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An Overview And Management Plan Of Iowa's Non-Native, Invasive, Terrestrial Forbs, Deborah Q. Lewis, Richard O. Pope

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Non-native, invasive forb species have been a problem in Iowa since the earliest decades of Iowa's European settlement. The history of studies of Iowa's invasive plants began with L. H. Pammel, and these studies continue to present. Three tables cite the occurrence of many of these species in the state, with Table 1 listing 93 non-native forbs reported by Pammel, Table 2 citing ten invasive forbs of natural areas, and Table 3 adding 38 observed or potential aggressive species of Iowa's anthropogenic and natural areas.

There has been a divergence of interest and research in the management of invasive species …

More Than A Century Of Change In The Ames, Iowa Flora (1859-2000), William R. Norris, Mark P. Widrlechner, Deborah Q. Lewis, Jimmie D. Thompson, Richard O. Pope

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

We compared two floras compiled in Ames, Iowa: (1) an "historic" flora based on two published floras (1871, 1890) and on 1450 herbarium voucher specimens of plants collected in Ames between 1859 and 1899, and (2) a "current" flora compiled by us during recent fieldwork (1990-2000). Our goals were to determine 1) long-term changes in composition (i.e., the proportion of native species) over time, 2) long-term changes in the abundance of individual plant species over time, and 3) the extent of gains and losses of native and non-native plant species. We found that the proportion of native species declined over …

Lessons From An Inventory Of The Ames, Iowa, Flora (1859-2000), William R. Norris, Deborah Q. Lewis, Mark P. Widrlechner, Jimmie D. Thompson, Richard O. Pope

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

A botanical survey of the vascular flora of the "planning and zoning jurisdiction" of the city of Ames, Iowa (i.e., the area within a boundary 3.2 km beyond the current city limits) was compiled from 1990 to 2000. During this survey, 916 taxa (71 % native) were encountered within chis boundary. Literature reviews and a survey of Iowa State University's Ada Hayden Herbarium for specimens that had been collected in Ames since 1859 add 204 taxa to the flora. This total of 1,120 taxa exceeds the number of taxa known from any comparable area (including counties) in Iowa. We produced …

A Municipal Inventory And Evaluation Of Natural Areas: History And Methodology, William R. Norris, Donald R. Farrar

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

An inventory of natural areas in the vicinity of Ames, Iowa was conducted (1990-1994) in response to conflicts arising when significant natural areas were encountered on lands approved for development by the City of Ames (Iowa) Planning Office. Methods for objective evaluation of woodland and prairie quality were developed for use during the inventory. The woodland method is based on four components: I) Diversity of expected species, H) Structure of canopy and understory layers, III) Fidelity of species to the habitat and IV) absence of Introduced Species. Rules are explicitly stated for the scoring of each component for both the …

Iowa's Declining Flora And Fauna: A Review Of Changes Since 1980 And An Outlook For The Future, Neil P. Bernstein

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The status of Iowa's biodiversity was first summarized at a 1980 Iowa Academy of Science (IAS) symposium that was published in The Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science (Vol. 88, No. 1) in 1981. The 1980 symposium was updated in a recent IAS symposium, and the proceedings from this symposium are published, for the most part, in volume 105 of this journal. Most of the authors noted some positive trends, but, overall, species declines and habitat destruction remained a concern.

Floristic Composition And Conservation Status Of Fens In Iowa, John A. Pearson, Mark J. Leoschke

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Over 200 extant fens of varying condition were documented during an extensive inventory conducted in Iowa between 1986 and 1991. Approximately half of the extant fens support endangered, threatened, special concern, or other rare plant species. Approximately 25 fens are outstanding conservation prospects with intact vegetation, high species richness, and rare species. Nearly 40% of all potential fen sites have been destroyed by cultivation or damage; another 30% remain unknown due to lack of a field visit, but most appear on aerial photographs to be very small, disturbed fragments. In addition to their traditionally recognized range in northwest Iowa, fens …

Ada Hayden: A Tribute, Duane Isely

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Dr. Ada Hayden was a member of the Iowa State College of Botany faculty, 1920-1950. Her floristic studies of the lake region in northern Iowa are possibly the most authoritative for any part of the state. Hayden was curator of the Iowa State herbarium, 1934-1950, and contributed immeasurably to its development. This research facility has recently been named the Ada Hayden Herbarium. In the sense that L. H. Pammel was father of the Iowa State park system, her bequest is the state preserves. After some 25 years as a conservation activist, she published descriptions of 22 prairie areas in ten …