Cemetery prairie

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Pioneer Cemetery, Hull, Iowa Pioneer Cemetery, Hull, IA 1973 (6478172723).jpg
Pioneer Cemetery, Hull, Iowa
Native tallgrass prairie at James Woodworth Prairie Preserve, Illinois James Woodworth Prairie Preserve.jpg
Native tallgrass prairie at James Woodworth Prairie Preserve, Illinois

Cemetery prairies are remnants of native North American prairie that survive on land set aside by settlers as burial grounds. These places were thus left unplowed and largely undisturbed, such that the cemeteries became de facto nature preserves. [1] Natural prairie grasses are often perennial species that regrow from the roots after ruminant grazing or grassfire; plowing destroys the root system and eventually the ecosystem.

Contents

Native prairie is now vanishingly rare, so any surviving patches are considered precious. According to prairie researcher John Madson in 1974, "Most surviving tallgrass prairie preserves are relatively small. In Iowa or Illinois, as much as a square mile of virgin tallgrass prairie would be a huge and immensely valuable tract." [2] Iowa is estimated to have 200 to 300 relic cemetery prairies [3] totaling about 1,000 acres (400 ha; 1.6 sq mi; 4.0 km2), [4] which is thought to be less than 0.1 percent of the state's original native grassland. [5] Missouri has approximately 60,000 acres (24,000 ha; 94 sq mi; 240 km2) of original prairie, which is a larger absolute area but nonetheless still less than 0.5 percent of the prairie extent pre-settlement. [6] Only about 2,300 acres (930 ha; 3.6 sq mi; 9.3 km2) [7] of original prairie are left in Illinois, the Prairie State. [8] Fifty of those Illinois acres are found within 29 historic cemeteries. [7] In addition to cemetery prairies, other remnants of original prairie persisted on sand ridges and rocky hillsides unsuitable for agriculture, and along railroad rights-of-way. [9]

Remnant cemetery prairies are valuable control groups or points of comparison for scientific studies of degraded or restored grasslands. [9] [10] The genetic material preserved in these remnants [11] can be drawn upon for larger ecological restorations. [12] Scientists also use cemeteries, generally, to measure topsoil erosion. [13] One cemetery prairie in Plainview, Illinois stands at least 1 ft (30 cm) above the surrounding cornfield, illustrating the difference in soil retention rates of perennial versus cultivated annual vegetation. [9]

Some cemetery prairies have been abandoned over time, and some remain active community burial grounds. In both circumstances, maintenance, management and local politics are often ongoing challenges to preservation. [5] [14] [15] Similarly, roads and paths that once led to the cemeteries may have disappeared over time, which simultaneously proffers a measure of security through obscurity and as a practical matter somewhat hinders preservation efforts. [16]

History and ecology

Prairie was generally found "east of the 100th meridian and north of the 35th parallel—within that great sprawl of country generally north of Tulsa, south of Winnipeg, west of Indianapolis, and east of Bismarck." [2] Broader definitions of the Plains Grassland ecoregion put the northern extent in Alberta and the southern bound in Chihuahua. [17] As The New York Times explained in 1970, "To the east the grass was tall, to the west, short. Only an occasional cottonwood or grove of burr oak, usually by a stream, broke the sea of grass." [9]

Wildfire and use of the land as forage for herd animals strengthens rather than weakens a healthy, intact prairie grassland. [18]

...the prairie had two strings to its bow. Fires thinned its grasses, but they thickened its stand of leguminous herbs; prairie clover, bush clover, wild bean, vetch, lead-plant, trefoil, and Baptisia, each carrying its own bacteria housed in nodules on its rootlets. Each nodule pumped nitrogen out of the air into the plant, and then ultimately into the soil. Thus the prairie savings bank took in more nitrogen from its legumes than it paid out to its fires. That the prairie is rich is known to the humblest deermouse; why the prairie is rich is a question seldom asked in all the still lapse of ages. [18]

—  Aldo Leopold, 1942

Native plant persistence in cemetery prairies is highly variable, as one 1970s-era survey of Illinois and Indiana prairie cemeteries detailed: [19] "In each cemetery, certain prairie indicator species were sought, especially the warm-season grasses, such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman) and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash). These grasses often persisted around tombstones and in fence rows, even in those cemeteries which had been heavily mowed. In many cases, the entire cemetery was still prairie. In others, prairie vegetation was to be found only in relatively undisturbed sections, such as areas along the perimeter."

