Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis (IDH) provides restoration ecology a framework for restoring processes that maintain / renew ecological function, biological diversity, and capacity for ecosystem services. In summary, IDH illuminates natural disturbances, such as herbivory and fire, that occurred in predictable cycles, pulses, and patterns, preventing widespread system decent into late succession, as characterized by declines […] The post Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis (IDH) appeare...| Stephen Thomforde
Grassland – Savanna complex without grazing, millions of acres in the Midwest landscape perpetuated in the catastrophic state: Sick land: These pictures were taken in a regional park within the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Both sites are southwest aspects on well drained Hawick gravel glacial moraine soils, perfect aspect and soils for mesic-dry and dry grassland-savannas. […] The post What happens when grazing animals are removed from grassland savannas? appeared first on Stephen Thomforde.| Stephen Thomforde
Oak Forest Restoration Versus Savanna Restoration: Here’s an example of using an erroneous official vegetation label “Oak Forest” or “Oak Woodland” and even “Floodplain Forest”, instead of the more ecologically accurate concept “Savanna” for restoration target goals. What do we mean by the term forest, or the more nebulous term “woodlands”? These two sites are […] The post Oak Forest Restoration Versus Savanna Resoration appeared first on Stephen Thomforde.| Stephen Thomforde
A Classic Example of Oak Mismanagement. Oaks are GRASSLAND trees / NOT forest trees! This tree, in a Bloomington Park, is 38″ dbh, in Hawick sand-gravel loams. The above ground structure, in these soils, can easily be 300 – 500 years old. Despite the good intentions of the land managers, to not disturb the oak […] The post Oaks are Grassland Trees, Not Forest Trees appeared first on Stephen Thomforde.| Stephen Thomforde
Stephen Thomforde 2017 Introduction: In this document the floodplain is defined as the flat plain between the river and the blufflands that fills with water during flood events. This interpretation is based on elevation without any consideration of vegetation or soil classification. This document further constrains the definition of floodplain by soils which are alluvial […] The post Floodplain Forest as a Novel Vegetation Instead of a Historic Community and Why it Matters appeared first on...| Stephen Thomforde
This is my lawn that was planted using my Resilience Seed Mix, resulting from my research over the past decade. This seed mix is based on the “Grazing Lawn” concept, whereby herds of grazing mammals frequent some areas more than others (e.g. the shade of an oak grove on a hot summer day) and form […] The post My Lawn Planted From Resilience Seed Mix appeared first on Stephen Thomforde.| Stephen Thomforde
This article touches on how we can achieve ecological and agricultural objectives through grazing. As a grassland ecologist, I have by default become a grazing ecologist. My first 15 years in restoration were focused only on the first trophic level; plants. During the past decade, my research and practice has been focused on restoring the […] The post Achieving ecological and agricultural goals through grazing appeared first on Stephen Thomforde.| Stephen Thomforde
This sheep farm is one block from the Mall of America. It is the last working farm in Bloomington, MN. In the background you can see the Minnesota River Valley and 11,000 acres of publicly owned (Federal, State, and City) land that lays lifeless and barren outside a parvenu of rank inedible, non-flammable species. The land […] The post Last Farm in Bloomington: Save the Sheep for Ecological Restoration of the MN River Corridor appeared first on Stephen Thomforde.| Stephen Thomforde
Impacts of haying on soil nitrogen levels, and subsequent feed backs in plant and pollinator communities Null hypothesis: Biomass harvest will have no impact on total soil nitrogen or on floristic and pollinator quality & diversity.” (Of course we hope to reject the null hypothesis) There’s a global phenomenon whereby high quality plant communities are […] The post Haying Prairie to Increase Diversity and Decrease Invisibility appeared first on Stephen Thomforde.| Stephen Thomforde
This photo represents a typical old growth (white tribe) oak tree surrounded by a novel configuration of weedy trees. The open crown of the oak suggests the oak emerged in an open landscape, or Savanna. The savanna was maintained by herbivores grazing and grooming the vegetation (a 20 million year co-evolutionary event), and more recently […]| Stephen Thomforde