Early patterns of revegetation of artificial earthen mounds in a northern mixed prairie

Abstract

Patches of bare soil are thought to be important to the diversity and structure of North American grasslands. In 1987, 45 7.5-dm diameter artificial earthen mounds were built in low-, mid-, and high-prairie types to experimentally study the effects of mound location on patterns of mound revegetation. Stem densities and species abundance data were recorded every other week during the summers of 1987 and 1988. Few stems were recorded in 1987, and stem density more than quadrupled in 1988, but less than 1 % of all stems were seedlings. Grass stem densities were significantly higher on low-prairie mounds than mid- or high-prairie mounds and were concentrated in the outer perimeter of mounds. Forb stem densities did not vary significantly between prairie types or on-mound position. Mound species composition closely resembled surrounding vegetation, reflecting between and within prairie-type compositional variation. Key words: colonization, disturbance, earthen mounds, northern mixed prairie, patch, revegetation.