no101

Community structure during the first six years of habitat restoration was examined at the Grassy Slough Protected Area, a previously farmed, 1,155-hectare, historic bottomland forest in southern Illinois. The purpose of the study was to gauge the progress of successional change and the extent to which non-native species may be influencing succession at the site.  We expected plant diversity, the number of co-dominant species, the proportion of perennial woody vegetation, and native richness index (NRI) to increase after five years. Data collection occurred in 2000 (one-year-old field) and 2005 (six-year-old field) utilizing a sampling scheme of 1.0-m2 quadrats randomly placed along permanent transects. Ninety-eight species were identified in 2000, and 91 in 2005. Importance values were calculated as the sum of relative frequency and relative cover.  Xanthium strumarium and Sida spinosa were the most abundant species in 2000, but abundance shifted to Conyza canadensis and Andropogon virginicus in 2005. The reduced diversity may be due to dominance of the allelopathic A. virginicus. Non-native species were a significant component initially, but dominance shifted towards native vegetation as succession progressed.  Compared with earlier old field studies conducted in nearby upland fields, both diversity and the proportion of co-dominant species in this bottomland site were greater. The site is relatively young, and additional sampling will be required to assess the success of the augmented tree planting, examine the impact of seeding from nearby populations, and document the influence of non-native species on succession.

 

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