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Re: Prairie Soil Fertility

My unscientific observation is that prairie plants grow quite close 
together and presumably in close competition with each other for 
available nutrients in the "more fertile" prairies, i.e. those with 
soils higher in organic material and closer to neutral pH. 
Contrastingly, they are more widely spaced in highly drained acidic 
soils. So, it appears many prairie plants, thanks in part to their 
symbiotic associations with bacteria (Rhizobium, etc.) or fungi 
(mycorhizae, numerous genera and species) are quite good at getting 
what they need in situations of low nutrient availability, whether 
this results from low levels of occurrence in the soil, or from the 
fact that there are many competing plants fighting for the same 
nutrients and tying most nutrients up in their living tissues. It 
stands to reason that prairies which have developed over thousands of 
years from situations of low fertility to their present state of 
abundant (but largely bound-up) fertility will have more diverse 
plant life than prairie plantings, in which a lesser number of 
species, some quite aggressive colonizers, are thrown together to 
compete for the relatively highly available nutrients 
characteristic of abandoned agricultural land. 

On 28 Apr 00 at 11:32, Alan_Rider@illinoispower.com wrote:

> 
> 
> this helps alot and has given me some ideas, too.  I prepare areas 1
> - 2 years in advance of planting so this is a reasonable
> suggestion....thanks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Geoffrey Stanford <gstanf@swbell.net> on 04/28/2000 10:17:01 AM
> 
> Please respond to prairie@mallorn.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  To:      prairie@mallorn.com                                 
> 
>  cc:      (bcc: Alan Rider)                                   
> 
> 
> 
>  Subject: Re: Prairie Soil Fertility                          
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> alan:   i think there is a confusion here:  prairie surely is one of
> the most fertile soils -- but that is after it has been ploughed,
> and the mat of surface roots is distributed into the soil;  there it
> is biodegraded and the bacteria release all its sugars and proteins
> to the introduced crop
> 
> you can restore fertility and tilth easily and cheaply to any soil: 
> plow under some newspaper, at about 5-10 tons/acre.  in about three
> years it will have become suffused with nitrofixing organisms, and
> the cellulose will be mostly consumed.  this 3-year period of
> 'nitrogen robbing' will be replaced by some 4 years of superior
> soil.  you can add 5 tons/acre for several years in a row, until
> fertility is restored.
> 
> yes, i've done it, and it really works.  after all, what is
> newspaper but finely ground wood/tree?  and what is more fertile
> than woodland duff. and what is woodland duff?  wood/tree finely
> ground by all the wiggly-wogglies that live in and on the forest
> floor.     geoff
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alan_Rider@illinoispower.com <Alan_Rider@illinoispower.com>
> To: prairie@mallorn.com <prairie@mallorn.com> Date: Friday, April
> 28, 2000 8:51 AM Subject: Prairie Soil Fertility
> 
> 
> >
> >
> >There have been several comments made recently about soil fertility and how
> >natives 'best' survive in soil of low fertility.  On the other hand, we
> have
> >been told that prairie soils are among the 'richest soils in the world'.
> This
> >seems to be contradictory.  Perhaps it depends on 'what part of the prairie
> you
> >live', for example Illinois prairies should have better soils than western
> >Nebraska due to the rainfall amounts.
> >My reason for asking is I am restoring former  areas of Highly Erodable
> Soil,
> >where there has been significant erosion and little if anything has grown
> there
> >intentionally planted or otherwise.  I have added large amounts of grass
> >clippings and leaves and tilled them into the soil.
> >I would appreciate comments etc. on this fertility issue.  How much
> fertility is
> >too much?  How do you measure fertility?
> >thanks
> >
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James C. Trager, Ph. D.
Shaw Arboretum
P.O. Box 38
Gray Summit MO 63039
PH# 636-451-3512
FAX 636-451-5583
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