Tallgrass prairie is highly biodiverse grassland; more than 150 species of plant on any given native prairie site would be typical. Researchers observing Rochester Cemetery Prairie in Rochester, Iowa—one of the best-studied and most notable cemetery prairies—have found 360 plant species. [5] [15] Most cemetery prairies are smaller than Rochester and have commensurately lower plant counts, but a survey by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources found an average of 114 native prairie and savanna species per site. [20]

Some of the plant species that may be found in undisturbed cemetery prairie include Indian grass, big bluestem, little bluestem, compass plant, wild indigo, [1] New Jersey tea, shooting star, [5] blazing star, wild strawberry, [3] bird's-foot violet, daisy fleabane, false dandelion, prairie phlox, golden Alexander, black-eyed Susan, [4] leadplant, prairie rose, Canadian wild rye, [12] white prairie clover, purple prairie clover, grassy death camas, [14] lance-leaved aster, cord grass, stiff goldenrod, [21] grama, switchgrass, [22] sand milkweed, sky-blue aster, white wild indigo, Indian plantain, Hill's thistle, yellow lady slipper, alum root, slender-leaved pinweed, wood lily, eastern prickly pear, wild quinine, wild petunia, showy goldenrod, slender ladies'-tresses, porcupine grass, goat's rue, [15] silphium, purple gentian, [9] showy tick trefoil, prairie dock, rattlesnake master, spiked lobelia, et al. [7]

Partridges, badgers, turtles, coyotes, beaver and all manner of birds find their way into a prairie. [21] [8]

In a 2012 study of moth biodiversity on Illinois biofuel plantations growing maize, miscanthus or switchgrass, cemetery prairies were two of the three exemplars of native prairie used for comparison. Native prairie had the highest alpha diversity of the four types of field; the researchers found evidence that "large-scale conversion of acreage to biofuel crops may have substantial negative effects on arthropod biodiversity both within the cropping systems and in the surrounding landscape...In general, [related] studies have borne out the hypothesis that agricultural landscapes that offer a diverse flora of native perennials will harbor a higher diversity of beneficial arthropods than will extensive monocultures of annual plants such as corn and soybean." [23] A similar message about cemeteries as useful biodiversity reservoirs for farm businesses was published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1921. [24]

Prairie cemeteries may also shelter valued introduced species such as naturalized asparagus, a favorite of foragers. [21]

Restoration ecologists owe much to such preserved consecrated lands; their cultural place in our psyche has assured continuity of minimally disturbed ecological communities. Ironically, though, it is the neglected sacred places, those without the constant care needed to maintain carpets of lawn, as found in typical cemeteries, which have served as refuge to the native flora.

— Domenico D'Alessandro, "Sacred Space and Restoration Ecology" [16]

Maintenance

The Prairie Conference notes, "Natural vegetation management of pioneer cemeteries is typically done by people with a great deal of experience in prairie and savanna restoration but with little knowledge of caring for material culture." Prairie cemetery managers must preserve the historical integrity of grave markers and respect the socio-cultural and archeological value of a burial ground in addition to the usual considerations of maintaining a more typical natural area. [20]

St Patrick's Catholic Cemetery, outside of Atchison, Kansas; photographed in the late afternoon sun in June 1974 for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ST. PATRICK'S CATHOLIC CEMETERY OUTSIDE OF ATCHISON, KANSAS, IN LATE AFTERNOON SUN. THE NATIVE STONE PIONEER CHURCH... - NARA - 557089.jpg
St Patrick's Catholic Cemetery, outside of Atchison, Kansas; photographed in the late afternoon sun in June 1974 for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

According to conservation managers, prairie needs the right combination of "care and neglect" to survive. Natural-resources specialists have found that cemeteries that are burned or cleaned once a year have the best chance of survival. [1] Periodic controlled burns prevent tree seedlings and invasive species from overwhelming the indigenous grassland. [25] Per the North American Prairie Conference, "While burning is very important to maintaining the historic vegetation, managers need to consider the protection of the stone markers. Excessive fuel (especially brush piles and downed trees) should be removed from the site and away from any markers to prevent heat damage. Fire-retardant chemicals or wetting agents should never be used on grave stones." [20]

