Wildflowers threatened by "safe" levels of nitrogen pollution Article

By Jaymi Heimbuch
from Treehugger Website

Wildflower season will be here before we know it and with it a new understanding of how we are affecting spring foliage. New science shows that even "safe" levels of nitrogen pollution -- pollution caused by the agricultural industry through nitrogen fertilizers -- have ill effects on wildflowers. While the fertilizer is a boon for farmers looking to boost crop yields, it has incredibly disastrous effects in other ecosystems, most noticeable in the gulf where agricultural run-off has triggered massive marine dead zones. And on land, wildflowers are also suffering a blow.

The Ecologist reports that a new paper written by Dr Richard Payne and Professor Nancy Dise, of Manchester Metropolitan University, and published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences looks at 100 plant species in 153 grassland sites across Europe and examines their reactions to nitrogen deposition.

The scientists found that many species, particularly wildflowers such as creeping buttercup, harebell, yarrow, and autumn hawkbit, were much less abundant in areas with high nitrogen levels, such as central Britain, the Netherlands, northern Germany and Brittany. But particularly surprising was the discovery that many species declined at very low levels of pollution, often below the legally-recognised ‘safe’ level.

The findings show that even relatively "clean sites" far away from the source of pollution are still negatively affected, with a reduced abundance of some plant species. And this is no small issue. According to The Ecologist, "The scale of the problem is huge. It has been estimated nitrogen pollution costs the countries of the European Union alone up to €320 billion a year- but progress in tackling it has been limited... Nitrogen fertilizers are essential to feeding the world’s population but we can try to reduce the amount we use and the amount we lose into the environment."

While more attention is paid to the marine ecosystems impacted by nitrogen pollution, the study shows that an equal amount needs to be paid to the damages caused by the pollution to ecosystems on land -- from tropical rainforests to wildflower fields.

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Wildlife Diversity News A Publication of the Iowa DNR Wildlife Diversity Program Perfect Day in the Field

Edited by Erica Eaves
Wildlife Diversity News

A Publication of the Iowa DNR Wildlife Diversity Program
Perfect Day in the Field

It was a gorgeous day to be outside, especially for August. Yesterday it was 100 degrees in the shade, and the day had been spent near the southern border of Iowa searching for evidence of nesting birds for the Breeding Bird Atlas. Today was being spent in the field, too, only the location had changed to northern Iowa in Floyd County. It rained last night, and the temperature was 30 degrees cooler this morning. It seemed a good day to visit the woods, so the search was on for birds in oak woodlands along a scenic stretch of the Cedar River – at Idlewild Wildlife Area. The birds seemed to be celebrating the rain and coolness. Family groups were busily feeding, and many birds were singing. While walking a trail along the Cedar River, the characteristic tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle song of a Carolina Wren was heard emanating from a nearby shrubby area on the bank of the river. As the singing bird was approached, food–begging calls of a young wren were heard, and a family group of Carolina Wrens was quickly spotted. One adult wren held a squished green caterpillar in its bill, and a persistent youngster badgered the adult until it finally gave in and delivered the food package to the youngster’s gaping mouth.

While enjoying the antics of the wren family, another family group was observed foraging for insects about 25 feet beyond the wrens. A pair of Black-and-white Warblers and their 3 stub-tailed youngsters were busily picking bugs from the stems and leaves of some dogwood shrubs. Above the feeding birds stood a massive White Oak tree with large horizontal branches. The family group of warblers soon were seen gleaning insects on the trunk and lower branches of this wonderful old oak tree. A family of rather loquacious Black-capped Chickadees also inhabited the oak tree, and they made it a point to scold the human intruder who was observing them. Upon closer scrutiny of the contents of the oak tree branches, it was discovered that the tree was alive with bird activity. Families of Downy Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatches and Eastern Wood Pewees were all busily bugging. A ticked-off Red-eyed Vireo, a male Baltimore Oriole and a small gang of Blue Jays joined the chickadees voicing their displeasure with the human’s presence. Other birds in the oak tree voicing irritation included a pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a male Hairy Woodpecker, and a male Northern Cardinal. A male American Redstart also joined the group, but he seemed more intent on capturing a meal than wasting energy scolding.

