Saturday, October 05, 2002

Burning the Phrag

Lakeplain prairies are an extremely rare ecosystem, found only on the shores of the Great Lakes. According to this article in Michigan's Times Herald, several areas of lakeplain prairie have been invaded by the reed Phragmites australis, and now the communities are fighting back. Their solution is a three step program: application of herbicide, cutting back of the sprayed plants, and the burning of the prairie to destroy remaining phrag and encourage native prairie plants to reestablish.

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