Non-native plants found in cemetery prairies typically fall into two categories: the usual suspects (opportunistic pioneers that thrive on disturbed ground, which is to say, weeds) and historically significant grave plantings and landscape trees. With grave plantings, especially, prairie stewards must strike a careful balance in ecological versus historical management. [20] Invasive brome and red clover, which outcompete native plants, can be removed by annual spring burns followed by a cool-season grass herbicide, allowing the native seed bank in soil to gain a foothold for recovery. Unwanted trees can be girdled; the resulting snags are beneficial to wildlife. [21]

List of cemetery prairies

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prairie</span> Ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome

Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type. Temperate grassland regions include the Pampas of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, and the steppe of Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan. Lands typically referred to as "prairie" tend to be in North America. The term encompasses the area referred to as the Interior Lowlands of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, which includes all of the Great Plains as well as the wetter, hillier land to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tallgrass prairie</span> Ecosystem native to central North America

The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroachment of trees, recycling soil nutrients, and facilitating seed dispersal and germination. Prior to widespread use of the steel plow, which enabled large scale conversion to agricultural land use, tallgrass prairies extended throughout the American Midwest and smaller portions of southern central Canada, from the transitional ecotones out of eastern North American forests, west to a climatic threshold based on precipitation and soils, to the southern reaches of the Flint Hills in Oklahoma, to a transition into forest in Manitoba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flint Hills</span> Geographic and ecological region of Kansas and Oklahoma, United States

The Flint Hills, historically known as Bluestem Pastures or Blue Stem Hills, are a region of hills and prairies that lie mostly in eastern Kansas. It is named for the abundant residual flint eroded from the bedrock that lies near or at the surface. It consists of a band of hills extending from Marshall and Washington Counties in the north to Cowley County, Kansas and Kay and Osage Counties in Oklahoma in the south, to Geary and Shawnee Counties west to east. Oklahomans generally refer to the same geologic formation as the Osage Hills or "the Osage."

<i>Andropogon gerardi</i> Species of grass

Andropogon gerardi, commonly known as big bluestem, is a species of tall grass native to much of the Great Plains and grassland regions of central and eastern North America. It is also known as tall bluestem, bluejoint, and turkeyfoot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie</span> Largest tallgrass prairie restoration area in the United States, located in Illinois

The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (MNTP) is a tallgrass prairie reserve and is preserved as United States National Grassland operated by the United States Forest Service. The first national tallgrass prairie ever designated in the U.S. and the largest conservation site in the Chicago Wilderness region, it is located on the site of the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant between the towns of Elwood, Manhattan and Wilmington in northeastern Illinois. Since 2015, it has hosted a conservation herd of American bison to study their interaction with prairie restoration and conservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loess Hills</span> Hills of the United States

The Loess Hills are a formation of wind-deposited loess soil in the westernmost parts of Iowa and Missouri, and the easternmost parts of Nebraska and Kansas, along the Missouri River.

<i>Schizachyrium scoparium</i> Species of grass

Schizachyrium scoparium, commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a species of North American prairie grass native to most of the contiguous United States as well as a small area north of the Canada–US border and northern Mexico. It is most common in the Midwestern prairies and is one of the most abundant native plants in Texas grasslands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prairie restoration</span> Conservation efforts focused on prairie lands

Prairie restoration is a conservation effort to restore prairie lands that were destroyed due to industrial, agricultural, commercial, or residential development. The primary aim is to return areas and ecosystems to their previous state before their depletion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konza Prairie Biological Station</span>

The Konza Prairie Biological Station is a 8,616-acre (3,487 ha) protected area of native tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills of northeastern Kansas. "Konza" is an alternative name for the Kansa or Kaw Indians who inhabited this area until the mid-19th century. The Konza Prairie is owned by The Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area</span> State park in Illinois, USA

Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area is a 2,537-acre (1,027 ha) state park and listed state nature preserve. More than half of the state park is a tallgrass prairie maintained as a natural area of Illinois. It is located in Grundy County near the town of Morris approximately 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Chicago.

Lloyd Clair Hulbert was a professor of biology at Kansas State University from 1955 until 1986. He was recognized for his work to establish Konza Prairie and served as its first director from 1971-1986. Hulbert was internationally known for his "research of bluestem (tallgrass) prairie and prairie-forest interactions."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve</span> Conservation area in Manitoba, Canada

The Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve is located in southeastern Manitoba near Gardenton and Vita, this is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Steinbach, Manitoba. It is one of the last remaining stands of tallgrass prairie in Manitoba and is part of the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland conservation area in Manitoba and Minnesota. Several groups and organizations help in land preservation in the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie such as the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Nature Manitoba, Environment Canada, Manitoba Conservation and the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation.

