Grantee Research Project Results
2004 Progress Report: Use of The Prairie Garden and Plant Material Center To Collect, Propagate, and Maintain Breeder Blocks and Garden Specimens of Louisiana Prairie And Wetland Ecotypes
EPA Grant Number: R829584C006Subproject: this is subproject number 006 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R829584
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Louisiana Environmental Research Center (McNeese State)
Center Director: Ford, Mark A.
Title: Use of The Prairie Garden and Plant Material Center To Collect, Propagate, and Maintain Breeder Blocks and Garden Specimens of Louisiana Prairie And Wetland Ecotypes
Investigators: Ford, Mark A. , Stacy, Gus
Institution: McNeese State University
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: February 1, 2002 through January 31, 2007
Project Period Covered by this Report: February 1, 2003 through January 31, 2004
RFA: Targeted Research Center (2004) Recipients Lists
Research Category: Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Targeted Research
Objective:
This is one of seven subprojects of the Louisiana Environmental Research Center (LERC). For information on the other subprojects conducted by LERC, see the individual reports for R829548C001 through R829548C007.
Existing breeder blocks of black wand root, cluster bushmint, rattlesnake master, hoary pea, marsh mallow, and little blue stem were maintained and seed was collected and forwarded to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Plant Material Center in Golden Meadow, Louisiana.
The objectives of the conservatory are to: (1) collect, propagate, and maintain breeder blocks of Louisiana ecotypes for outreach education; (2) collect, propagate, and maintain breeder blocks of Louisiana ecotypes for prairie re-establishment; (3) develop foundational knowledge for future research concerning prairie conservation; and (4) enhance the ongoing, collaborative efforts of academia, government, and private agencies to reestablish the prairie.
The objectives of the conservatory have been met for the first year. Breeder blocks were maintained for outreach education and plant material conservation. Records are being kept on species maintained in the breeder blocks and garden area as recommended by the NRCS and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Progress Summary:
This is one of seven subprojects of the Louisiana Environmental Research Center (LERC). For information on the other subprojects conducted by LERC, see the individual reports for R829548C001 through R829548C005, and R829548C007.
In conjunction with the NRCS Plant Materials Center and USGS Wetland Research Center, the Coastal Prairie Conservatory is collecting, propagating, and maintaining selected Louisiana coastal wetland and prairie plant ecotypes (Louisiana ecotypes). During 2004, conservatory personnel collected and maintained the breeder blocks and constructed the prairie garden area, which is located at LERC. In addition, the conservatory provided outreach education for local schools by giving presentations to local schools and holding environmental education events.
The prairie garden was completed on June 18, 2004. The garden was designed to facilitate plant water needs that were based on the wetland indicator status (e.g., upland, facultative upland, facultative, facultative wet, and obligate wetland species), which indicates species-specific hydrologic need. Therefore, each Louisiana ecotype was maintained in conditions that mimic natural hydrologic conditions. Currently, 55 species have been transplanted to the garden area.
Fourteen species have been established as partial and whole foundation blocks at the off-station plant materials site known as the Kyouche Tract. This initiative was a result of the collaborative efforts of the Coastal Plains Conservatory, NRCS, USGS, McNeese Agriculture Department, and LERC. Overall, approximately 800 primary, secondary, and university students and teachers participated in the outreach education opportunities presented by LERC personnel.
Eight McNeese State University environmental science students participated in a seminar that focused on wetland delineations and permits in the Louisiana coastal plain. Focus was placed on the coastal prairie and marsh habitats of Southwest Louisiana. Four-hundred primary and secondary students and teachers from Southwest Louisiana participated in the Wetland Awareness Campaign. LERC researchers participated in the collaborative effort with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. Some of the agencies that participated were LERC, NRCS, USGS, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, and the McNeese Wildlife Club. LERC maintained an outreach booth and participated in the Conservation Education Maze in the Civic Center Arena. Twenty McNeese wildlife management students participated in a hands-on workshop to collect cluster bushmint, black wandroot, and marsh mallow seeds. They collected seeds just prior to a pending tropical storm and learned the importance of the prairie to wildlife and the current prairie conservation initiative. Fifty students at College Oaks Elementary School participated in a presentation and discussion on the research efforts concerning coastal prairie and marsh conservation. LERC personnel presented the Prairie Garden Outreach Program to the Calcasieu Parish School Board and the Science Incentive Program Science Teacher Program. The purpose of the program was to develop the initial network between the school board and the Coastal Prairie Outreach Program. Six board members attended the presentation. As a result, teacher contacts were provided by the school board for future presentations. The 20 McNeese wildlife management students participated in a hands-on workshop to collect little bluestem seeds and assist with maintenance work on the breeder blocks. The workshop served as the final seed collection for 2004 and provided a discussion on the importance of the prairie plant community diversity and wildlife species richness. LERC personnel participated in a television interview with KPLC and Sabine National Wildlife Refugee. The subject of discussion was the importance of the coastal ecosystem and conservation of those resources, which included the importance of the coastal prairie in the headwaters of the Southwest Louisiana riverine system. One-hundred students from College Oaks participated in a field trip to Sabine National Wildlife Refuge. LERC representatives provided assistance and presented the ongoing marsh and prairie efforts at LERC. Ninety students at Dolby Elementary School participated in a presentation and discussion on the research efforts concerning coastal prairie and marsh conservation. One-hundred students at College Elementary School participated in Wetland Play, which was a hands-on learning exercise in the coastal prairie and marshes.
Future Activities:
No future activities were reported by the investigators.
Supplemental Keywords:
wetlands, wetland restoration, wetland remediation, marsh, Louisiana, restored marshes, sedimentation rate, vertical soil accretion, root zone influences,, Scientific Discipline, Water, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Restoration, Environmental Monitoring, Ecology and Ecosystems, Ecological Risk Assessment, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, prairie garden, coastal environments, restoration strategies, ecological recovery, remediation, wetland restoration, environmental rehabilitation, water quality, wetland plant restorationRelevant Websites:
http://www.mcneese.edu/lerc Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractMain Center Abstract and Reports:
R829584 Louisiana Environmental Research Center (McNeese State) Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R829584C001 Wetland Restoration and Remediation in Southwest Louisiana Marshes: A Study of Soil Elevation, Vertical Accretion, Shallow Subsidence and Root Zone Influences in Marshes Restored Using a Variety of Techniques
R829584C002 Developing Methods for Identifying Suitable Donors for Wetland Plant Restoration Through Transplantation
R829584C003 Effects of Salinity and Bottom Substrate Composition on the Growth and Proliferation of Widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima)
R829584C004 A Comparison of Health Parameters and Parasites in the Marsh Rice Rat Oryzomys palustris From Natural Freshwater, Saltwater, and Restored Marshes in the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge
R829584C005 Comparison of Metal Concentrations in Soils, Sediments, and Selected
Species From the Area Around Chevron Texaco No. 2 Bayou Tank Battery in
the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge in Southwest Louisiana and
Preliminary Determination of Oxidation State
R829584C006 Use of The Prairie Garden and Plant Material Center To Collect, Propagate, and Maintain Breeder Blocks and Garden Specimens of Louisiana Prairie And Wetland Ecotypes
R829584C007 Density of Marsh Periwinkles and Fire Ant Mounds in Natural and Restored Marshes in the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.