Vegetation Survey of the Palisades Nature Preserve

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Vegetation Survey of the Palisades Nature Preserve

• By Matthew Wickenhauser

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Introduction

• Illinois Nature Preserve
• 430 acre site
• Confluence of the Mississippi Illinois Rivers
• Potential benefits
• Increased biodiversity
• Wildlife habitat
• Education
• Recreation

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Introduction

• Forests
• Contains abundant upland oak-hickory habitat.
• Dominated by white oak (Quercus alba), red oak
  (Quercus rubra) black oak (Quercus velutina).
• Predominately found
• on ridges and slopes.
• Bottomland forest
• occurs in the lower
• ravines and hollows.

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Introduction

• Loess Hill Prairies
• Chautauqua Hill Prairie
• Illinois Natural Areas Inventory since 1977
• Located on south to west facing slopes of the
  river bluffs in isolated patches.
• Illinois hill prairies declined as much as 60
  from 1940-1990.
• Home to unique plant species such as prickly-pear
  cactus (Opuntia humifusa)

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Forest Management Objectives Strategies

• Protect maintain the health and diversity of
  forest communities, including associated
  wildlife.
• Conduct detailed baseline surveys of forested
  communities.
• Determine areas where restoration may be
  necessary.
• Removal and control of invasive species.
• Provide for scientific research, environmental
  education and limited recreational opportunities.

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Hill Prairie Management Objectives Strategies

• Conduct new baseline survey of hill prairies at
  the Palisades.
• Illinois Natural Areas Inventory (1977)
• Hill Prairies of Illinois. Evers, R.A. (1955)
• Restoration
• Prescribed burning to help control the spread
  of woody vegetation
• Spot treatment of herbicide to keep trees,
  shrubs, and vines from resprouting from the roots
• Hand removal of woody vegetation
• Over-seeding with prairie seed collected from
  nearby hill prairies

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Methods

• Potential sample sites were located using a 100
  meter grid.
• 50 sample sites were selected using a random
  number generator.
• Sample sites were grouped by topographic strata.
• Bottomland 9 plots
• Ridge 12 plots
• Side slopes 25 plots
• Hill prairie 4 plots

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Methods

• Overstory
• Species ID
• Height (3-4 per plot)
• D.B.H. (Diameter at
• breast height)
• Health status
• 1 live standing
• 2 stressed
• 3 dead standing
• Dominance
• 1 dominant
• 2 codominant
• 3 intermediate
• 4 suppressed

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Methods

• Subplot 1/100th hectare
• Saplings (Under 10 cm DBH, but taller than 1.37
  meters)
• Species ID
• D.B.H
• Microplots Four 0.25 m2 quadrats
• Measured 5 m from plot center in cardinal
  directions
• Herbaceous species
• Species ID
• Percent cover
• Noted invasive species
• Woody seedlings (lt 1.37m height)
• Species ID
• Tally
• Height
• Percent Cover

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Methods

• Densiometer Measures the
• percent openness of the
• forest canopy.
• Slope
• Aspect

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Results Importance Value Tables
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Results - Bottomland

• Overstory
• Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) was clearly dominant
  with American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
  pawpaw (Asimina triloba) also present.
• Understory
• Sugar maple, pawpaw,
• American sycamore were
• dominant in understory.

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Results - Ridge

• Overstory
• Dominated by white oak (Quercus alba), red oak
  (Quercus rubra), black oak (Quercus velutina).
• High incidence of tree mortality (SNAG)
• Understory
• Sugar maple (Acer saccharum), flowering dogwood
  (Cornus florida) bush honeysuckle (Lonicera
  maackii) were dominant.

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Results Side Slope

• Overstory
• Very strong presence of sugar maple (Acer
  saccharum) with white oak (Quercus alba) red
  oak (Quercus rubra) also dominant
• Understory
• Dominated by sugar maple (Acer saccharum) with
  slippery elm (Ulmus rubra) bush honeysuckle
  (Lonicera maackii)

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Results Hill Prairie

• Overstory
• Strong presence of tree of heaven (Ailanthus
  altissima)
• White oak (Quercus alba), white ash (Fraxinus
  americana), post oak (Quercus stellata) were
  dominant tree species.
• Understory
• Invasive species bush honeysuckle (Lonicera
  maackii) tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
  were abundant.
• Black hickory (Carya texana) common hackberry
  (Celtis occidentalis) were important native
  species.

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Results Seedling and Herbaceous

• Bottomland
• Seedlings
• Bush honeysuckle
• Sugar maple
• Slippery elm
• Herbaceous
• Wood nettle
• Clearweed
• Ridge
• Seedlings
• Bush honeysuckle
• Slippery elm
• Black cherry
• Herbaceous
• Virginia creeper
• False nettle

• Side Slope
• Seedlings
• Slippery elm
• Fragrant sumac
• Bush honeysuckle
• Herbaceous
• Pointedleaf ticktrefoil
• Virginia creeper
• Hill Prairie
• Seedlings
• Bush honeysuckle
• Fragrant sumac
• Eastern redbud
• Herbaceous
• Little bluestem
• Kentucky bluegrass

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Results
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Results Diameter Distribution

• Oak species were dominant in larger size classes.
• Sugar maple had very high density in smaller size
  classes.

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Conclusion Dominant Species by Strata
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Conclusion

• Sugar maple TAKEOVER
• Shade-tolerant plant species
• Inhibits regeneration of oak-hickory species.
• Dominant species in bottom side slope overstory
• Dominant species in bottom, side slope ridge
  understory
• Sugar maple was not present in the hill prairies
  due to xeric conditions.

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Conclusion

• Invasive species
• Outcompete native species
• Major invaders
• Bush honeysuckle - Abundant throughout Preserve
  especially on the bluff front disturbed areas
• Tree of heaven - Hill prairies
• Garlic mustard Bottomlands and disturbed areas
• Others
• Autumn olive
• Multiflora rose
• Common buckthorn
• Common mullein

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Conclusion

• Woody Encroachment
• Threatens loess hill prairies
• Native species
• Fragrant sumac
• Eastern red cedar
• Invasive species
• Bush honeysuckle
• Tree of heaven

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Conclusion

• Management suggestions
• Timber stand improvement (TSI) strategies
• Girdling sugar maples
• Invasive species brush removal
• Herbicide applications
• Reduce woody encroachment on loess hill prairies
• Prescribed burns
• Brush removal
• Grazing (e.g., goats)

Driftless Land Stewardship
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Acknowledgements

• National Great Rivers Research
• Education Center
• Lewis Clark Community College
• Advisor Dr. Lyle Guyon
• Field biologist Megan Dooling

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Questions?