Ok, so I am changing my project a bit more...again. I will now be getting rid of the mapping the AHS prairie portion of my project and adding a tree identification portion. I have contacted Cathy McMullen at ISU and she has directed me to other sources of information and help with identification. She told me to go to The Nature Conservancy for help with learning how to identify the trees.
This portion of the project will deal with identifying the trees that are located around the edge of the parking lot of the High School and around the other wooded portions of the prairies. The other half of this portion of my project includes a small restoration of the southwest corner of the prairie. This area has previously been changed from its original state. During the time that the city of Ames was being developed, a lot of the trees in this area were cut down to use in the building of homes and businesses as well as general industrialization of the area. Now that most of the original trees are gone, other species have grown in that are not desirable for the prairie. Mr. Todd and I want to try to restore this to a savanna and natural forest.
This portion of the project will deal with identifying the trees that are located around the edge of the parking lot of the High School and around the other wooded portions of the prairies. The other half of this portion of my project includes a small restoration of the southwest corner of the prairie. This area has previously been changed from its original state. During the time that the city of Ames was being developed, a lot of the trees in this area were cut down to use in the building of homes and businesses as well as general industrialization of the area. Now that most of the original trees are gone, other species have grown in that are not desirable for the prairie. Mr. Todd and I want to try to restore this to a savanna and natural forest.