##  [Rethinking Restoration Ecology of Tallgrass Prairie: Considering Belowground Components of Tallgrass Restoration in Southern Ontario](/resource/rethinking-restoration-ecology-tallgrass-prairie-considering-belowground-components) 

Organization

[University of Waterloo](/organization/university-waterloo)

 

 

Project

[Theses - University of Waterloo](/project/theses-university-waterloo)

 

Resource Type

[Thesis](/taxonomy/term/1407)

 

 

Author(s)

Heather Cray

 

 

Original Authors

Heather Cray

 

 

Resource Date:

2019

 

Page Length

184

 

 

Agriculture, urban development, and woody encroachment have reduced the North American  
tallgrass prairie ecosystem to less than 1% of its historical extent. The remnants of this now rare  
habitat are currently challenged not only by ongoing human disturbance but by the anticipated  
ecological regime shifts from anthropogenic climate change. In response, active restoration of  
tallgrass prairie is ongoing, aiming to re-establish native vegetation communities, often on former  
croplands. The success of tallgrass prairie restoration has been mixed and many knowledge gaps  
exist, especially pertaining to soil biota. With the goal of addressing key knowledge gaps identified  
by restoration practitioners, this thesis investigates the invasive earthworm populations of restored  
and remnant tallgrass prairie sites across southern Ontario, establishes the dietary preferences of the  
largest and most widespread invasive earthworm *Lumbricus terrestris* with respect to seeds  
commonly used in tallgrass prairie restoration, and examines below-ground (soil bacterial  
community) as well as traditional above-ground (vegetation community) measures of restoration  
success for different methods of tallgrass prairie restoration. The core significant original  
contributions of this dissertation are 1) invasive earthworms are present and abundant in all remnant  
and restored tallgrass prairies in southern Ontario; 2) the largest and most widespread invasive  
earthworm, *Lumbricus terrestris*, can play an important role in seed granivory in tallgrass prairie  
habitats, and these effects are uneven across the target and weed species investigated; and 3) above and below-ground measures of restoration success can tell different stories, and conventional  
restoration methods do not maintain microbial communities similar to high quality remnant prairie in  
the short term, whereas sod mat transplants do. Recommendations for practice include considering  
interactions with invasive earthworms in restoration and ecosystem management plans, considering  
alternative measures and methods of tallgrass prairie restoration, and broadening the definition of  
restoration success to encompass the retention and restoration of below-ground ecosystem  
components. By deliberately engaging the end-users of this research in question development and  
producing and communicating context-specific results and recommendations that can guide future  
management decisions, this dissertation is in line with the core tenants of translational ecology, which  
is suggested as a way forward for the discipline of restoration ecology.