Master of Science (M.S.), University of Dayton, 2024, Biology

Ecological restoration of degraded lands, such as abandoned agricultural fields, often requires establishing native species in challenging environmental conditions. The interruption of this process by invasive species poses a significant obstacle to native plant reestablishment. Woody invasive species like Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) outcompete native plants, creating favorable conditions for invasion and rendering post-agricultural fields unsuitable for native species establishment. Traditional methods for controlling invasive species require consistent upkeep and observation, but in tallgrass prairies, increasing the diversity and abundance of plants has shown some ability to decrease the number of invasive species in the area. In collaboration with community partners at Five Rivers Metroparks, our laboratory initiated an experiment on a 30-acre parcel of post-agricultural land in Trotwood, Ohio. Twenty 50 x 50m plots were established, each receiving one of four prairie seed mixes with varying levels of species diversity and legume content (n = 5 / seed treatment). These plots were further subdivided and treated with one of four soil amendments: mulch, whole soil, mulch & whole soil, and a control with no amendment. In this thesis I describe the findings of my botanical assessment of prairie establishment that was based on a vegetation survey conducted in the summer of 2023. I found that there is still a significantly smaller presence of invasive species compared to native species. The site is comprised of mainly native species (~80%), although this is mainly driven by species that were not seeded on the site. There is also a higher species richness in the higher diversity seed mix plots than the lower diversity seed mix plots, which shows some success in the different seed mixes. There was no correlation in the presence of legumes and the applied seeding treatments or soil amendments, and the legume species were primarily spontaneous species such as Trifolium (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ryan McEwan (Advisor); Mariela Gantchoff (Committee Member); Chelse Prather (Committee Member) Subjects: Conservation; Ecology; Environmental Science