Toxic sites remove healthy nutrients and organic matter, which lowers soil quality and reduces natural vegetation growth. Warm-season native grasses can help with soil remediation as their biological systems promote nutrient cycling, which creates a better habitat for wildlife and vegetation. Warm-season native grasses are usually tolerant to drought, acidic, and low-fertility soil. Environmental organizations can partner with a native tree nursery to plant warm-season native grasses to help remediate sites with toxic soil, such as abandoned mine lands.
Qualities of Warm-Season Native Grasses That Make Them Useful for Toxic Site Remediation
Soil and plants need organic matter to develop well. Toxic sites have diminished organic matter as well as low carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen levels. When plants like native grasses are planted, their root systems can help improve soil quality in toxic sites, restoring certain prairie birds and small animal species, such as prairie chickens, quails, turkeys, and upland sandpipers. Warm-season grasses can thrive even in soils with high acidity and low nutrient and organic matter levels. This is because of their extensive deep-growing root system that works in tandem with mycorrhizal fungi to increase the level of water and nutrients in the soil.
A warm-season grass is characterized by the months it grows. They grow the most from June to mid-September, or the area’s warmest months. They are strong enough to survive cold, winter months and thrive in hot, dry soils in warm, summer months. This ability stems from their massive root system that can absorb water and nutrients even during droughts. As the native grasses’s root system spreads, it introduces organic matter into the soil, which benefits other soil organisms. The roots also open cracks in the soil, which allows water and nutrients to sink further into the soil when they couldn’t beforehand.
Native Grasses Used in Reclamation
Big Bluestem
The big bluestem native grass is fast-growing, easy to establish, highly nutritious, and aesthetically beautiful. Its ease of growth makes it a useful choice for reclamation sites that need fast, effective results. The big bluestem’s root system is deep and extensive and introduces underground stems called rhizomes. These are systems where carbohydrates can be stored to use when experiencing environmental stress. This native grass, also called a turkey foot, grows up to seven or eight feet tall and cattle love to eat it. Its stems turn a variety of colors from red to purple, making the plants stand out in the fall color changes.
Indian Grass
Another native grass that can establish itself quickly, providing forage and vegetation for local wildlife and improving soil quality. This native grass grows to around seven feet tall. It has light green stems and a golden seed head. It also turns colors in the fall while retaining the golden seed heads. The seed heads are also easy to strip and use for the next season’s planting.
Eastern Gamagrass
Eastern gamagrass is a useful plant for nesting, escape cover, forage source, and wildlife habitat. It is adapted to grow in mesic and hydric soils. Like the big bluestem, Eastern gamagrass grows rhizomes that produce plants growing from five to nine feet tall. It begins to green in May, reaching maturity in June and thriving all the way into fall. The nutritious foliage is enjoyed by wildlife and ground-dwelling birds use the grass as nesting material. This warm-season native grass is also useful for erosion control in wet areas with little other grass growth.
Visit Your Local Native Tree Nursery Today
Warm-season native grasses offer multiple uses, from erosion control and soil improvement to food and nesting material for local wildlife. These types of grasses are usually hardy and easy to establish. Although pure stands of native grasses have been planted to simplify land management, a mixed stand of warm-season native grasses and forbs is much more effective in promoting biodiversity and enhancing wildlife habitat. Contact a local native tree nursery today to learn about their in-stock native grasses and how you can contribute to toxic site remediation.
