A Floristic Inventory and Vegetation Survey of Three Dolomite Prairies in Northeastern Illinois

Abstract

ABSTRACT Dolomite prairies are rare natural plant communities, with a few high-quality examples in northeastern Illinois. In this study, three dolomite prairies located in southwestern Will County, Illinois, were surveyed to assess species composition and quality. Two of the dolomite prairies were located on the Des Plaines Wildlife Conservation Area (i.e., Blodgett Road Dolomite Prairie Natural Area and Grant Creek Nature Preserve) and the third in the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (i.e., Exxon Mobil Natural Area). Overall, a total of 438 taxa were recorded: 318 at Blodgett Road, 255 at Exxon Mobil, and 270 at Grant Creek, with 129 common to them all. Of these, 97 were mesic or wet prairie species, 26 were nonnative taxa, and six were native woody species. Three state endangered and two state threatened species were found associated with these dolomite prairies. The Blodgett Road site was dominated by the annual grass Sporobolus vaginiflorus, along with Andropogon gerardii, Sporobolus heterolepis, ...