Signs of Success

I use several indicators to assess my progress in enhancing conditions for the survival of rare and unusual plant or animal species found at Blue Jay Barrens.  One that is easy to see at this time of year is the presence of uncommon plant species growing in locations from which they had previously been absent.  Getting a plant species to increase its numbers in an established population is easy compared to the task of having a species successfully compete for space in a new location.  Bluehearts, Buchnera americana, a species listed as Threatened in Ohio, has managed to establish growing colonies in a couple of new places.

This is the site of about 20 Bluehearts plants growing in the center of what I call the Far Field.  This site differs from the other Bluehearts sites by being low pH soil formed over shale, rather than high pH soil formed over limestone.

The other incursion of Bluehearts has occurred in the largest of the old cropland fields.  This population is currently contained within an area of about ¼ acre, but it is on the move and has the potential to eventually cover most of the field.

I am particularly impressed by the plant density in this area.  It is normally difficult to see individual plants in broad field shots like this.  In this case, there are so many plants crowded together that they are easily seen.

Closer shots bring a veritable bouquet into frame.

Pollinators, like this Hummingbird Clearwing moth, that are typically attracted to large concentrations of flowering plants, have even found the patch worth their attention.

Scaly Blazing Star, Liatris squarrosa, listed as Potentially Threatened in Ohio, has also managed to expand its range. 

Scaly Blazing Star was originally confined to a small collection of plants within about 25 feet of the cedar stump.  During the past 30 years, additional plants have about doubled the size of the patch.

Now there are new plants occurring out in the open field.  These are about 150 feet from the original site.  This increase in plant populations is not the result of seedling transplants or distribution of collected seed.  The plants have expanded their range because nearby sites have been made suitable for the growth of these species.  I take that as an indication that some of my management techniques are providing positive results.

Small Nook by the Road

Ice and snow storms have made it difficult to work on any large projects this winter, so I’ve been using the intermittent periods of decent weather to finish some small jobs that have been cluttering up my to do list.  This is one of those odd areas that I’ve been meaning to get to for the past couple of years.  Bluehearts, Buchnera americana, one of the rarer plants in this area, have developed an expanding population in the shallow soil that formed over shale bedrock at this site.  This is the only Blue Jay Barrens population of Bluehearts growing on low pH soil.

The work area was a tenth of an acre in size and required about an hour and a half to clear out the young Eastern Red Cedars and Virginia Pines that were invading.  I keep records of my management activities by identifying the work areas on an aerial photo and noting date, type of work, time spent and interesting observations.  This particular site sits between the township road on the right and a four acre field that I mowed back in November.  The green spot in the center of the work boundary is a mature Virginia Pine, the seed source for the little guys I cleared out.

While cedar seeds are typically spread by birds, pine seeds are more likely to be moved by wind.  Prevailing wind direction is predominately from the south-west.  Few pines are found on the south-west side of the tree.

On the other side of the tree, the down-wind side, pines far outnumber the cedars.

Virginia Pines are fast growing and can easily outperform the cedars.  They are also highly attractive to deer and suffer a lot of damage from the actions of territorial bucks.

The surrounding area is composed primarily of mixed oaks.  When I originally cleared the large cedars from this area 15 years ago, I thought of letting it all grow up in oaks.  The appearance of the Bluehearts a few years later caused me to change my mind in favor of the rarer plant.

This piece of ground was historically plowed and cropped.  The ground inclines steeply to the right at a point that marks an earlier field edge.  At some point, probably when the plow began bringing up the underlying shale, the farmer moved the field edge farther down the hill.  The mowed area seen in the left middle of the photo indicates the field as last cropped.

Weather conditions have been rough on the cedars.  Most of the small individuals have lost their green coloration and are brown enough to effectively hide in the long grass.

The completed job.

After the sun tracks farther north, these openings between the trees will be fully illuminated for most of the day.  The Bluehearts have been slowly making their way downhill and are just beginning to show up in the most recently cropped areas.

The township road can just be seen crossing the center of the photo.  An unexpected hazard for these plants is a vehicle failing to negotiate the 90 degree turn in the road and tearing down through the field.  Fortunately, the most likely place for someone to lose control runs them right into a large tree.  The tree bears many scars, old and new, and has a collection of headlight glass at its base.  So far, the only person to miss the tree failed to break through my fence.  The fence was a mess, but the field suffered no damage.  The mishaps have yet to inflict any damage to the vehicle passengers.

The most labor intensive part of the job was carrying all of the cut material 250 feet across the adjoining field to the brush pile.  With each trip to the brush pile, I thought about how nice the weather was and how relaxing it was to be out working.  With each trip back, I thought about the winter storm predicted for Sunday and Monday and the arctic air moving in for the rest of the week.  I wonder how long it’ll be before I have another day like this.

The old brush pile had almost rotted down to nothing.  An infusion of new cuttings is evidence that I’m still around and working.

Blooms on the Dry Prairie

Growth on the prairies is mimicking that of the Prairie Garden.  That’s encouraging, since that’s how I had hoped my artificial creation would act.  However, the actual growth is less than encouraging.  This area of short grass is typically dotted with bright color at this time in the season.  The color this year is almost entirely pale green.

Some plants are actually doing well despite the odd weather.  Little Ladies’ Tresses, Spiranthes tuberosa, is looking very well.  Its full height of about six inches is just not enough to make it very noticeable.

Petals of the Spiranthes flower never look quite real.  I always imagine them as being made of ice crystals or clear plastic.

Whorled Rosinweed blooms are a bright yellow that should be visible from a considerable distance.

Unfortunately, instead of their normal five foot height, the plants are averaging closer to 18 inches.  The plants are also producing just a single bloom instead of the usual half dozen.  The flowers are well hidden by the grass.

