The goal of this project was to develop practical methods of revegetating wellsite disturbances on native prairie that will eventually return the site to sound ecological structure and function similar to that of the surrounding undisturbed prairie within an acceptable period of time. This five-year field study takes a revised look at what constitutes successful reclamation on abandoned wellsites.
Species composition on natural recovery areas were far less consistent and succession far less directed than for the seeded treatments. In this study, the natural recovery treatment was more variable within and especially among sites than the seeded treatments. In addition, weeds were more prevalent on natural recovery areas and few of the dominant grass species had established within three years.
Cross-seeding can be an effective method for reducing the effect of inter-specific competition on the species emergence. In this study, dominance based on importance values of the indicator species (rough fescue for the mesic sites and sand grass for the sandy sites) were similar across all seeded treatments. However, changes in dominance over time may occur in relation to other competitive species included in the seed mix.
Results to date indicate that native seed mixes have the potential for both effective site stabilization and establishing a more “ecologically compatible” plant community on wellsite disturbances. However, many important species of Fescue Grasslands were not available to include in this study. Limited availability and range of native species poses a continuing problem for native prairie revegetation.