Jul 22, 2024

Rare unplowed land near Ames may be how Iowa prairie looked 150 years ago

Posted Jul 22, 2024 8:13 PM

(Radio Iowa) - Researchers have discovered what's known as a "remnant prairie" at the Iowa State University Horticulture Research Station and they're working to restore it.

Remnant prairies have never been plowed or completely converted into non-native species. Only about zero-point-one percent of this original habitat remains in Iowa, though it once covered nearly 80-percent of the state. The one-and-a-half acre area beside a lake north of Ames was totally overgrown, but three years ago, a researcher recognized seeds pods under snow while working on a fish habitat project.

Prairie specialists came out that spring to confirm it was a remnant. Most prairies you visit are reconstructions, seeded prairies on old crop fields, while remnants are rare. Reconstructed prairies are becoming more common, and they account for one-to-two-percent of the state.