The early morning light, filtering through the branches of the oak tree, was nearly perfect for observing details of the various bird behaviors. The whole scene seemed a bit surreal, and the glistening leaves, still damp from the earlier rain-shower, formed an interesting back-drop for the flitting birds - with flecks of red, blue, orange and yellow dotting the various shades of green offered by the tree’s canopy. The colorful animated show, along with a cacophony of bird songs and sounds, was rather like attending a bird circus. This was indeed a memorable outing and the kind of day that an admirer of birds lives for.

After five glorious years in the field gathering data for Iowa’s Breeding Bird Atlas, this was the last day spent in the field by this particular observer. Not being one to believe in coincidence, this observer feels very fortunate to be blessed by such an extraordinary and perfect day - spent happily amongst the feathered-beings with whom we share our earth-home.
-Bruce Ehresman
Wildlife Diversity Avian Ecologist
Iowa Department of Natural Resources

UNI student helps return cropland to native prairie Article from The Gazette

Researchers assessing benefits of converting grasses to biofuel

WASHBURN — University of Northern Iowa professor Mark Myers considered it a “theoretical exercise” when he assigned his wildlife ecology and management students to develop a habitat management plan for a local site.

But, said Myers, Jarrett Pfrimmer, 25, of North Liberty, “took the assignment to heart,” and a year later, prairie grass was growing on 20 acres of former cropland along a Cedar River tributary.

“I did not think he could make it happen in that short a time,” said Myers, who is working with Pfrimmer on another major project with the potential to restore natural functions of the Cedar River watershed — research to determine the feasibility of native prairie as a biofuel.

Pfrimmer, who will complete work on his master’s degree next month, said he worked with the Black Hawk County Soil and Water Conservation District to line up cost-share funding for the stream buffer project.

The Boone native said he also took advantage of expertise at UNI’s Tallgrass Prairie Center to plan and execute the 120-foot wide buffer strips on both sides of Dry Run Creek, which flows past the UNI campus en route to the Cedar River.

Seeded a year ago, the native vegetation will become well established next year, greatly reducing erosion from the former farm fields, improving the quality of the water flowing into the Cedar and providing habitat for songbirds, pheasants and other wildlife.

The absorbent grass also will play a small role in reducing the crest of future Cedar River floods.

“Every little bit helps” when it comes to watersheds’ ability to store and slowly release floodwaters, said State Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, a leader in legislative efforts to improve watershed management.

Small-scale improvements like the two Black Hawk County projects can help create a mindset and policies “that will help buy down flood peaks for those of us downstream,” Hogg said.

In addition to the Cedar Falls stream buffer project, Pfrimmer has worked with Myers and others to assess the benefits of converting cropland into a prairie biomass production site at the 593-acre Cedar River Natural Resource Area about 10 miles south of Waterloo.

On flood plain land that had formerly been leased for row crop production, the researchers established 48 test plots, each seeded with one of four types of native vegetation ranging from switch grass alone to a mix of 32 species of grasses, legumes, forbs and sedges.

Those plantings were equally distributed among three distinct soil types, enabling the researchers to control all key factors contributing to the productivity of native grass not only as a source of energy but also as habitat for birds, butterflies and other wildlife.

The research got off to a rocky start with the historic Cedar River flood of 2008 wiping out the initial seeding. The plots were reseeded in 2009, burned in 2011 and finally harvested in April, compressed into 550-pound rectangular bales, with an average yield of 4 tons per acre.

About 150 of those bales were later pelletized for an upcoming test burn by Cedar Falls Utilities. “We’re looking to find out how well it burns for energy generation,” said Daryl Smith of the UNI Tallgrass Prairie Center, a partner in the research.

Researchers have suggested that cultivation of low-input, high-diversity grassland biomass could have significant energy and environmental advantages over corn-based ethanol, according to Myers.

While it remains to be seen whether the energy yield would justify conversion of marginal farmland to production of native vegetation for use as an energy source, biofuel production with diverse mixtures of native prairie vegetation “contributes to the maintenance of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes,” the researchers concluded.

Grassland birds and butterflies quickly found and colonized the test plots, according to Myers.

Pfrimmer, who has led bird data collection efforts, will soon complete his master’s thesis on “Bird Use of Heterogenous Native Prairie Biofuel Production Plots.”

In each of the past two years, he has found at least 100 delicate nests hidden among the grass stems by species such as the sedge wren, dickcissel, grasshopper sparrow and lark sparrow. Pheasants and turkeys also have moved into the grass, he said.

“We are starting to see different bird communities established in the plots in accordance with their preferences for the vegetation mix and even the soil types,” Pfrimmer said.

Article taken From The Gazette Newspaper