C. Theo Witsell
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - 2:30-3:00
The Grand Prairie Region of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain in east-central Arkansas covers approximately 900,000 acres, of which approximately 400,000 were open grassland at the time of Euro-American settlement. This stands in stark contrast to the surrounding Mississippi Alluvial Plain, which was covered by bottomland hardwood forests. The region is now largely converted to agricultural production and ecological processes that occurred historically (e.g. fire) are impaired. Approximately 450 acres of unplowed prairie remain in widely scattered remnants, a loss of nearly 99.9%, making this one of the most highly degraded ecosystems in North America. Despite knowledge of the area by botanists for nearly two centuries, no intensive floristic inventory of prairie remnants in the Grand Prairie has ever been undertaken. The current work was conducted from 2000-2008 and relied on extensive field work as well as inventory of state and regional herbaria. The authors’ collections focused on protected prairie remnants in the area but also covered roadsides, ditches, and other areas where prairie flora may have persisted. More than 600 taxa of vascular plants were documented from remnant prairies in the region including 75 non-native taxa. A total of 28 taxa documented are tracked as elements of conservation concern, several of which are known only historically from the region. These data provide the best available baseline for ecological restoration work in the region, which is gaining interest and support with several projects ongoing.
Keywords: GRAND PRAIRIE, FLORISTIC INVENTORY, NATIVE PRAIRIES, PRAIRIE RESTORATION, RARE PLANTS