New paper: Dearth under earth: Understudied plant-soil-fire feedback as drivers of forest mesophication and oak regeneration failures www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Hey @martinnunez.bsky.social - guess what arrived arrived today? Looking forward to reading and sharing with students!

New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), gray goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis), and black-eyed Susan, starring together in the front yard pocket prairie

Another year of NutNet in the books @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social

Oak savanna, with lots of tall coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris) in bloom - at the Chipman Preserve, near Kalamazoo, MI

Michigan State University is hiring a new Director of our herbarium! This is an open rank, tenure-stream faculty position, with research focus in plant or fungal systematics, ecology, and/or evolution Please consider applying and help spread the word! plantbiology.natsci.msu.edu/job-postings...

Lots blooming right now in the front yard pocket prairie, including black-eyed Susan, blue vervain, false boneset, and (just coming online) stiff goldenrod

Today I wrapped up the 16th year of vegetation sampling in our oak savanna restoration experiment! In this study, we are testing the long-term ecological consequences of prescribed fire, fire with tree thinning, and no management, within fire suppressed oak savannas at the MSU MacCready Reserve

Monarch (Danaus plexippus) nectaring on butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Today we wrapped up the 10th summer of vegetation surveys in our KBS prairie restoration (reconstruction) experiment, testing how the geographic origin and species diversity of seeds used to initiate restoration affects long-term ecological dynamics @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social @kbslter.bsky.social

Lots of insect activity in our front yard pocket prairie this evening, including bumblebees, ambush bugs, and dragonflies

Today was the first day of vegetation surveys in our oak savanna restoration experiment for the year This is our 16th annual census of permanent vegetation transects, comparing plots receiving repeated prescribed fires, with or without canopy tree thinning, compared to unmanaged controls

Hartwick Pines #OldGrowth forest; white and red pine, Eastern hemlock, and sugar maple

Had a great time cycling around Mackinac Island on M-185 today - the nation's only state highway where motor vehicles are prohibited

Upper and lower Tahquamenon Falls, Tahquamenon Falls State Park Nicknamed Root Beer Falls, for its color, comes from tannins derived from upstream cedar swamps

Freighters off Whitefish Point, not far from where the Edmund Fitzgerald sank 50 years ago (but with very different conditions today!)

Up north vacation begins

Bloom update from the front yard pocket prairie

Sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), blooming in the front yard pocket prairie

Done! Can't wait to work up the data with Markus Bauer, who is visiting our group this summer and collaborating on the project

It was a good first day resurveying a prairie reconstruction experiment at the MSU Lux Arbor Reserve Now 11 years after these plots were sown, we are asking how initial seeding treatments (# species, season of sowing) influenced plant persistence and longer-term community outcomes

Great day in the field, starting plant functional trait measurements within our oak savanna restoration experiment - part of an effort to understand how 15 years of prescribed fire and tree thinning have altered ground layer plant communities We even knocked out leaf area for dreaded poison ivy!

Southern jointweed (Polygonella americana) blooming last month in the SRS Corridor Project fragmentation experiment

Current status of the front yard pocket prairie. In bloom are: Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) Lance-leaved coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)

Ants nectaring on common milkweed

Swamp rose (Rosa palustris), viewed along the edge of Lake Lansing from the canoe

Fly poison (Amianthium muscitoxicum) - native to Eastern North America and the only species in its genus Beautiful and also quite literal to its name, the English translation of muscitoxicum is fly poison, and the plant contains toxic alkaloids. Mixed with sugar, bulbs can make a fly bait/poison

And that's a wrap! It's been an amazing 5yrs at MSU. I've been so lucky to have had an amazing advisor in @lars-brudvig.bsky.social, a super supportive lab, and an abundance of beautiful prairies. Not goodbye, just see you later! Go green!💚🤍

Some (of the many) butterflies from the Corridor Project fragmentation experiment: Common buckeye Spicebush swallowtail Clouded skipper Pearl crescent

Racemed milkwort (Polygala polygama), blooming in our oak savanna restoration experiment

It was a hot day out there, but we did good work building deer exclosures within our oak savanna restoration experiment This is part of Jack Pritchard's PhD research, testing interactive effects of prescribed fire, canopy openness, and deer for groundlayer plants and tree regeneration

Wild potato vine (Ipomoea pandurata) blooming in the Corridor Project fragmentation experiment

Currently blooming in the front yard pocket prairie: Foxglove beard-tongue (Penstemon digitalis) Sand coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) Prairie cinquefoil (Drymocallis arguta)

Beautiful evening hike, with lots in bloom including: Carolina rose (Rosa carolina) Whorled loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia) Showy lady-slippers (Cypripedium reginae)

Starry rosinweed (Silphium dentatum) blooming in the Corridor Project fragmentation experiment

Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) going to fruit in the Corridor Project fragmentation experiment

Morning fog in the Corridor Project fragmentation experiment

Spurred butterfly pea (Centrosema virginianum) blooming in the SRS Corridor Project experiment

Keying plants after a day of sampling in the SRS Corridor Project experiment, including the challenging grass genus Dichanthelium (which is very diverse on the southeaster coastal plain). Here's what we found in one fragment!

First day of plant community surveys in the books for the year, in the Corridor Project fragmentation experiment It was a great day, with lots in bloom including: Soft green eyes (Berlandiera pumila) Lille lady's tresses (Spiranthes tuberosa)

Currently blooming in the front yard pocket prairie: Sand coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) Foxglove beard-tongue (Penstemon digitalis) Fox sedge (Carex vulpinoidea)

Behold - the showy lady-slipper orchid (Cypripedium reginae) is in bloom!

Wild lupine (Lupinus perennis) is in bloom in our prairie restoration experiment @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social

Yellow pond lily (Nuphar advena) is in bloom (viewed from the canoe on a gorgeous afternoon)

Utility ROWs that are managed reasonably (eg, periodic mowing), can serve as important habitat for our prairie, savanna, and woodland flora Within 50m of this photo are blue-eyed grass, columbine, mountain mint, hairy bedstraw, whorled loosestrife, Robin's plantain etc. Scientific names in alt text

White baneberry (Actaea pachypoda) is in bloom

Quite the life's journey for this sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

Star flower (Trientalis borealis) is in bloom

Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) is in bloom. With red flowers and long, nectar-filled spurs, this wildflower is pollinated by hummingbirds.

What is this? Believe it or not, a plant in bloom! Conopholis americana goes by several common names (bear corn is my fave). As a parasitic plant, it lacks chlorophyll and does no photosynthesis. Rather, it connects to oak roots and thieves the resources it needs