Wednesday, August 8, 2007 - 8:00 AM

COS 66-1: Native grasslands and meadows in Pennsylvania: Their history and current condition

Roger Earl Latham, Continental Conservation and James F. Thorne, Natural Lands Trust.

Studies of fossil remains, including bones, pollen, spores and charcoal, have painted a provocative picture of the evolution of grasslands over the past several million years in North America.� However, comparatively little scientific inquiry on native grasslands has focused on the northeastern United States, where forests and wetlands attract far more attention.� In this study, eyewitness accounts and vascular plant species lists were compiled and analyzed for more than 250 historical and present-day native grassland and meadow sites within the present-day borders of Pennsylvania.� The study focused on persistent (not short-lived, early successional) grasslands and meadows dominated by native plant species.

Detrended correspondence analysis of herbarium records clarified patterns in the composition of grassland-endemic plant species at 173 of the historical sites, in relation to physiography, bedrock type and other elements of geographical variation.� An expanded community classification scheme is proposed for native, upland grasslands and meadows in the state.

Results of this study are useful (1) as input for a gap analysis establishing natural area protection priorities; (2) to define models of species composition for management and restoration of remnant grasslands; (3) to create templates for the creation of new native grasslands that will favor success in establishment and enhancement of wildlife habitat under particular sets of soil and microclimatic conditions; and (4) to identify the best sources for local genotypes of species used in restoration and grassland creation.