Floristic Analysis of the C. Bertrand and Marian Othmer Schultz Prairie, A Mixed-Grass Prairie in South-Central Nebraska

Authors

Steven J. Rothenberger, University of Nebraska at KearneyFollow

Date of this Version

1994

Comments

1994. Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, 21: 21-30. Copyright © 1994 Rothenberger.

Abstract

The C. Bertrand and Marian Othmer Schultz Prairie is a 259 ha/640 ac/1 mi² tract of mixed-grass prairie in a region of loess hills in south-central Nebraska. It is on the Kansas border in Webster County, 6.5 km south and 8.1 km east of Red Cloud. A floristic study of the prairie was made during the 1993 and 1994 growing seasons. The 1993 study was accompanied by an ecological survey which determined (1) plant species importance and (2) plant-community relationships using point-step and quadrat methods. Major plant community types are Andropogon scoparius- A. gerardii- Bouteloua gracilis on shallow limy range sites, A. scoparius- Poa pratensis- Bouteloua curtipendula on silty sites, and A. gerardii- A. scoparius- Buchloe dactyloides on lowland overflow sites. The prairie is traversed from south to north by Lost Creek which supports wetland and riparian vegetation. A total of 239 plant species representing 58 families are listed in this report.