Survey of the Plant Population on an Ungrazed Meadow in North Central Kansas

Abstract

Introduction The number of relatively undisturbed grasslands is rapidly decreasing due to pressures of overgrazing, plowing, road building, and urbanization. Relatively few studies of remnant prairies or undisturbed grasslands have been made in Kansas. Most of them were done in the Central Kansas Rolling Plains Region (Austin, 1965). Tomanek and Albertson (1953, 19S7) reported the effects of different grazing intensities upon mixed prairies near Hays, Atwood, and Ashland. Ankle (1963) investigated an ungrazed breaks range site in the shale-limestone area of Kansas to study the eSectt of mowing and grasing on the native vegetation. Hladek (1967) analyzed the distribtion and xregetative composition of remnant grasslands Gn shale-lsmestone parent materials of the Central Kansas Rolling Plains region in Kansas which included 19 counties. Dodd (1967) studied G5 stands in this same region to determine soil-plant relationships and to develop a system to predict the dominant vegetation of stands that are free from disturbances. Hulett, Sloan, and Tomanek (1968) inventoried and analy7ed the compositional structure of the vegetation of remnant grasslands in the lcessial region of Northwestern Kansas and Southwestern Nebraska. These 44 stands were areas of native vegetation that had not been disturbed by burning, grazing, or mowing for a period of not less than 15 to 20 years. Nicholson and Hulett (1969) made a detailed evaluation of the vegetational characteristics of some grassland remnants in the Central Great Plains Region of North America. The purpose of this present study was to make a survey of the plant population in an ungrazed, relatively undisturbed meadow in the limestone hill region of Cloud County in North Central Kansas. Fraser (1931) surveyed the flora of Cloud County and listed over 600 species. A botanical survey had previously been made by Hitchcock (1898) who listed 240 plants.