Increasing Biodiversity by Restoring Tallgrass Prairies in the Heartland

The natural world never fails to evoke a sense of wonder and awe within me. On a hot summer morning in the heart of the Midwest, I lift my hand to shade my eyes and firmly plant my feet on the ground. Time seems to move languidly as I gaze out across a sea of tall grass beneath a pale blue sky. Wildflowers add splashes of color to the landscape, attracting all kinds of pollinators vital to the area. As the wind caresses my face and long stems brush against my legs, I’m once again in awe of the beautiful, wide-open space before me, and I begin to wonder how my homeland came to be considered a “flyover state.”

Tallgrass prairies like this once sprawled across 95% of Iowa, creating some of the world’s most fertile soil, making it the perfect place for farming. According to the University of Iowa (UI), “less than 0.1% of the original Tallgrass Prairie remains” today.[1]

Iowa is widely known for its vast amount of corn and soybean fields tended by grain farmers; a majority having adopted industrial practices to increase production. This shift from tallgrass prairie to industrial agricultural use of the land has resulted in 1) a monocultural landscape that causes soil erosion and depletion, 2) the use of industrial pesticides and other chemicals that pollute our waterways, and 3) landscapes that are inhabitable to a variety of native plant, wildlife, and insect species. The Natural Resources Defense Council further highlights the impacts of industrial agriculture in its article entitled “Industrial Agriculture 101”.[2]

Before the introduction of industrial agricultural practices, farmers tended to the fields and planted crops much differently than they do today. Corn and soybean fields were rotated with cover crops such as oats and alfalfa, which are native to the area and often found in tallgrass prairie ecosystems. Today, only corn and soybeans are rotated, creating a monoculture landscape that depletes and erodes the soil.

Weeds were mitigated in the fields of small family farms through plowing and cultivation. Today, toxic insecticides and other chemicals are sprayed over fields in late spring and again in mid-summer not only to prevent weeds from growing but to prevent disease and infestation of insects and pests. Anhydrous ammonia is also injected directly into the ground to draw moisture up from the water table in the spring. This has led to an immense amount of groundwater contamination and pollution of local waterways via stormwater and agricultural runoff from treated fields.

Grass waterways once curved through roughly 200+ acres owned by small family farms and were used to irrigate crops. They also fostered thriving, if not small, ecosystems within the fields. As large corporate entities began to buy mass amounts of land (e.g., 5,000+ acres per entity) and demand for grain and soybeans increased, the grass waterways were converted to grass areas and fields were “tiled”. Tiling is now a standard irrigation practice due to its efficiency and low maintenance. Although the utilization of grass waterways for irrigation was more time consuming, they supported many forms of life, and their depletion led to a sharp decrease in biodiversity. Strips of woodland (that bordered tallgrass prairies before they were converted to fields) were also torn down, rendering the landscape inhabitable to many native species.

To address these environmental issues, local and state restoration efforts, including UI’s Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory (APLL) educational and research facility, are re-introducing tallgrass prairies to try and undo the damage that’s been done to disturbed parcels of land once teeming with life.

The 4^th Annual Bioblitz was held at the APLL located on the UI Ashton Cross-Country Course. As part of an ongoing ten-year study, one acre of land historically zoned for agricultural use has been restored to tallgrass prairie. The goal of the study is to track how biodiversity changes within the prairie over time and to further define how this native ecosystem benefits the area.

This year, a total of 1,300 observations were recorded during the Bioblitz event, including more than 300 species of plants and insects. Similar totals were collected during the 2022 and 2023 events. My personal contribution was 32 observations, mainly consisting of tallgrass and wildflower species.

However, I can’t forget the little red ladybug. I haven’t seen one in years thanks to the pesky Japanese beetle, which I also observed (and sadly recorded) nearby. To date, over 500 species have been recorded during the annual Bioblitz events.[4] The event and study have been so successful that eight more acres of disturbed agricultural land are being restored to tallgrass prairie.

Volunteering for this study not only increased my knowledge of the plants that makeup Iowa’s tallgrass prairie ecosystem (that I thoroughly enjoy studying in my spare time, might I add) but it also solidified my reciprocal relationship with and responsibility to the land and what I can do to help it flourish and thrive. Stopping to gently hold and photograph a purplish-brown strand of grass, I realized that there is an abundance of beauty to be found in places others may deem “bland” or “boring”, unattractive to the human eye.

Little do some know, the tallgrass prairie ecosystem replenishes and stabilizes the soils of Mother Earth herself, the very ground from which staple ingredients are sourced and ultimately added to the food we eat. Prairies also increase biodiversity in areas disturbed by agricultural practices, such as the APLL once was.

It is our responsibility as citizens to protect and preserve our local ecosystems and all forms of life that exist within them. This is one of the foundational beliefs that drives everything we do here at EHS Support. From restoration and remediation projects to environmental and risk assessments, we are passionate about what we do. Most importantly, we enjoy the opportunities we are given both inside and outside of work to create a more sustainable, environmentally conscious world for future generations to come.

---

[1] About | Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory - The University of Iowa (uiowa.edu)
[2] Natural Resources Defense Council. 2020. “Industrial Agriculture 101”. January 31. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/industrial-agriculture-101#:~:text=There%20is%20soil%20depletion%20and%20soil%20infertility%20related,leading%20to%20potential%20pesticide%20toxicity%20%28especially%20in%20farmworkers%29
[3] More information regarding the 4th Annual Bioblitz and species observed is available on the iNaturalist project page for the event. 4th Annual BioBlitz at the Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory (2024)· iNaturalist
[4] A current list of species present within the APLL is available on the Plants in the Prairie website. Plants in the Prairie | Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory - The University of Iowa (uiowa.edu)