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Invasive-Perennial Dominated Field to Conservation Meadow Restoring Your Invasive Perennial-Dominated Grassland to Conservation Meadow The author of this Restoration Guide is Laura Phillips-Mao, University of Minnesota. Steve Chaplin, MN/ND/SD Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, administered the project and helped with production. Marybeth Block, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, provided review and editorial comments. Susan Galatowitsch, University of Minnesota, contributed to an earlier version of this guide. ©The Nature Conservancy January 1, 2017 Funding for the development of this restoration guide was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) through grant LCCMR092C. The Trust Fund is a permanent fund constitutionally established by the citizens of Minnesota to assist in the protection, conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the state’s air, water, land, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources. Currently 40% of net Minnesota State Lottery proceeds are dedicated to building the Trust Fund and ensuring future benefits for Minnesota’s environment and natural resources. Additional funding for the update and redesign of the guide was provided by a Working Lands Initiative grant from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Cover photo taken at Twin Valley Prairie by Justin Meissen. interesting to people. Conservation meadow is Restoring Your Invasive not suitable for forage production, commercial Perennial-Dominated uses or high-impact recreational activities such as driving ATVs. Grassland to “Conservation Meadow” Compatible land uses include: In this guide, you will learn the basic steps to Carefully managed grazing for habitat restore a grassland dominated by invasive goals1 perennial weeds to a conservation meadow. Haying for habitat goals The precise restoration actions will depend on the particular features of your site as well as Occasional seed harvest your budget, preferences and project goals. Low-impact recreational activities, such as hiking, photography, or hunting When planning your restoration, we Conservation benefits include improved water recommend you consult with restoration quality, flood control, and habitat for birds, professionals to evaluate your site’s unique animals and insects. Conservation prairie can characteristics. Please visit also buffer high-quality native meadows and nature.org/MNPrairieRestorationGuides for prairies and support threatened and more information on who to contact or other endangered plants and animals that depend on publications that cover site assessment large contiguous areas of grassland. protocols. What is conservation Why restore invasive meadow? perennial-dominated grasslands? Conservation meadow is a wet grassland designed to closely mimic native wet prairie Restoring invasive perennial-dominated and sedge meadow using seed mixes that have grasslands to utility meadow increases the many native species adapted to the restoration diversity of species on the site and provides site. It occurs on poorly-drained, wet to valuable habitat for prairie wildlife and moderately wet soils that are saturated up to 8 pollinators. Invasive perennial-dominated weeks following snowmelt and are prone to grasslands have substantial coverage (>75%) of temporary ponding after large rainfall events. exotic invasive perennials, such as reed canary Conservation meadow often occurs in a grass, smooth brome and birdsfoot trefoil. transition zone between emergent marsh and Often used as pasture or hay fields, these sites upland prairie and may be either sedge- are dominated by aggressive species that dominated (“sedge meadow”) or grass- persist for many years and can quickly dominated (“wet prairie”) depending on the outcompete and suppress planted natives. duration of soil saturation. Reed canary grass is particularly common on wet sites and may require multiple years of repeated treatments to control. Invasive woody The diversity of plants in conservation meadow provides habitat and food for native wildlife and insects, including pollinators. A wide variety of flowering plants and grasses is also visually 1 Very wet sites are vulnerable to damage by trampling and are dominated by sedges, which are not preferred forage for cattle. Moderately wet sites, which are dominated by grasses and have a shorter duration of seasonal ponding, will generally be more suitable for grazing. 1 species may also be present and require What will it involve? additional removal strategies2. Invasive perennial-dominated grasslands are Meadow restoration typically includes these one of the most challenging starting conditions basic steps: for restoration, because they require substantial investment of time before and after seeding prairie species. Restoring these sites Site Assessment— Identify the site often requires multiple seasons of vegetation characteristics and define goals for the control prior to seeding, and attentive restoration. management through the seedling establishment phase and beyond. When Vegetation Removal – Remove existing possible, cropping these fields is an increasingly weeds and undesired vegetation from the popular and more affordable option for site to prevent aggressive weedy species achieving the level of weed control required for from out-competing native meadow plants. successful restoration. Additionally, if the site has been drained with drainage tiles or ditches, Seedbed Preparation – Prepare a seedbed to restoring hydrology by breaking tiles, plugging ensure good seed-soil contact and promote ditches, and—in some cases—installing water germination of planted seeds. control devices, will be required. Seeding/Planting – Select seed mixes and This guide assumes that your site is wet to seeding methods that are well suited to the moderately wet and has been drained via tiles site and project goals. Or, in the case of or ditches3. Sites that have not been drained small sites of less than half an acre, will not require the additional steps to restore consider hand-planting plugs for quicker the hydrology. results4. Hydrologic Restoration – Remove drainage features by breaking tile or plugging ditches to restore the site’s original soil moisture and seasonal flooding patterns. Establishment & Aftercare – Control weeds and promote the establishment and growth of meadow plants through the first few years after seeding. Long-term Management – Maintain the health and diversity of native meadow into the future. Restoring hydrology at Glacial Ridge © TNC\Jason Eckstein 2 If invasive trees and shrubs are present on site, refer to the restoration guide “Restoring your Woody-Invaded Meadow to Conservation Meadow” for information on controlling woody species. 3 For sites with moderate to dry soil moisture, refer to the restoration guide “Restoring your Invasive Perennial-Dominated Field to Conservation Prairie”. 4 Plugs are young plants sold in 4- or 6-packs. Plugs cost substantially more than seed, but they establish rapidly and can produce a resilient and visually appealing meadow more quickly than seeding, so it is often a preferred option for smaller sites. 2 How long will it take? What will it cost? On an invasive perennial-dominated grassland, The cost of the restoration will be influenced the initial site preparation typically requires at by: least one full calendar year prior to seeding. When possible, spending two growing seasons on thorough invasive species control prior to Management level required to control seeding will yield more optimal results. The weeds more you invest in weed control up front, the Species and number of species selected for less time and effort you will need to spend the seed mix controlling weeds in the long term. After the year it’s seeded, expect to spend at least three Cost of seed, which fluctuates from year to to five years on aftercare to ensure good year establishment of the conservation meadow. This period is referred to as the establishment Hydrologic factors, such as drainage type, phase of restoration. size and depth; soil type and sediment deposits; and whether management of wetland discharge is required After establishment, often after year five for Labor and equipment available for the conservation meadow, the long-term project management phase begins. Management actions are typically less frequent and intensive The cost estimate in this document will give than during the establishment phase, but are you a baseline for what you can expect to critical for maintaining the health and diversity spend through the initial establishment phase of the meadow into the future. of your restoration (i.e. through three years after seeding). It may be tempting to cut costs by reducing the number of species planted or the frequency of weed control activities. Be aware that these investments on the front end can actually save costs in the long run. A healthy and diverse meadow will be more resilient to disturbance, invasion by exotic species, and extreme weather events such as drought. Reed canary grass infested meadow near Bluestem Prairie ©TNC\Steve Chaplin 3 Invasive Perennial-Dominated Grassland to Conservation Meadow Restoration Guidelines Site assessment native vegetation. Restoration of wet prairie and sedge meadow communities almost always involves control and prevention of reed canary A successful meadow restoration is highly grass invasion. Thorough site preparation is dependent on specific characteristics of a site. critical prior to planting, because control
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