The Nachusa Grasslands, near Dixon and Franklin Grove, have become the focus of a major soil study for a pair of Northern Illinois University professors.
NIU Biological science professor Wes Swingley explained why soil is so difficult to study, yet so fascinating.
“Looking at what bacteria is doing in the soil is a lot like trying to figure out what animals on earth are doing from space,” he said. “So the methodologies obviously are limited by the technology of how closely you can look at that. In the case of soil, soil is incredibly complex, so it has all the diversity of the animal kingdom in just a gram of soil.”
Restoring Biodiversity
Climate change and biodiversity loss go hand in hand, according to Swingley. He puts biodiversity loss into perspective by using an underwater comparison.
“You have this very small change in climate that affects coral reef populations," he said, "and by affecting that coral reef population they’re affecting fish, insects, everything all around that coral reef and so it’s a cascade.”
His colleague Nick Barber would finish that thought by giving the result of prairie restorations.
“By restoring the biodiversity of these systems, we also can restore the benefits we get from them in terms of creating clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment for us as well,” Barber said.
In their study, published in the journal ofEnvironmental Microbiology, Barber and Swingley found careful restoration efforts for the tall grass also are proving beneficial for the soil.
The NIU professors compared the rate of change in the prairie’s early years to more current years.
“We definitely saw more rapid changes in the first few years after these fields are converted into a prairie restoration and, after one to two to three decades, that rate of change starts to slow down as it approaches what looks like the remnants,” said Barber.
Swingley added, “The difference between a 20-year-old field and a 25-year-old field is not very much, whereas the difference between a one-year-old field and a five- or six-year-old field is pretty drastic.”
Barber explains that it has only been recently that they have been able to study the long-term effects on soil.
“The widespread prairie restoration like we’re seeing in the forest preserves around DeKalb, at the Nachusa Grasslands, at other sites, is a relatively new phenomenon in the last two to three decades,” said Barber. “So we’re just at the point now where we’re able to see over the longer term, over several decades, how did these prairies grow and change over time? So we’re just now at the point where we can ask what does a prairie look like after 30 years, because there simply aren’t many restored prairies that old.”
Bison Behind Future Studies
The Nachusa Grasslands are getting more recognition as of late, and that has a lot to do with the bison that roam the prairie. Swingley says that could lead to a separate study.
“Nick and I have some pilot work, some really early studies, that we’re going to be doing on looking at dung beetles," he said. "That’s an interaction with the bison to see how the dung beetles might be distributing that impact of the bison – if they’re spreading the poop further around the prairie than it might be if it was just left in one place.”
Swingley believes that the Nachusa Grasslands, along with other restoration projects, are vital for the Midwest ecosystem.
“The Midwest has drastically changed from 100 to 200 years ago because of agriculture and I’m really hopeful for the future," he said. "I think people are very interested in making agriculture more sustainable right now.”
They say a big part of what makes their job possible is the Nachusa Grassland staff and their restoration techniques.
“Managing them actively year to year is what makes us able to even measure this kind of change,” said Barber.
“When I said we are able to manipulate plants I certainly was not talking about myself. The Nachusa staff are amazing,” Swingley concluded.
The Nachusa Grassland staff is always encouraging citizens to help with upkeep on the site.