The Hayden Prairie State Preserve is a 240-acre (97 ha) tallgrass prairie located in Howard County, Iowa. It is a National Natural Landmark managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Located close to the northern border of the state of Iowa, the nearest towns are Chester and Lime Springs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central tall grasslands</span> Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion of the United States

The Central tall grasslands are a prairie ecoregion of the Midwestern United States, part of the North American Great Plains.

<i>Lespedeza leptostachya</i> Species of plant

Lespedeza leptostachya is a rare species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names prairie lespedeza and prairie bush-clover. It occurs in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. The flowers are creamy-white to purplish and arranged into a narrow terminal spikes.

<i>Dalea purpurea</i> Species of flowering plant in the pea family

Dalea purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known as purple prairie clover. Native to central North America, purple prairie clover is a relatively common member of the Great Plains and prairie ecosystems. It blooms in the summer with dense spikes of bright purple flowers that attract many species of insects.

The Weston Cemetery Prairie is a mesic tallgrass prairie remnant, described variously as being 5.61 acres or 3.2 acres in size, located 0.5 miles (0.8 km) east of Weston, Illinois, an unincorporated community in McLean County, Illinois. Weston Cemetery Prairie is a remnant of the vast tallgrass, black soil prairies that once covered more than 13 million acres of Illinois. This cemetery prairie is listed as a Category I site on the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory and is actively managed with periodic burns and exotic species control efforts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kankakee Sands</span> Restored prairie in Illinois and Indiana

Kankakee Sands is a 10,000-acre (4,000 ha) restored tallgrass prairie in Kankakee County, Illinois and Newton County, Indiana. It is managed by The Nature Conservancy staff and volunteers. The Efroymson Restoration at Kankakee Sands is 8,400 acres (3,400 ha) of prairies and wetlands connecting Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area, Beaver Lake Nature Preserve, Conrad Savanna Nature Preserve and Conrad Station Savanna. This creates over 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) of dry, mesic and wet sand prairies, sand blows, sedge meadows, wetlands, and black oak savannas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western meadow vole</span> Species of mammal

