Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Potential Understory Flora For Oak Savanna In Iowa, Karl T. Delong, Craig Hooper

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Oak savanna occurred in Iowa until the time of settlement and then was degraded rapidly. There were no scientific studies of savanna prior to, or after, settlement, and now no high-quality examples exist within the state. To identify those vascular plants adapted to live in the understory of savanna we examined regional and local flora for species that occurred in both prairie and broken woodland, and for species that occurred m both openings and forest. We then compiled a detailed description of the ecological range of habitats for each of these species. We identified 252 species (39 graminoids, 183 forbs, …