A Land Managers Guide to Prairies and Savannas in Michigan: History, Classification, and Management Prepared by: Ryan P. O’Connor Michigan Natural Features Inventory P.O. Box 30444 Lansing, MI 48909-7944 For: Michigan DNR Wildlife Division Landowner Incentive Program September 30, 2006 Report Number 2006-18 Suggested citation: O’Connor, R. 2006. A Land Manager’s Guide to Prairies and Savannas in Michigan: History, Classification and Management. Report 2006-18. Michigan Natural Features Inventory. Lansing, MI. Copyright 2006 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status or family status. Cover photo: Oak barrens in Newaygo County, Susan R. Crispin, MNFI TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction and Purpose .............................................................................................................................................. 1 Historical Overview of Prairies and Savannas ............................................................................................................ 2 What was Michigan Like? Distribution of Prairies and Savannas circa 1800s ......................................................... 2 Prairie vs. Savanna: Historical Context ...................................................................................................................... 2 Changes circa 1800s to Present .................................................................................................................................. 5 Ecological Processes........................................................................................................................................................ 8 The landscape context of fire...................................................................................................................................... 8 Extreme soil conditions .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Fire and soil extremes in concert ................................................................................................................................ 8 Altered ecological processes ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Fauna and Flora ........................................................................................................................................................... 10 Fauna ........................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Flora ......................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Prairie and Savanna Classification in Michigan ....................................................................................................... 13 Rarity ........................................................................................................................................................................ 13 Classification ............................................................................................................................................................ 13 Management Guidelines for Restoring Prairie and Savanna................................................................................... 18 Nature’s tool: Prescribed fire .................................................................................................................................... 18 The rest of the management toolbox: mowing, grazing, disking, and herbicides ....................................................22 What Are Your Goals? ................................................................................................................................................. 27 Appendices .................................................................................................................................................................... 30 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................................................................ 57 List of Figures Figure 1. Distribution of prairie and savanna communities circa 1800............................................................... 3 Figure 2. Vegetation of Michigan circa 1800....................................................................................................... 4 Figure 3. High-quality wet to mesic prairie communities present day .............................................................. 15 Figure 4. High-quality lakeplain savanna and prairie communities present day ............................................... 16 Figure 5. High-quality dry to dry-mesic savanna and prairie communities present day.................................... 17 Figure 6. Typical ignition and burn pattern of a ring fire ................................................................................... 20 Figure 7. Typical ignition and burn pattern of a back fire or back burn ............................................................. 21 Figure 8. Typical ignition and burn pattern of a strip fire .................................................................................. 21 Figure 9. Cut-stump application of herbicides ................................................................................................... 25 Figure 10. Basal bark application of herbicides ................................................................................................. 26 Figure 11. Girdling with a hatchet or chain saw ................................................................................................ 26 Figure 12. Frilling with a hatchet ....................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 13. Application of herbicide onto a girdle .............................................................................................. 27 List of Tables Table 1. List of prairie and savanna community types found in Michigan ........................................................ 13 Table 2. Prairie and savanna community distribution across a moisture gradient ............................................ 14 Table 3. Changes in dominance of different groups of grasses and forbs in response to fire seasonality ......... 19 Table 4. Commonly used herbicides in ecological restoration .......................................................................... 24 Table 5. Comparison of prairie communities in Michigan (listed from wet to dry) .......................................... 48 Table 6. Comparison of savanna communities in Michigan (listed from wet to dry) ....................................... 49 List of Appendices Appendix A. Wildlife Species of Greatest Conservation Need occurring in prairies and savannas .................. 30 Appendix B. Rare plants associated with prairie and savanna communities .................................................... 33 Appendix C. Natural Community Descriptions ................................................................................................. 37 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Funding for this project was provided by the Land- Wildlife Division Private Lands Office, who lent his owner Incentive Program, Michigan Department of vast knowledge of herbicides to the project. This Natural Resources Wildlife Division. I would like to report could not have been completed without the help thank Mark Sargent, Private Lands Biologist with of Suzan Campbell and Kraig Korroch, who both DNR, whose passion for and knowledge of grasslands helped me adjust to the steep learning curves of Adobe helped conceive the idea for this publication, and John software. Numerous individuals also provided images Paskus, Conservation Planner with the Michigan and photos to illustrate concepts and bring to life the Natural Features Inventory (MNFI) who helped crystal- beauty and color of our plants, animals, and land- lize the project. I would also like to thank Susan scapes. They include Christopher Hoving, Brian Tangora, Michigan LIP Coordinator, and Dan Kennedy, Piccolo, and Dan Kennedy of the DNR Landowner Christopher Hoving, Brian Piccolo, Terry McFadden, Incentive Program; Doug Landis of Michigan State and Kevin Swanson, LIP Biologists. Their tireless work University; John M. Randall of The Nature Conser- to improve wildlife habitat for rare and declining vancy; Chris Evans from the University of Georgia, species on both public and private land served as an James R. Allison of the Georgia DNR, and Elizabeth inspiration and provided practical examples of the Czarapata of the Wisconsin DNR, whose photos were successes and trials of on-going ecological restoration. all provided via Invasives.org; Randall Heiligmann In addition, they also provided valuable editorial from Ohio State University Extension, Wayne R. Pauly comments. Glenn Palmgren, Stewardship Ecologist of the Dane County Park Commission, Madison, with