Paths of the Tallgrass Prairie Center

Iowa Roadside Management Program

The prairie in front of the TPC is representative of work accomplished by the Iowa Roadside Management program. The program supports county roadside programs with the long-term goal of establishing diverse stands of plants in the right-of-way. For more information visit the  Iowa Roadside Management  page.

Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management (IRVM)

The Iowa Roadside Management Program utilizes IRVM, which is an approach to right-of-way maintenance that combines a variety of management techniques with sound ecological principles. Principles of IRVM include the planting of native vegetation, strategic sprays, prescribed burns and mowing to manage weeds (as opposed to blanket spraying and mowing), and employing erosion prevention and control measures.

Greenhouse

The TPC greenhouse plays a vital role for the Plant Materials Program. From February through May, this is where we propagate seedlings before transplanting them into the seed production plots. The seed they produce will be harvested, cleaned, and made available to native seed producers for starting commercial seed production fields.

Greenhouse

This process helps ensure that Iowa-adapted seeds for roadsides and other restorations are available on the native seed market. At all production steps, we work to retain the original genetic diversity of the source plant populations. In the greenhouse, this means controlling temperature, water, light, and ventilation to help all seedlings survive and make it into production.

Equipment

The TPC maintains a variety of equipment designed to sow, harvest, and clean seed from native prairie plants. The Zurn 150 research plot combine (top left) is highly adjustable for harvesting and threshing a wide variety of seed types. Despite the sophisticated technology, some harvesting still needs to be done by hand in order to retain genes that confer diversity in seed ripening times.

The Truax native seed drill (top right) has a separate box for small-seeded species, allowing more precise distribution of seed in plantings for the TPC Research and Restoration Program.

The TPC Seed Lab (bottom) is equipped to condition seed post-harvest with a brush machine (shown), air-screen cleaners, indent cylinder, belt sorter, and spiral separator.

West Production Plots Entrance

Walking south from the TPC offices you will find yourself in West Plots. This area contains production, retired, research, and education plots.

West Production Plots

The TPC's Plant Materials Program supports a native seed supply for roadsides and other restorations that is diverse, regionally appropriate, source-identified, and affordable. In this production area (and to the east across Greenhill Road), you will see production rows of wildflowers, grasses, sedges, and larger half-acre grass fields. All of these plantings carry the genetics of Iowa remnant prairie populations, and we work to conserve their diversity. The seed we produce is available to native seed growers who use it to start source-identified production fields. If you need seed for a prairie planting, consider sourcing your seed from a producer who grows Iowa-sourced seed.

To date, 80 species, of 145 ecotypes, have been released to native seed growers for use in establishing commercial production. For more information visit the  Plant Materials  page.

Walking Through Grass

The Ioway language has a word,  wahánré , to describe how one walks through tallgrass while pushing it aside. Another common name for big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi) is turkeyfoot due to its often three-pronged inflorescence (flower cluster).

Legacy Plots

Not all of the prairie species here are in current production. Some are older plots that are now "legacy plots" that have a diverse mixture of organisms rather than single species plantings. Although dominated by the iconic tallgrass prairie grasses, flowers of various shapes and colors bloom from spring to fall.

A Labor of Love

Pictures of and strolls through the grounds don't necessarily point to the hard work TPC employees, partners, and volunteers put into management and restoration practices. All of the wildflower plots start with seedlings from the TPC greenhouse. Transplanting hundred of seedlings in May and early June requires many hands, often provided by UNI students and AmeriCorps members.

A Working Landscape

We plant most seedlings into beds lined with black plastic to prevent competition from weeds, avoid herbicide use, regulate moisture levels, and reduce labor. Mowing helps to maintain the plot edges, provides access for equipment such as the plot combine, and makes paths available for visitors. Burning and haying are management tools we use periodically to promote native prairie plants and reduce encroachment by trees and shrubs.

As compared to protected landscapes that limit access and use, such as National Parks, working landscapes seek to balance resource extraction with ecological sustainable practices.

Production Plots

If you look to the east from this point, you will see irrigated rows that grow wetland or wet prairie species, like swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) and white meadowsweet (Spiraea alba). The larger, half-acre swaths you see to the west are tallgrasses, such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi) and indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) that don't require irrigation.

Swamp Milkweed

Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) growing in one of the center’s wetland plots. Swamp milkweed is found on roadsides and riverbanks throughout Iowa; it serves as a vital food source for monarch caterpillars.

