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Phone: 608-221-1206 Ext. 14Address: |
Rhonda Krueger 608-742-7100 ext. 14 608-742-7100 ext. 15 |
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Oak Savanna Restoration Winnebago County Savannas are a habitat type consisting of scattered trees above a ground layer of prairie grasses and forbs (flowers). Trees are spread out enough so that the sun can penetrate the underlying grasses and forbs. In central and southern Wisconsin there are four types of savannas, each differing by the tree composition and the type of ground vegetation. Wisconsin?s savanna types include oak openings, pine barrens, oak barrens and cedar glades. Historically savanna constituted one of the most widespread communities in Wisconsin. The oak opening, covering 5,500,000 acres was the most common. Large, open-grown bur oaks were the main tree species with an under story of prairie grasses and forbs. With the settlement of Wisconsin came the degradation of the oak opening. Excessive grazing, fire suppression and various agricultural practices often destroyed the native under story. The once vast savannas have become over grown or destroyed. Exotic shrubs, shade tolerant trees and non native plants now blanket the under story of these remnant areas. John T. Curtis author of Vegetation of Wisconsin (1959) wrote An oak savanna with an intact ground layer is the rarest plant community in Wisconsin today .? The Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW) program works with private landowners to restore the once common savanna. Currently biologists from the Leopold Wetland Management District PFW office are working with one such landowner in Winnebago County. The owners of a degraded oak opening contacted PFW biologists after noticing a small population of shooting stars blossoming in their small woodlot. They noted that after removing a small portion of unwanted vegetation, the number of shooting stars increased. With this is mind, PFW biologists hired a private company to remove the unwanted tree and shrub species. Within one month of removing the shade tolerant vegetative species, the shooting stars numbers skyrocketed. As summer progressed, other remnant savanna plants came to life, unveiling a bit of Wisconsin?s historic natural beauty. Work on this remnant savanna is far from complete. Savanna restoration is a lifetime commitment. The landowner, with assistance from the PFW program will continue to remove re-sprouting trees, shrubs and plants through chemical and physical means. As ground litter accumulates, the landowner will use prescribed fire to setback non-native plants and enhance the remnant plant community. |
