Naturally disturbing: Removing invasive shrubs and restoring grasslands creates healthier freshwater wetlands and better habitat

Natural communities in the Oak Openings Region of northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan have historically depended on regular, natural disturbances like fire and grazing animals to maintain their healthy wetland, grassland, and prairie ecosystems.

Wetlands help filter water before it flows into streams, rivers and lakes—all sources of drinking water for the region’s population. Grasslands and meadows support hundreds of bird, animal, plant and insect species in Ohio necessary for the full benefits of biodiversity.

But a variety of influences have changed the northwest Ohio landscape over the last century, altering the tree and plant distribution and eliminating large herbivores from the ecosystem. Among the impacts: non-native, invasive plants are flourishing. And because non-native plants are not preferred by native insects, the entire food web has been altered, negatively affecting native birds and mammals. The non-native plants also prevent some native shrubs, grasses and flowers from taking hold, which then eliminates habitat for pollinators and other species.

Over the last four years, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Ohio and regional conservation project partners used funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation as part of a public-private partnership to remove non-native plants and restore the functions of wetlands and grasslands in the area to better support native wildlife. TNC and partners used prescribed fire, mowing, brush cutting, forestry mulching and targeted herbicide applications to control invasive plants and to restore the land.

Some 1,718 acres across the Kitty Todd Nature Preserve, Metroparks Toledo, Outdoor Sylvania Community Parks, the City of Sylvania and several private lands in the Toledo area were restored through this grant, which is part of a greater effort for restoration of the Lake Erie basin.

The project aims, in part, to rebuild habitat for several species including the American woodcock, blue-spotted salamander, hog-nosed snake and sandhill cranes, as well as other grassland nesting birds and pollinators.

“Most grasslands, wetlands, and savannas in northwest Ohio have been lost due to development and agriculture. Northwest Ohio is part of the Oak Openings Region, a globally rare ecosystem that The Nature Conservancy and its partners are working to protect,” said Pete Blank, the Northwest Ohio program manager for TNC in Ohio. “Restoring these habitats benefits the species that depend upon them, including many focal species in the Ohio Wildlife Action Plan, that are now rare.”

The project’s successes include:

• improved habitat for species dependent on native plants;
• reduction of invasive plant species that degrade habitat quality and ecosystem function;
• conservation of plant and animal diversity in a global biodiversity hotspot within the Lake Erie basin.

“Maintaining or improving the health of these natural areas is integral to the continued function of ecosystem services such as sediment and nutrient runoff reduction, provision of floodwater storage, and carbon sequestration,” Blank said. “Invasive species removal will also improve public access to greenspace and public recreation opportunities.”

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About the Oak Openings Region:

A sandy, 1,300-square-mile swath, roughly 85 miles long and 15 miles wide, the Oak Openings Region extends from north of Detroit and Ann Arbor in Michigan to the Maumee River south of Toledo, Ohio. It includes many parks and preserves and countless acres in private ownership.  

The Oak Openings Region contains some of the rarest plant communities in the world. For example, five of the natural plant communities in the region are considered globally rare. The Nature Conservancy has named the Oak Openings Region as “One of America’s Last Great Places” and “One of the 200 Last Great Places on Earth.” Nearly one-third of Ohio’s endangered plant species can be found here, along with a host of rare birds and butterflies.