Visiting the Prarie

I missed the Cates Farm trip one week. Our grassland ecology class went out to the Cates Farm (located in Spring Green, WI) to see how a well-informed farmer practices agriculture. I was at a conference to learn how t write effective statements of purpose and personal statements for graduate school. Instead, I recently went to te BioCore prairie to see a reclamation from agriculture to prairie.

The prairie stood out from it's surroundings. I was a bit awestruck when I came around it, I saw a beautiful blend of golden brown greens and deep shades of browns. The wind brushed the stand to the left, and let them stand tall. I approached. At the periphery, I peered into an ecosystem far different than the tree-dense one I was previously in. From afar, it seemed quaint, but as the field of view shrunk, the prairie seemed more lively and immense.

Tallgrass prairie isn't just a catchy name; the plants are genuinely tall. I felt strange calling them foliage as it [foliage] has a connotation of being small. The grasses towered above dominating the canopy, they don't choke the underbrush for light but effectively dominate 3D space. One level down, another plant takes the reigns but in terms of surface area on the ground. Lower to the ground is where the serious cover comes into effect.

Once I've witnessed the tallgrass prairie, I used to wonder hat zero percent soil erosion would come from. I've had a hard time imagining the combination of best management practices (BMPs) that would contribute to that T value. I feel I have some serious work to do when it comes to reducing erosion on agricultural systems. The tallgrass prairie is an excellent example of what I want to strive for. The best part is that it is consistent with what the literature suggests. The land cover is dense, and there is no bare ground. The soil is shielded from direct raindrop impact as well as having air flow to the soil surface which would facilitate in infiltration. the slower flow an extreme reduction in surface sealing made the system one to behold.

The soil scientist in me wanted to break out the spade and take a quick sample from the site, but I had a feeling I would know what I'd find. Under the dense vegetation, would be a molic epipedon, forged by carbon inputs and the occasional fire.

I peered under the tightly woven sheet of grasses to see if I could see ant traces of a recent fire. There were no traces visible. What I did find was a damp soil even though it hadn't rained for days. The low-lying grasses prevented water loss from the system. I couldn't help bit remember similar situations in no-till agriculture were plants grew slower due to the colder ground temperature. The grasses here were doing fine. Perhaps there is something missing in the cropping system that would make it more effective for the plants.