We Didn't Start the Fire: a Paleoecological Approach to Inform Oak Savanna Restoration
A historical approach helps us work towards oak savanna restoration, such as in the area of Johnson Slough in south-eastern Minnesota discussed in Spencer et al’s article ‘Using Paleoecology to Inform Land Management as Climates Change: An Example from an Oak Savanna Ecosystem’. Besides adding to the regional paleoecological knowledge base, this study sought to understand the natural range of variability of oak savanna and fire activity to evaluate oak savanna restoration and prescribed burning efforts today (such as at Krumm and Conard Environmental Research Area , where we have done plant collections for BIO 305). To understand the factors of fire activity, Spencer et al account for climate, human activity and vegetation. Spencer et al focus on the history of Johnson Slough from the mid/late Holocene period, but we also compare its history with that of Kimble pond and Sharkey lake in southeast Minnesota. Figure 1. Johnson Sloug...