Nina Darner

TWI Ecologists Collaborate on Tallgrass Prairie Restoration Case Study

TWI ecologists Gary Sullivan and Katie Kucera have partnered with ecologist William Sluis to co-author a research article on tallgrass prairie restoration, published in the latest issue of Ecological Solutions and Evidence.

Their study investigates the use of a remnant reference ecosystem model to guide the establishment of plant communities in tallgrass prairie restoration efforts. Their results demonstrated the feasibility of replicating the plant composition and species richness of mesic prairie remnants through ecological restoration.

Read the full article here.

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Year of the Cicada

By Brier Gunderson

“2024 is a big year for periodical cicadas in Illinois, where Broods XII and XIX will be emerging throughout much of the state at the same time. This simultaneous emergence is the first time since 1803 and will not happen again until 2245.”

Back home in Illinois, this is the summer of the cicada—where trillions will emerge after seventeen years of life underground. Every summer, cicadas have been a part of my life, and I’ve found them only more and more fascinating as I’ve spent less and less time in the Midwest.

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Plant power: Ecologists map vegetative makeup of Smart Wetlands to guide ecosystem management

In an exciting development for TWI’s Smart Wetlands program, staff ecologists have taken a step toward better understanding the evolving vegetative makeup of our farm-based Smart Wetlands sites, designed to improve water quality. Beginning in 2023, plant surveys were conducted at the sites for the first time. The surveys add to an existing body of water, soil, and nutrient data already collected for the purpose of better understanding, monitoring, and improving the Smart Wetlands going forward.

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