Prairie Strip Design and Placement
Prairie Strip Design Considerations
The following are some general guidelines to consider when strategically incorporating prairie on the land.
The following are some general guidelines to consider when strategically incorporating prairie on the land.
The STRIPS project began in 2003, when Iowa State University scientists began discussing the opportunity to test the effects of integrating restored prairie in crop fields with managers at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Together, the scientists and refuge managers established four different treatments on 12 small watersheds at Neal Smith in 2007. As of 2012, we're now also working on a growing number of commercial farm fields across Iowa and northern Missouri. Read more about the research background, farmer collaborators, and research topics here. Read more about Research Overview
Prairie strips are most easily established in fields which have previously been used for tilled annual row crop production (Jarchow and Liebman, 2011). Seeding following soybeans is especially favored for prairie strip establishment because the tilled field will have a reduced seed bank of annual weed seed and the soybean stubble will decompose readily (Jarchow and Liebman, 2011).
Nonetheless, if the correct procedures are followed prairie can be easily established following any crop or land cover. Read more about Prairie Strip Installation and Establishment
Al-Kaisi, M. (2000). Soil erosion: An agricultural production challenge. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. (Accessed 27 August 2017).
Brady, N. C. & Weil, R. R. (2008). The nature and properties of soils. (14th ed.). United States: Pearson.
Crop Data Management Systems (CDMS). (2017). Label database. (Accessed 27 August 2017). Read more about Chapter 7: References