Category: Research

I began working as an intern for the research team here at Greenacres a few weeks ago and one of the first projects that the team introduced me to was the Bobwhite Quail project. This project is unique and important because Bobwhite quail populations have been in decline across Ohio and in their other native locations over the last several decades due to habitat loss and degradation. Bobwhites are a significant species for several reasons, serving as prey for terrestrial predators as well as birds of prey. Bobwhites also influence the plant communities in which they live due to their diet which consists heavily of seeds and foliage. They are an edge species which means that they seek brushy habitats where woodlands connect with pastures, row crops, and fields. Both the Lewis Township and Northern Kentucky properties are potential habitats for Bobwhites. In particular, the NKY property contains native warm season grasses (NWSG) which can provide the Bobwhites with both tall and short grasses and corridors to move throughout and nest within.

These are early mornings! When we monitor for Bobwhites, we meet at around 6:00 am and listen for their calls until around 7:30 am. It is special to spend the first hour and a half of your day sitting in nature and listening to the many birds, insects, and even deer that populate Lewis Township and Northern Kentucky while simultaneously taking part in the meaningful Bobwhite Quail project. As of this past week we have reached the end of the season where we can listen for Bobwhite calls and unfortunately we do not have any success to report, but we are certainly hopeful for the future. Below is a link to a YouTube video where you can listen to a Bobwhite Quail call as well as a picture of a male Bobwhite Quail for reference.

Hear one for yourself! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEKIAteCDYU)

–Rob

The first year of our research collaboration with University of Tennessee (UT) brought about a series of learning opportunities in regards to large scale field-research (as mentioned here).  Those lessons learned will be carried over to year two (2020) as we repeat the study, hopefully providing better outcomes than we had in 2019.

In 2020 one of the primary objectives based on our 2019 results is to get an earlier start.  In 2019, planting was delayed 2 months (July 2^nd vs May 2^nd) due to the wetter than “normal” spring.  This meant that the native grass seedlings had to compete with not only the nurse crop treatments but also the vigorous summer annuals that were present in the seedbank (e.g. Panic grass, Ragweed and Marestail).  Getting the grasses planted earlier means getting the nurse crop treatments planted earlier – giving them both a slight jumpstart, and thus a competitive advantage, on the inevitable weed pressure that warmer weather brings with it.

The second objective – which we learned the hard way in 2019 – is to increase the amount of cattle impact necessary to manage the nurse crop canopy.  We learned once the canopy gets ahead of us we can forget about any attempt at a successful native warm season grass stand.  In 2020 we are doubling the herd size that we will be using to manage the study.  This will allow for greater impact and more frequent moves, theoretically leading to a more open canopy.  Effectively we are walking a tight line between a nurse crop that limits weed germination and still allows for native grass seedlings to thrive.

This will be the final year for the field portion of the UT collaboration.  The final results from the 2019 and 2020 study will be used for publication in scientific journals that focus on prairie ecology and/or agricultural production systems.

–Chad B.