The western meadow vole is a species of North American vole found in western North America, the midwestern United States, western Ontario, Canada, and formerly in Mexico. It was previously considered conspecific with the eastern meadow vole, but genetic studies indicate that it is a distinct species. It is sometimes called the field mouse or meadow mouse, although these common names can also refer to other species.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Johnson, Eric (August 25, 1985). "Old Cemeteries Harbor Remnants of Once Vast Prairie". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . p. 23. Retrieved January 9, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Madson, John (2009). Where The Sky Began: Land of the Tallgrass Prairie . University of Iowa Press. ISBN   9780877458616. OCLC   794701545 . Retrieved January 24, 2023– via Project MUSE.
  3. 1 2 "Ex-resident's advice on saving prairie". The Humboldt Independent. August 30, 1975. p. 9. Retrieved January 9, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 Wallbaum, Mary (July 4, 1976). "Prairie Grass Obstacle at First". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. p. 144. Retrieved January 9, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Samuels, Sam Hooper (July–August 2009). "Hallowed Prairie" (PDF). Iowa Outdoors . Photographs by Clay Smith. Iowa Department of Natural Resources. pp. 29–35.
  6. ↑ Missouri Department of Conservation; Missouri Prairie Foundation. "Public Prairies of Missouri Interactive Story Map".
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Borrelli, Christopher (August 6, 2017). "A Little History on the Prairie: Pioneer Cemeteries show Us what Illinois Looked Like before European Settlers". Chicago Tribune . p. 1. ProQuest   1926287833.
  8. 1 2 Starr, Douglas (April 5, 1992). "A Prairie's Boon Companion In Illinois, one man's dream of a field grows bigger every day". Sports Illustrated . Vol. 76, no. 13. pp. 7–unk.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Wilford, John Noble (October 18, 1970). "Prairie Partisans Move to Save Grasslands" . The New York Times . pp. 1, 72. ProQuest   118836380 . Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  10. ↑ Gustafson, Danny J.; Gibson, David J.; Nickrent, Daniel L. (November 2002). "Genetic Diversity and Competitive Abilities of Dalea purpurea (Fabaceae) from Remnant and Restored Grasslands". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 163 (6): 979–990. doi:10.1086/342709. ISSN   1058-5893. S2CID   55179493.
  11. ↑ Gustafson, Danny J; Gibson, David J; Nickrent, Daniel L (April 2005). "Using Local Seeds in Prairie Restoration Data Support the Paradigm". Native Plants Journal. 6 (1): 25–28. doi:10.2979/NPJ.2005.6.1.25. ISSN   1522-8339. S2CID   83748942.
  12. 1 2 3 "Pioneer Graveyard Site of Champaign County's Best-Preserved Prairie". The Times. Munster, Indiana. November 30, 2001. p. 20. Retrieved January 9, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Geleta, S. B.; Briand, C. H.; Folkoff, M. E.; Zaprowski, B. J. (2014). "Cemeteries as Indicators of Post-Settlement Anthropogenic Soil Degradation on the Atlantic Coastal Plain". Human Ecology. 42 (4): 625–635. doi:10.1007/s10745-014-9665-5. ISSN   0300-7839. JSTOR   24013866. S2CID   254544845.
  14. 1 2 3 4 ""Efforts Underway to Resore Forgotten Horton Township Cemetery"". Sioux City Journal 30 Jul 2001, page 4. Retrieved January 9, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Cemetery Politics: Iowa Town Divided Over Cemetery Mowing". The Muscatine Journal . Muscatine, Iowa. November 4, 2006. p. 8. Retrieved January 9, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  16. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Domenico (Fall 2010). "Sacred Space and Restoration Ecology". Erigenia (24). Illinois Native Plant Society: 3–4.
  17. ↑ "A Guide to North American Grasslands" (PDF). Desert Plants. 29 (2). University of Arizona for the Boyce Thompson Arboretum: 41–54.
  18. 1 2 "From the Archives: Aldo Leopold's Odyssey". Audubon . June 12, 2013 [May–June 1942]. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  19. ↑ Betz, Robert F.; Lamp, Herbert F. "Species Composition of Old Settler Savanna and Sand Prairie Cemeteries in Northern Illinois and Northwestern Indiana" (PDF).
  20. 1 2 3 4 Moorehouse, Angella; Hassen, Harold (January 1, 2004). "Protecting Pioneer Cemetery Prairies: Balancing the Need to Preserve Cultural and Natural Heritage Values". Proceedings of the North American Prairie Conferences.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Vanderhill, Dietrich (July 8, 2003). "Life and Death: Citizens work to preserve history, prairie habitat of country cemeteries". Sioux City Journal. p. 2. Retrieved January 9, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "The Gazette 08 Jan 1978, page 33" . Retrieved January 9, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ Harrison, Terry; Berenbaum, May R. (July 13, 2012). "Moth diversity in three biofuel crops and native prairie in Illinois: Moth diversity in biofuel crops and prairie" . Insect Science. 20 (3): 407–419. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7917.2012.01530.x. PMID   23955892. S2CID   20544336 . Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  24. ↑ McAtee, W. L. (January 26, 1921). "Community Bird Refuges". Farmers' Bulletins. No. 1239. U.S. Department of Agriculture. pp. 12–13. Retrieved January 25, 2023– via National Agricultural Library.
  25. 1 2 "The Tall Grass Prairie Abounds at Eagle Point". The Rock Island Argus . June 6, 1984. p. 17. Retrieved January 9, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pleznac, Christine (1982). R. Brewer (ed.). "Michigan cemetery prairies and their flora" (PDF). Proceedings of the Eighth North American Prairie Conference. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Western Michigan University: 130–132.
  27. ↑ "Mercer County Prairie Hike Set May 19". The Rock Island Argus . May 12, 1985. p. 10. Retrieved January 9, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "Pristine prairie at Calvary Cemetery thrives amid urban landscape". Archdiocese of St. Louis . Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  29. ↑ "German Methodist Cemetery Prairie". The Nature Conservancy . Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Horton Township Cemetery Prairie Preserve". Watchable Wildlife Sites in Northwest Iowa. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Prairie tour will be today". Quad-City Times. June 26, 1994. p. 64. Retrieved January 9, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ "Douglas County prairies and forests". Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  33. ↑ "Midwest Wilderness Connections - Prospect Prairie Cemetery State Preserve". sites.google.com. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  34. ↑ Sidoti, Liz (October 15, 2000). "Prairie Could Return, State Aims to Add 3 Patches". The Cincinnati Enquirer . p. 28. Retrieved January 9, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
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