Flowering Spurge is similarly diminished this year.  The plants normally top out around three feet tall.  These are lucky to reach a foot.

Bluehearts have remained relatively unaffected.  Height is slightly reduced, but the flower spike is just as full as ever.  Their blooms are too small to be easily seen at a distance, so they don’t do much to brighten the landscape.

As with those in the Prairie Garden, the Round-podded St. Johnswort is producing a new set of blooms.  The recent rains must have really invigorated this species.

Rose Pink continues to bloom.  This species has been blooming for the last couple of months and shows no signs of slowing.  Some of the early bloomers are already drying down and releasing seed.

Partridge Pea is blooming at a normal rate.  This species has the potential to form tall plants with many flowers, but Blue Jay Barrens specimens are always small and only produce one or two flowers.  I may collect a few seeds from this annual plant and see how large the plants get when given good soil and plenty of water.

Hairy Small-leaved Tick Trefoil always does well and this year is no exception.  The flowers are not large enough to make a showy display, but there will be enough sticky seed pods this fall to cover a person’s pants legs as they walk through the field.

Another specimen of the same Trefoil species appears to have grown with its flower stalks fused.  There are always oddities of some sort showing up in the fields.  I would prefer to find oddities that turned out to be species I have not yet encountered.  It’s getting to be too late in the season for the prairies to suddenly burst with color.  Next year has got to bring a better display.

Saddle Prairie

I’m still visiting areas of Blue Jay Barrens in an attempt to assess current conditions and identify future management needs. At this time of year I really enjoy visiting the areas of shallow soil that restrict the growth of tall, thick stands of prairie grasses. There has been plenty of moisture this year, so the Indiangrass has done well. Even when we have good growing conditions, this species remains short and scattered throughout the site.

This particular ridgetop prairie lies in a depressed saddle between two knobs. Rain water flows off the knobs and into the depression before draining away, giving the saddle a moisture boost not enjoyed by the rest of the ridge. Tall wildflowers don’t grow here, but conditions are perfect for the short statured Gray Goldenrod.

Some bare areas support very little vegetation. These make ideal sites for some of the rare winter annuals such as Leavenworthia and the Drabas. Western Sunflower maintains a strong population here, but the plants are dwarfs compared to others of their species growing in good soil.

The area is filled with tiny specimens of Wild Rose, Rosa carolina. Most are much less than a foot tall and are hardly noticeable when not in bloom.

The bright orange fruits make it a bit easier to find the rose plants. The Wild Rose is a plant of the dry prairie and seems well suited to life among the short plants. I’ve never found it in shaded areas or in stands of tall vegetation. I hope the creature that eats that fruit deposits the seed in a suitable growing site.

Spiranthes orchids are still abundant. Slender Ladies’ Tresses, Spiranthes lacera, is recognizable by the green patch in the throat of the flower.

Bluehearts are still blooming. Late bloomers are not uncommon, but they have been especially abundant this year.

Early blooming Bluehearts have already produced mature seed and are scattering it about the hillside. For an area that was once thick with small cedars, this site has produced an amazing diversity of plant and animal life. I don’t see any need for hands-on management activities here for at least two or three more years. By that time, there will be a new crop of small cedars needing removed. Until then, this will be a place to observe and enjoy.

Far East Field Annex

There’s a small triangular shaped area located between the Far East Field and the property corner. In the 1930’s this was farmed along with the larger field. Because of its steeper slope, this area developed severe erosion gullies and was eventually left unfarmed. I estimate that it was allowed to revert to grass around 1960, so it has had about 20 more years than the Far East Field to revert to native vegetation. This makes it the oldest shale based soil area at Blue Jay Barrens and I use it as an indicator of what I can expect in the rest of the open shale areas.

There are about three separate openings separated by clumps of trees. The openings were pretty much full of medium sized cedars before I cleared it out 20 years ago. Fortunately, there were enough healthy prairie components that the voids left by the cedars were quickly filled.

I’ll definitely have to get in here this winter and remove small cedars and Virginia Pines. It’s been five years since I last cut out the small evergreens. When the cedars become tall enough that they’re obviously noticeable above the late summer grass, it’s time to cut them. A delay of a few years will allow them to grow to the point where they are serious competitors for the neighboring vegetation. A few more years of growth also makes it’s a major job to cut and drag the larger trees out of the field.

This area is the only shale based opening that supports a population of Bluehearts. I’ve never seen more than a dozen plants blooming at this spot, but their presence allows me to compare growth patterns between populations growing in very different soil conditions.

I planted these Austrian Pines as seedlings in 1986. I wasn’t sure where I wanted pines growing, so I planted them everywhere I thought they might fit. I figured I could always cut them down later if I changed my mind. This was all done before I knew anything about managing native ecosystems. I ended up removing a lot of the pines I had originally planted, but I left a few here.

This was a site of very active erosion. The Austrian Pines were doing a wonderful job of stabilizing the soil, so they were left to grow. They may be removed at some time in the future, but Blue Jay Barrens has more urgent management needs than removal of inoffensive plants just because they’re non-native.

There are still several places of almost bare ground, but there’s no longer any active erosion. The bare spots now serve as a habitat for specialized plants that don’t compete well against aggressive neighbors.

One of those bare soil loving plants is the tiny Orange Grass, Hypericum gentianoides. Also know as Pineweed, this plant grows in the bare soil beneath the pine trees. It’s a plant of acid soils and this is the only place I’ve seen it at Blue Jay Barrens.

Orange Grass grows as a stem with no obvious leaves. Its common name comes from the fact that the plant turns a bright reddish-orange color in the fall. Maintaining some bare ground in which this plant can grow is just one item on my list of management objectives.