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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 10h

It's Play-Doh day in Plants of Michigan, as we model glacial processes and post-glacial landforms, then relate these to distributions of plant communities across the state.

Models of glacial processes and post-glacial landforms, made from Play-doh

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Got to visit some nice oak-pine barrens today in western Michigan - prepping for a new project to understand how managing for endangered Karner Blue butterflies affects ground layer plant communities

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

It's a great time of year to visit a fen....and a beautiful day for it!

Small fringed gentian (Gentianopsis virgata)

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

It's aster season! Here in bloom: New England aster in the front yard pocket prairie.

A small planted prairie next to a driveway

New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

It was a beautiful day to hold class in the Beal Botanical Garden

A botanical garden bed surrounded by mowed grass and trees

A botanical garden bed in front of a large tree

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

It was a great day at @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social sampling our NutNet and DragNet experiments. Plant species surveys, biomass harvest, light interception, and soil samples - all done for the year!

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

It was a great day in Plants of Michigan In class we talked about taxonomic keys and worked on keying out plant specimens In lab we visited Sanford Natural Area on campus, to discuss beach-maple and floodplain forests

A table full of plants in water tubes, plus plant identification books

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

In bloom along the shore of Lake Lansing, during this evening's paddle: Marsh skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata) Nodding beggar-ticks (Bidens cernua)

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Prepping and getting excited for our 14th season of data collection in the Nutrient Network (nutnet.org) plots at @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social. Here's a view of our setup from the air before (2009) and after (2015) their establishment.

A field without NutNet plots, viewed from the air

A field with NutNet plots, viewed from the air

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Swamp betony (Pedicularis lanceolata), a hemiparasite of wet spots, attaches to roots of other plants using special organs called haustoria As a hemiparasite with chlorophyll, it uses a combination of photosynthesis, root acquisition, and robbery to acquire its resources (nutrients, water, sugar)

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Some of the spoils from this morning's hike through dry oak woods and wet prairie/sedge meadow: Bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) Slender false foxglove (Agalinis tenuifolia) Flat-topped white aster (Doellingeria umbellata) White lettuce (Prenanthes alba)

Slender false foxglove (Agalinis tenuifolia)

Flat-topped white aster (Doellingeria umbellata)

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) blooming next to our (very weedy) vegetable garden

Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) blooming in front of a fence containing a small vegetable garden

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

A beautiful and nicely managed oak barrens, supporting large populations of characteristic ground layer plant species, like western sunflower (Helianthus occidentalis). Fort Custer Training Center, SW Michigan

An oak barrens with a grove of trees and dense ground layer

Western sunflower (Helianthus occidentalis)

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The front yard pocket prairie is buzzing today with lots still in bloom, including New England aster, grass-leaved goldenrod, and black-eyed Susan

Grass-leaved goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia)

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida) is now blooming in our front yard pocket prairie

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Forest meets the sea on the Olympic Peninsula, near Port Townsend, Washington

A rocky beach at low tide next to forest above a cliff and a cloudy sky above

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Reposted by Lars Brudvig

Markus Wagner @wagnermarkus.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

A nice study!

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Reposted by Lars Brudvig

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · 27/08/2026

Old-growth grasslands are slow to recover once destroyed. Characteristic plants of such grasslands are shorter and have smaller leaves with less nitrogen than plants in secondary grasslands, which are resource-acquisitive and more competitive. In PNAS: ow.ly/zOl950ZFVFu

A remnant of an old-growth prairie in Ohio. Stock photo.
CREDIT: Jim Palus

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Reposted by Lars Brudvig

Ashish Nerlekar @ashishnerlekar.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

🌟Publication alert!🌟Destruction of old-growth grasslands is exaggerating the global biodiversity crisis & we don't fully know why some species recover post destruction and not others. Our new study in @pnas.org addresses this gap. 1/5 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

New from @ashishnerlekar.bsky.social @llseedsull.bsky.social me and many others: Grassland destruction causes shifts in plant traits that persist during recovery www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... eeb.msu.edu/news/why-anc...

eeb.msu.edu

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Got to visit some spectacular prairie fens today

A lady's tresses - Spiranthes incurva, perhais

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Optimist: the glass is half full Pessimist: the glass is half empty Restoration ecologist: better is better

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Old-growth red pine (Pinus resinosa) forest, with trees dating to 250-300+ years. Camp Graying National Guard base, Michigan

A forest with a large pine tree in the foreground

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Behold: Voss' goldenrod (Solidago vossii)! 1 of 2 endemic plant species in Michigan and one of our rarest - found in only 2 counties Recognized as a new species and named for Ed Voss in 2010 Also, fun fact: the only known octoploid (2n=72) goldenrod in the world

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

It was a beautiful day in the Grayling pine barrens! We were scouting sites for a new project, which will evaluate relationships between ecosystem management, rare and endangered animals (Kirtkand's warblers here), and ground layer plants

Upland white goldenrod (Solidago ptarmicoides)

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Evening update from the front yard pocket prairie: false boneset (Brickellia eupatorioides) has joined the party!

