How Well Can We Do?

Abstract

The 20-ha Henry Greene Prairie at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum is one of the most successful prairie restorations anywhere, a fine example of "the best we can do so far." It is successful in terms of the usual objective criteria for prairie restorations: dominance by characteristic grasses, diversity of prairie forbs and grasses, little woody invasion, and few troublesome exotics. For many of the visitors following the trails, however, its success is measured in esthetic terms--the beauty of the prairie vistas, the colorful flowers in a background of grass, the remote location with its near-relief from highway noise. The songs of sedge wrens mingle with those of yellowthroats and goldfinches along the brushy edges, and an occasional redtailed hawk calls from above. To complete the sensory impact, mountain mint yields its pungent aroma in response to passing feet, and on a warm day late in summer the air is filled with the tantalizing fragrance of prairie dropseed. The success of this restoration is undoubtedly due in large part to the skill of Dr. Henry Greene, who selected and surveyed the site, and (at his own insistence) planted it almost single-handedly. He did most of the planting between 1945 and 1953, using seeds, seedlings and wild transplants. Greene was a botanist whose professional specialty was mycology, but he was an expert on prairies. Not only was he an excellent prairie taxonomist, but he knew the soil and moisture requirements for each species, and what combinations of species grew together naturally. Because of this he was able to do an unusually good job of placing each species where it would do well on the fledgling prairie. He took his time, kept the transplants watered until established, and meticulously recorded the location of each planting to facilitate later evaluation of its