The 90 acres of Somme Prairie Grove contain large areas of good quality savanna and oak woodland along with areas seriously degraded by invasive shrubs and trees. There are smaller areas of prairie and ephemeral ponds. Restoration efforts began in 1981. Without those efforts, the entire site today would be covered by dense brush, and most of its species of plants and animals would now be gone. This site is one of the first where it was demonstrated that wise land stewardship can restore much of the richness of ancient savanna and oak woodland ecosystems.
Much of Somme Prairie Grove looked like the photo on the right before volunteers cleared the brush. Notice that all the grasses, wildflowers and young oaks have been shaded out.
After the brush was cleared, this area once more supports the plants, birds, butterflies and other biota of a healthy oak woodland. (Most of the wildflowers and grasses that you’ll see are covered in the guides. Also see Breeding Birds and Trees and Shrubs for other species that may be found at Somme Prairie Grove.)
Not surprisingly, scientific data reflects the difference between managed and unmanaged areas that you can see in the previous two photos. In 1996 and 2000, random quadrats were scientifically sampled in managed and unmanaged savanna and woodland habitats. The results are shown in the graphs below. These graphs show the differences between managed (the left graph of each pair) and unmanaged (right) plots. The set of graphs on left show "Floristic Quality." The set on the right reflect simple numbers of native species.
For a more detail report on benefits of restoration, see this article from the 1994 Proceedings North American Conference on Savannas and Barrens.
