Reclaiming the Prairie: Natural Resource Management at Prairie State Park
Category
Sciences and Technology
Department
Biology
Student Status
Undergraduate
Research Advisor
Dr. Christine Brodsky, Dr. Andrew George
Document Type
Event
Location
Student Center Ballroom
Start Date
10-4-2025 2:00 PM
End Date
10-4-2025 4:00 PM
Description
Once widespread from central Canada to Mexico, tallgrass prairie is now one of North America's most imperiled ecosystems. Historically, tallgrass prairie covered roughly 15 million acres of Missouri. Today, less than 60,000 acres remain, comprising small patches dispersed across the state. The largest of these is Prairie State Park, a 1,619 Hectare piece of tallgrass prairie in Missouri. Perhaps the most pressing issue affecting prairie ecosystems in the Great Plains is woody plant encroachment, including species such as eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata), sumac (Rhus spp.), and blackberry (Rubus spp.). Eastern red cedar is particularly detrimental to native prairies because it outcompetes herbaceous species by depriving them of water, sunlight, and nutrients. Pittsburg State University students recently completed an internship where they helped revive a degraded section of Prairie State Park that was overgrown with eastern red cedar. Now in the second year of this partnership, park staff mentored the students in a variety of practical skills, including mechanical vegetation control, prescribed fire, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) use, personal protective equipment (PPE) protocols, and resource management strategies. Thanks to the combined efforts of park staff and PSU students, the degraded prairie section has been largely restored.
Reclaiming the Prairie: Natural Resource Management at Prairie State Park
Student Center Ballroom
Once widespread from central Canada to Mexico, tallgrass prairie is now one of North America's most imperiled ecosystems. Historically, tallgrass prairie covered roughly 15 million acres of Missouri. Today, less than 60,000 acres remain, comprising small patches dispersed across the state. The largest of these is Prairie State Park, a 1,619 Hectare piece of tallgrass prairie in Missouri. Perhaps the most pressing issue affecting prairie ecosystems in the Great Plains is woody plant encroachment, including species such as eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata), sumac (Rhus spp.), and blackberry (Rubus spp.). Eastern red cedar is particularly detrimental to native prairies because it outcompetes herbaceous species by depriving them of water, sunlight, and nutrients. Pittsburg State University students recently completed an internship where they helped revive a degraded section of Prairie State Park that was overgrown with eastern red cedar. Now in the second year of this partnership, park staff mentored the students in a variety of practical skills, including mechanical vegetation control, prescribed fire, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) use, personal protective equipment (PPE) protocols, and resource management strategies. Thanks to the combined efforts of park staff and PSU students, the degraded prairie section has been largely restored.
