Effects of Management Practices on the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid at Pembina Trail Preserve Scientific and Natural Area, Minnesota

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This study has been ongoing since 1999. The goal of this project is to determine how different management practices affect the Western Prairie Fringed orchid and recommend the most beneficial method of managing for the conservation of the species and its habitat. It includes the application of specific management practices on an established schedule within two experimental grids that are permanently established on The Nature Conservancy's Pembina Trail Preserve. Application of these practices requires access to the property and the ability to safely implement haying and prescribed fire in a manner typically carried out on other properties in northwest Minnesota and in accordance with state and local laws and regulations. This experiment compares the effects of different management practices on a population of Western Prairie Fringed Orchids at Pembina Trail Preserve SNA. In addition to carrying out the experimental treatments the recipient must possess the capability to assess the number of flowering orchids, number of flowers per orchid, seed set of orchids, and the presence or absence and identify of other plant species present within treatment cells and to analyze the resulting data according to standard biometric techniques.

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