Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

New publication touts benefits of prairies in Iowa landscape

Back to Leopold Letter Fall 2010

By AMY THOMPSON, Communications intern

Iowa’s landscape has not always been devoted to growing corn and soybeans or raising livestock. Before European settlement, Iowa − like the rest of the United States − was covered with prairies.

Researchers at Iowa State University hope to return prairies to the Iowa countryside.

Meghann Jarchow, a Ph.D. candidate in the ISU Department of Agronomy, and her advisor, Matt Leibman, have prepared the new publication, Incorporating Prairies into Multifunctional Landscapes. The publication covers prairies and their many benefits for all types of Iowans.

“Within the next few decades it is likely that the conditions surrounding agricultural production will have changed. As these changes occur, other types of cropping systems that are less reliant on stable weather, government subsidies, and low fossil fuel costs than corn and soybean are likely to become more desirable cropping system options,” said Jarchow. “Prairies are one of those other types of cropping systems, which is why it is important for farmers and landowners to be familiar with these alternatives.”

Tallgrass prairies developed in Iowa more that 10,000 years ago. Extensive root systems of prairie plants are responsible for the state’s fertile soil that is rich in organic matter. Today nearly all of Iowa’s prairies have disappeared because of the growth of agricultural production, according to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. It is estimated that less than 0.1 percent of Iowa’s native prairies remain.

The publication has seven sections:

  • What Is a Prairie?
  • How Can Prairies Benefit My Farm?
  • How Can Prairies Be Incorporated into Farms?
  • How Are Prairies Established and Managed?
  • How Will the Prairie Affect My Crop?
  • Why Prairies? Why Now?
  • Can Prairies Be Used as Part of Multifunctional Landscapes?

Jarchow’s background is in plant ecology. She also has plenty of experience with prairies, providing many of the full-color photographs in the publication. Currently she works on a Leopold Center-funded research project that compares corn and prairie systems for bioenergy production, and examines relationships between prairie diversity, productivity and nitrogen fertilization.

“I would like people to know that Iowa’s native ecosystem, which is tallgrass prairie, has many beneficial uses for farmers and landowners,” she said.

The publication has information about establishing your own prairie and various uses for grazing and hay production, growing biomass feedstocks, reducing soil erosion and nutrient pollution, sequestering carbon and providing habitat for beneficial insects, wildlife and songbirds. Jarchow and Leibman worked more than a year on the publication project.

The publication can be downloaded at no charge from the ISU University Extension Online Store at: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/store/. Printed copies also are available from the Department of Agronomy or the Leopold Center, which paid for a portion of the printing costs.

Back to Leopold Letter Fall 2010