Research on Native Grassland Systems in Wisconsin
The Research on Native Grassland Systems in Wisconsin project provides research conducted on the restoration, management and protection of natural systems within Wisconsin and the Midwest, in particular, but not limited to, grasslands and savannas. This project focus includes how the systems are changing and how they can best be preserved. Activities include the development of: a GIS database on remnant locations that allows for the study of how these systems are changing; a model that will help predict where remnants still may exist within Wisconsin; an understanding of salt tolerance of prairie species; and techniques to increase their successful restoration, the latter in conjunction with the Aldo Leopold Foundation.
Outcomes
The Department of Natural Resources and the National Park Service are engaged in a master planning effort on how lands in the Ice Age Preserve within Dane County will be utilized by the public, and our results are utilized to assist the decision and planning process. The mapping of natural grassland systems within Wisconsin allows study of the temporal and spatial patterns of these endangered plant systems and assists counties in knowing their locations during their planning efforts for utility and transportation corridors. This research also benefits agencies such as the UW Research Park and Fitchburg Center, Inc. in developing alternative storm water systems using prairie swales that filter, slow and allow storm water to infiltrate.
Focus Areas
Project Leader
John Harrington
Professor
- Department/Unit
- Landscape Architecture
- School or College
- College of Agricultural and Life Sciences