[RWG] ECOLOGY Restoration and Population Re: Grasses--why used for 1997 Megatransect?

[Wayne Tyson]

Craig and friends:

Since I can't find my original message, I don't remember what kind of 
contusion to which I jumped, but at least now there is no confusion 
on my part.

Since this trip was primarily for my wife's entertainment, I had no 
time for more than casual observations. I am also unfamiliar with 
many of the grasses in that region, so would have to key them out 
(always a laborious task for me as a non-taxonomist, but a very fussy 
guy about intra-specific variation and actual species distinctions).

While I do agree that indigenous grasses are a good indicator of 
ecosystem health, I think cryptobiotic/cryptogamic associations are 
an even more profound, if impractical one.  I saw many stands in 
various states of "preservation" or "recovery," but as microscopy was 
my Achilles' heel in botany, I couldn't get much past "some kinda 
cyanobacterium or moss or lichen" and perhaps some kinda algae."  As 
some of the keys almost require a dissecting microscope and 
destructive collecting even for the grasses, I reckon the best I can 
do is to get a book with picchurs and hope I don't Agropyron the 
Leymus or vice-versa.

I hope to get up to Oregon this winter and suppose I could paw 
through the snow for what hay may be left, I reckon I'll have to wait 
'till early spring and a planned trip to Alaska.  Again, my 
observations will be casual and ecological.  I hope to at least be 
able to tell aliens from indigenous species and photograph some.

On your observations regarding grasses as at least a component of the 
"understory," I consider some grasslands to be a "phase" within a 
range of ecosystem changes due to environmental influences such as 
fire and other "disturbances."  It seems to me that grading, for 
example, tends to favor alien species, while fire favors indigenous 
species.  It has been suggested (forgot the reference) that 
resistance to invasion is one of the key characteristics of an 
ecosystem in dynamic equilibrium, and, as such, is a measure of the 
success of an ecosystem restoration project.  I have used that as a 
standard in my own work at least, for the past 35 years or so, first 
unwittingly, then "wittingly."  Of course, little things like species 
diversity are important too, but I have found that when the alien 
species diminish to near zero on a restoration project, diversity 
will be at its peak, at least for the site conditions remaining 
following disturbance and "restoration" activity.  Smoke came out of 
my ears whilst passing by some large signs proclaiming mine spoil 
"restoration" on my recent trip through the intermountain west and southwest.

Best,
WT

At 02:22 PM 9/28/2006, Craig Dremann wrote:
>Dear Wayne and All,
>
>I don't want you, or other readers of my 1997 Western Megatransect data,
>to misunderstand that I believe that there were originally solid
>grasslands everywhere, or that solid grasslands should be replanted
>everywhere.
>
>I used the native perennial grasses for my western Megatransect survey,
>for at least for two reasons:
>
>1.) Within nearly every north American native ecosystem, from deserts to
>forests, there were originally species of native grasses that formed a
>portion of those ecosystems' understories--native perennial grasses are
>a common-denominator for non-riparian ecosystems nation-wide in the
>lower 48 States.
>
>Areas that have a high percentage of those original native grasses and a
>low percentage of introduced grasses and other weeds, could be
>considered by most ecologists, botanists, and ecological restorationists
>as high quality ecosystems--you could perhaps even call them "pristine".
>
>These "pristine" areas have great ecological value, in that there's only
>a few percentage of the roadsides of each State, where you can still
>find these relatively intact examples of original ecosystems.
>
>"Pristine" areas, if protected and preserved, could be studied as models
>for future restoration projects, and also provide the local native seed
>sources, for a program like the Iowa DOT roadside native replanting or
>"Ecotype Project.".
>
>2.) When conducting any roadside ecosystem-quality survey---and
>especially if you are going to attempt a 3,400 mile-by-mile
>survey---it's always a really good idea to pick a type of plant that
>stands out!  Fortunately, most of the native grasses of North America do
>that job very well.
>
>I'm currently working on the 1997 Megatransect data for Colorado, South
>Dakota and Wyoming, and while I reading the notebooks, I'm remembering
>the herds of pronghorns I saw in Wyoming and South Dakota, and the
>unfenced family of bison along the roadside in South Dakota.
>
>And one afternoon, as I crossed the Wyoming/South Dakota border on the
>way to Hot Springs SD (which is the easternmost point of the transect),
>I drove through a 3 mile wide swarm of dragonflies and millions of moths
>that were flying over the grasslands there.
>
>I hope Wayne and everyone else who travels, and goes and looks at the
>native plants along the roadsides, has many fun adventures, like I did
>doing the 1997 Western and 2005 Mojave Megatransects.
>
>Sincerely,  Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333

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