An Interview with Dave Williams: Part 2

The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Seed and Seedling Identification in the Upper Midwest makes identifying these little green sprouts look possible. Tell us what motivated you to write this book.
My greatest motivation for writing this book was to give anyone interested in growing tallgrass prairie plants the ability and confidence to identify prairie seedlings. It all started in 1998 when I was conducting graduate research at UNI. A major part of this research involved being able to identify prairie seedlings of 23 forb species. Only one prairie seedling identification book was available: Prairie Seedlings Illustrated by Laura Jackson and Lora Dittmer. This publication was very helpful but included only 12 of the 23 forbs that I needed to identify. So, as a winter project in 1999, I grew all 23 forbs in the UNI greenhouse. I sketched thousands of seedlings as they emerged and developed. I had to use a hand lens to find unique plant characteristics. I created a spreadsheet to organize the information in a way that I could use in the field. What I thought would be a short winter project took the entire winter and spring to complete.

Your guide focuses on 72 species. How did you select these?
I selected the species for this book based upon the following. First, species most likely to be used in a prairie planting. I have used all the species in this book in various seed mixes over the years. Second, availability of seed. Individuals can purchase seed of all species in this book from commercial sources. Third, species somewhat easy to propagate. Seed of most species included in this book can be germinated but may require additional treatments to maximize germination. Fourth, species that belong to important guilds of prairie species. A good example of a prairie guild is the legume species, species in the bean family that take nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it to a form that plants can use. Legumes provide fertilization to the prairie. Fifth, species not listed as threatened or endangered. Some threatened and endangered prairie species have very specific habitats in the wild and may have unique genetic traits. From a conservation standpoint, it could be detrimental to remnant populations of threatened and endangered species if nonremnant plants are established all over the landscape.

What audiences did you aim for? Would a beginning gardener be able to use this guide?
Initially, I thought natural resource managers would use this guide to assess prairie plant establishment in conservation plantings. However, as this project evolved, I realized that anybody with an interest in planting tallgrass prairie could benefit from this guide. So the project began as a technical resource guide containing lots of botanical jargon and has been reworked many times to become a user-friendly guide. 

The illustrations present information so clearly. How did you come up with the format?
From day 1, my goal was to develop a system that a person without any seedling identification experience could use to identify prairie seedlings in the field. Common sense and botanical sense dictated the format. Dichotomous plant keys are time-tested tools that many botanists use to identify plants. While these keys are essential for plant identification, they require extensive botanical training to be effective. I used the dichotomous key format for my guide but simplified the number and extent of choices. The challenge was to distill what seemed like an infinite number of seedling characteristics into a small number of groups so users could differentiate seedlings of 72 species.

What was trickiest about growing and photographing the plants?
First, I had to define what was a seedling plant! My goal was to illustrate seedlings at the stage they might be found in a planted prairie near the end of the first growing season. This was somewhat of an arbitrary designation because seedlings can change in a few short weeks. Ultimately, determining the seedling stage of each species was based upon my observations of new prairie plantings over the last 20 years.

It became clear early on that the only way to photograph seedling plants and their associated parts was to grow them in a greenhouse from seed and grow many individuals for each species. Plants grow fast in the greenhouse and slow in the field. I found that most species needed only 4 to 5 weeks of greenhouse time after planting before they were similar to seedlings in the field at the end of the first growing season.

Photographing the small seedling plants was very challenging. David O’Shields and I experimented with exposures, light combinations, and backgrounds until we realized that we needed expert advice from someone experienced with macro photography. Jeffery Byrd of the UNI Art Department graciously volunteered his time and expertise to help us get the exposure and lights right. Positioning the seedlings on the stage was very time-consuming. Heat from the lights caused the seedlings to bend and curl, which added another level of complexity. Sometimes aphids crawled along the plant and interfered with the photograph. I suspect we took 30 to 40 photographs of each species. 

Dave Williams, The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Seed and Seedling Identification in the Upper Midwest

Plant of the Week

Yucca
Yucca glauca Nutt.
other common names: beargrass, grass cactus, small soapweed, soap root, Spanish bayonet
Yucca: the native Haitian name for this genus
Glauca: from Greek, meaning generally “grayish or bluish green”
Lily family: Liliaceae (sometimes Agavaceae)

Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition

An Interview with Dave Williams: Part 1

What was the catalyst—the magic moment—that brought you to appreciate prairies in the first place?
My first exposure to prairie was in 1990, when I was working for the Audubon County Conservation Board. Former ISU extension agent Paul Walther took me to an abandoned farmstead that had a beautiful little patch of prairie. He then took me to his backyard in town, which was covered with prairie plants. He also helped me plant my first prairie at one of the county parks. I really learned to appreciate prairie when I worked with Kurt Baker in Cerro Gordo County. Kurt believed that “vegetation manipulation” was key to improving biodiversity in Iowa. For seven years, our mission was to convert grass stands that consisted of nonnative plants to diverse stands of tallgrass prairie. This was when I discovered my passion to plant prairie in any place where it didn’t already exist.

Tell us about your specific role at UNI’s Tallgrass Prairie Center.
Initially, in 2001, I worked with Greg Houseal on the Iowa Ecotype Project. Greg and I collected seed from prairie remnants, grew plants in the greenhouse, established and managed production plots on campus, harvested and cleaned seed, and distributed cleaned seed to commercial growers. In 2006, I switched to managing the Prairie Institute at the TPC. Prairie research has become a large part of my job. Working with 7 graduate students on prairie-related research projects consumes most of my time along with grant writing, teaching, conducting workshops, fixing equipment, consulting, and writing. 

Beyond the tallgrass species, what other plants and animals are you especially interested in?
I am generally interested in all native plants associated with tallgrass prairie. However, the bur oak is of particular interest because every time I see a great big one, I know that a prairie or savanna once graced its understory. Someday, I would like to see a badger in the prairie.

What has changed in the outdoor world since your first days of trying to learn about it and protect it? What’s better, what’s worse?
A lot of things have changed for the better when it comes to prairies. Public awareness has increased; cities, counties, and the Iowa Department of Transportation are planting more natives; landscaping with native plants is more common; and prairie seed is readily accessible. More species are being included in seed mixes for prairie plantings. However, remnants are still being destroyed. 



What advice would you give to beginning conservationists?
Pay attention to current information and practices, but try new techniques and experiment. Always remember what Aldo Leopold said, “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”

What are the particular challenges of being a conservationist in the Midwest?
Too much land is in private ownership in the Midwest. There is so little habitat left in Iowa, and what is left is small and fragmented. It is difficult to convince a farmer to take land out of row crop farming for prairie unless there is some financial incentive.

What’s the main thing that you hope to accomplish with the publication of The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Prairie Restoration in the Upper Midwest?
The primary goal of this guide is to protect remaining prairies in the Upper Midwest. Also important is to provide natural resource managers and landowners with information that will help them better plant and manage their tallgrass prairies.

What are your favorite natural areas in Iowa and the Midwest?
Some of my most favorite natural areas in Iowa are the roadside ditches in Cerro Gordo County, where there are some very unusual prairies. Seems like every time I visit, I see something new. Outside Iowa, I try to get to the Black Hills every year. Mixed-grass prairie, oak savanna, Ponderosa pine forest all mixed together—it’s a wonderful place to wander.

Dave Williams, The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Prairie Restoration in the Upper Midwest