Southern Border

Rows of big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi), prairie rose (Rosa arkansana), and false indigo bush (Amorpha fruticosa) flank the center's southern edge. The prairie plantings, hedgerow, neighboring crop fields, and nearby creek make this a good area to watch for birds who call grasslands, woods, and wetlands home. Look to the south and you may spot an avian species such as a blue heron swooping gently into the creek.

Research and Restoration Program

The westernmost portion of the production plots are used for researching seed mix designs for prairie plantings. The program's approach is to use a combination of formal experimentation and demonstration teaching sites to answer the relevant questions that land managers and decision makers have about creating and maintaining prairie plantings in many different types of situations. Whether it's in roadside right-of-ways, working farm fields or busy urban areas, our research using real-world equipment and techniques discovers new information that's directly applicable to practice. For more information visit the  Restoration and Research  page.

Prairie on Farms

Another TPC program is Prairie on Farms, which aims to scale up the use of prairie as a reliable, durable, and multifunctional conservation practice on agricultural lands. We share our knowledge of prairie restoration and management techniques with farm operators, managers, landowners and technical service providers. For more information visit the  Prairie on Farms  page.

Working Together

All of the TPC's programs work collaboratively. An example is the Prairie on Farms Research and Demonstration Area. The space will help answer some key questions about prairie restoration in agricultural landscapes, as well as provide a space for learning about the process of reconstructing prairies using side-by-side demonstrations. Much of the area is dedicated to replicating an experiment conducted at a plot in Nashua, IA. To learn more check out  this link .

Iowa Crabapple Orchard

A native apple tree of the upper Mississippi Valley, the Iowa crabapple (Malus ioensis) provides early season nectar for native bees, nesting habitat for birds, and nutritious fruit for the mammals that disperse its seeds. The blue sleeves protect the young trees from becoming a snack for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).

Entrance to the Hayfield Prairie

Southeast of the Center and across Greenhill Road is the Hayfield Prairie, a mixture of planted prairie, legacy plots and active production plots. While seemingly small when looking from the road, this patch of prairie can feel surprisingly vast once you venture into its tallgrasses, blooming flowers, and woody borders.

Dry Run Creek

The west branch of Dry Run Creek forms the western and southern border of the Hayfield Prairie. In the past this ecotone between prairie and stream has served as home to a family of beavers and an array of migratory birds. Past the stream sits a newly built retention pond from the construction of the Greenhill Road extension (not pictured).

Hayfield Prairie

As the path runs along the creek, water-loving species like willows abound. Managing these woody species, with techniques such as haying or mowing, keeps them from invading further and further away from the water and into the prairie.

Wild quinine

Wild quinine (Parthenium integrifolium) abounds in this section of the hayfield prairie. Its flower heads, which form in flat disks interspersed with tiny ray flowers, resemble cauliflower. During World War II, multiple Parthenium species were investigated as crops to farm for rubber.

Here a path leads into a stretch of deciduous forest lining Dry Run Creek. Taking the small loop brings a respite from the open views of the prairie and into a shady grove.

Cottonwood Grove

This strand of cottonwoods forms a nice spot for picnicking. Visit here in late spring to find the ground blanketed in silky plumes.

East Production Plots

Drought-tolerant prairie plantings abound in the East Production Plots, which include fields of indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), a row of prairie sedge (Carex bicknellii), and flowers like butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa).

Prairie Sage

Here, white sage (Artemisia ludoviciana) grows in one of the East Production Plots. This sage is known for its distinctive scent and its woolly leaves and stems. Both the Meskwaki and Potawatomi burned the plant to drive away mosquitoes.

A Shifting Mosaic

Like the prairie itself, TPC's production plots are constantly shifting. Some production plots remain productive for many years; others are retired from production after only a few seasons to make room for new plantings. Natural factors, like the changing of the seasons, as well as management activities like mowing, burning, planting, and harvesting, mean that no two walks through the plots are alike.

Sand Mound

Located on an island behind the TPC buildings is the Sound Mound Prairie. In this sandy, dry soil one can find different species that in the production plots or the Hayfield Prairie. If you would like to see landscape like this at a larger scale, check out the Cedar Hills Sand Prairie northwest of Cedar Falls, managed by Black Hawk County Conservation. For more information visit  here .

Irvine Prairie

Ready for more prairie fun? The TPC has an ongoing project at the Irvine Prairie, a 77-acre prairie-in-progress located near Dysart, Iowa on the farm of Cathy Irvine in memory of her late husband David. For more information visit the  Irvine Prairie  page.

Thank You!

The TPC staff appreciates your interest in what we do.

The Center is located at 2412 West 27th Street Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613-0294.

Our office number is (319) 273-3836.