2013 in Review

I thought it would be good to highlight a few things that happened in 2013, which happened to be an interesting and productive year.  A lot of moisture fell this summer, and plant growth was as good as ever.  Unfortunately/fortunately it was a busy year and I only got a chance to go home once.  As a result, I've been lagging with updates regarding our progress on restoration projects.

In the past, our focus has been primarily on reconstructing/converting overgrown pasture and hayfields to native prairie through burning and overseeding with native species.  This year however we decided to spend a little more time working on our forest ecosystems at Black Cherry Hollow (BCH), which includes all of the land south of White Lake Road.  BCH is primarily forested (and has an abundance of Black Cherry trees) due to years of fire suppression.  Historically, this area was a combination of Oak Openings and Dry-Mesic Southern Forest in the uplands, with Rich Tamarack Swamp and/or Southern Hardwood Swamp in the lowlands (MNFI Natural Communities).

Today, the uplands retain their mature Oak and Hickory canopy in most areas.  However, due to years of fire suppression (fire was a common natural disturbance in this type of forest historically), a dense understory of Red Maple, American Elm, and White Ash has developed in the forest.  With the presence of the Emerald Ash Borer and Dutch Elm Disease pathogen, Red Maple has assumed dominance in the understory and is threatening to convert the forest in the long-term.  The dense shade caused by the abundance of Red Maple in the understory has limited the amount of oak seedlings that are able to grow because oak seedlings need more light to grow and compete with other species.  Historically, the fires that swept through the forest on a regular basis thinned out competing tree species, including Red Maple, and allowed oaks to retain dominance generation after generation.

The lowlands which were historically thought to be Rich Tamarack Swamp (MNFI Presettlement Vegetation Maps), are now a mixture of Emergent Marsh and Southern Shrub-Carr.  This conversion of wetland communities was caused by the construction of Highland Hills Drive which dammed the downstream end of the wetland, causing significant flooding over the past 50+ years.

My trip home (April 18-22) was marked by nice dry weather, which allowed us to work hard.  We were able to do some understory thinning of Red Maple, Elm and Ash in our forests, and conduct prescribed burns at both BCH and Pinefield.  Here are some pics of our work:

 

 

 

 

Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)

Under most natural circumstances, Orange Coneflower would be found in very wet habitats including sedge meadows, fens and edges of swamps and other marshy areas.  That is if you were to ever find it in a natural setting.  According to the U of M Herbarium database, Rudbeckia fulgida has a C-Value of 9 out of 10 making it very rare and highly unlikely that you would encounter it in the wild (at least in southern Michigan where most of it's natural habitat has been destroyed).  In September, I was very fortunate to not only find this plant growing on our property, but to find it blooming (which means it will be producing seeds).  There were only one or two plants where I found it growing on the edge of a wooded area, where a thick patch of gray dogwood borders the yard.  The inflorescence is almost identical to that of Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) which is why I almost passed it by.  The leaves however, are very different in that they're larger, ovate in shape and have coarse-toothed margins.  Shown in the photo below, this specimen was found growing in a fine-textured clay/loam soil capable of holding lots of moisture which explains it's occurrence in an upland setting.  Despite the common name Orange Coneflower, this plant is actually in the same Genus as Black-Eyed Susan's (Rudbeckia).



Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)

Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)

Conversely, Black-Eyed Susan rates at a C-Value of 1 out of 10, one reason why it is found more commonly.  They also tolerate a larger range of soil moisture categories which allows them to compete well across a larger range of habitats.  The leaves are smaller, have smooth margins and are thick and velvety.

Black-Eyed Susan's (Rudbeckia hirta)

Purpletop (Tridens flavus)

CORRECTION - About a year ago in an earlier post (see "Trailblazer switchgrass??? - Nov'11"), I incorrectly identified one of the grass species that has been growing in Old Mesic.  After years of head scratching, I finally stumbled upon some useful information that has steered me in the right direction.  What I originally thought was a strain of switchgrass turned out to be Purpletop (Tridens flavus), a native perennial bunchgrass that originally grew in oak savannas and sandy clearings.  According to the University of Michigan Herbarium, this plant has only been documented in a handfull of counties throughout the southern three tiers of counties in Michigan.  In Oakland County where our farm is located, no record of this plant has ever been documented.  This makes the discovery that much sweeter!  Despite a low C-Value of 3 out of 10, I still have not seen it in any of the other high quality natural areas in our area so in Oakland County it may actually be considered more unusual than in other parts of the state.  Either way, I consider it an important component of our restoration projects and look forward to propogating it from seed and planting it in other areas on the farm.