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Today we completed our 17th field season, documenting vegetation change during restoration of imperilled oak barrens at the MSU MacCready Reserve! It's been amazing to see the transformation of these plots, which now support thriving populations of rare species, like state threatened upland boneset

An oak barrens, experimentally restored through tree clearing and repeated prescribed fire.

Upland boneset (Eupatorium sessilifolium)

Fire suppressed oak barrens, choked with amur honeysuckle and other exotic shrubs

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

More from the Conservation Lands Experiment - prairie reconstruction at @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Spider and web, in the morning sunshine

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Reposted by Lars Brudvig

Elena Litchman @elenalitchman.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Interested in doing a postdoc in plankton ecology, on topics of community assembly, trait-based ecological resilience, stressor interactions, harmful algal blooms and others? Contact me to discuss developing a proposal for MSU's EEB Presidential Postdoc Fellowship (Nov 1 application deadline).

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Join us through the Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship in EEB! Conduct your own research, mentored by 2+ EEB faculty. $65k salary + research/moving $. All areas of EEB welcome. Apply by 11/1 I co-chair this search and am happy to field questions Spread the word! eeb.msu.edu/initiatives/...

eeb.msu.edu

Postdoctoral Fellowship - Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Culver's root blooming with slender mountain mint, tall coreopsis, and pale indian plantain, in the Conservation Lands Experiment, at @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social

Culver's root (Veronicastrum virginicum) blooming with slender mountain mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium), tall coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris), and pale indian plantain (Arnoglossum atriplicifolium),

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Good morning from the Conservation Lands Experiment - our field-scale prairie reconstruction experiment at @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social

A field of big bluestem, gray-headed coneflower, and other prairie plants

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Front yard pocket prairie update: Blue vervain (Verbena hastata) is now blooming, the sun is shining, and the bees are buzzing

A bumblebee visiting purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Goodnight from Sleepy Hollow State Park

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

It was another great day in our oak barrens restoration experiment, which couples repeated prescribed fire with clearing of woody encroachment We've made incredible progress over the last 15 years, improving habitat for species characteristic of this system, like harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)

An oak barrens being managed by prescribed fire and tree thinning

An unmanaged, long fire suppressed, and encroached oak barrens

Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia) in bloom

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Beautiful day in our oak barrens restoration experiment, at the MSU MacCready Reserve

Lance-leaved loosestrife (Lysimachia lanceolata) in bloom

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

The smoke has cleared (at least for now), the sun is shining, and bees are buzzing around the front yard pocket prairie, with wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), and yellow coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) in bloom

A small bee visiting a yellow coneflower bloom

A bumblebee visiting a wild bergamot bloom

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Update from the front yard pocket prairie: purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) are now in bloom

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

In bloom last month in the SRS Corridor Project fragmentation experiment: Spurred butterfly pea (Centrosema virginianum) Virginia meadow beauty (Rhexia virginica) Pitted stripeseed (Piriqueta cistoides) Whitemouth dayflower (Commelina erecta)

Virginia meadow beauty (Rhexia virginica)

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Eastern prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa) blooming last month in the SRS Corridor Project fragmentation experiment (South Carolina)

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Soft greeneyes (Berlandiera pumila) blooming last month in the SRS Corridor Project fragmentation experiment (South Carolina)

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Sandhills milkweed (Asclepias humistrata), setting seed earlier this month in the SRS Corridor Project fragmentation experiment, in South Carolina Endemic to the southeastern U.S. coastal plain, this might be my favorite milkweed. Look at those leaves!

Sandhills milkweed (Asclepias humistrata) leaves

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Currently in the front yard pocket prairie: Foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) Prairie cinquefoil (Drymocallis arguta) Fox sedge (Carex vulpinoidea)

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

New from the SRS Corridor Project Experiment: Habitat fragmentation alters post-dispersal more than pre-dispersal seed predation through edge effects esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

A graph showing effects of plantation forest edge proximity, for a set of longleaf pine ground layer plants.

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Reposted by Lars Brudvig

Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

🚨New paper alert 🚨 In a 13-year experiment in longleaf pine savannas, we tested when passive recovery works, and how active interventions can help it along. 🧵 Read it here: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Active interventions accelerate native plant recolonization following agricultural abandonment

Our results show that combined canopy thinning and prescribed burning can accelerate natural recolonization in savanna systems. However, additional measures (e.g. seed addition) may be needed for wea...

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