May 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 41

were on marginal or hard-to-reach land. Building a restoration by looking at a remnant is like trying to recreate
a dish without the recipe and in a fraction of the time; it
is a big challenge. Land managers have been working on
the recipe for prairie restoration for more than 80 years,
starting with the first restored prairie at the University of
Wisconsin, Madison, but there is still much more to learn.
Studying the plant species found at a remnant is perhaps
the most obvious first step to writing the recipe. If they can
find seeds of these species, managers can add them to seed
mixes used for restoration. But remnant prairies provide
more than just inspiration, they also give managers access
to the raw materials needed to build a prairie. The seeds
that built the earliest restored prairies were hand-gathered
from remnants. Today, restoration managers supplement
wild-collected seed with those purchased from commercial prairie growers, especially for large-scale processes
like Burnham. Some planted species will grow roots and
produce seeds, developing ecological memory even in a
restored site.
If species and seeds are ingredients for the prairie recipe,
management is the cooking technique, and like much of
cooking, fire is key. Burning a natural area might feel counterintuitive, but for thousands of years, fires have helped
prairies rejuvenate. Fossilized pollen and charcoal remains
from ancient sediments show that fire, started by lightning
and/or people, has maintained the prairies of Illinois for
at least 10,000 years. Fire promotes germination of some
tough-seeded species, and keeps weeds at bay by giving all
plants a fresh start. Given its location just south of McCormick place, between Lake Shore Drive and Lake Michigan,
Burnham has very little chance of a natural grassland fire
rolling though. So fire crews, with backup from the fire department, perform controlled burns every year or two.
Biodiversity in the City
Despite all the hard work that goes into restoration, restored prairies never become remnants. Restored prairies
are usually less diverse; they have fewer species living together. This is because restored prairies are established
all at once from any available seed, on disturbed land (or
dredged sediment), while remnants have been prairies for
thousands of years.
Biodiversity is a big deal because it is linked to the overall functioning of ecosystems. Diverse plant assemblages
support a greater diversity of species higher up on the food
chain, like insects and birds, are better at keeping out invasive weeds that can destroy native habitats, and store

more carbon to help mitigate climate change. Through my
research, I try to figure out how to increase the diversity of
restored prairies and help managers design effective seed
mixes for restoration.
Even if they can't turn into remnants, restorations are
high-quality habitat compared to the weed fields, abandoned parking lots and drainage ditches that are potential
prairies. Restored prairies provide habitat and breeding
grounds for migrating species like the beloved (and declining) monarch butterflies. The deep roots of prairie plants
retain stormwater and reduce runoff in urban and suburban
settings. Most importantly, restored prairies are an unparalleled educational resource for big and small naturalists.
Restorations show Midwesterners that biodiversity isn't just
in the rainforest and tie us back to our natural history before
farming and suburban sprawl. In a restored prairie, if you
squint just right, you don't even notice the highway.
Becky Barak is a Ph.D. candidate, Plant Biology and Conservation, at
Northwestern University/Chicago Botanic Garden (beckybarak@u.
northwestern.edu).

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