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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I agree - that would be very cool! We did some research a while back, fyi, to look at farming legacy effects on plant-soil-microbe relationships in llp. Bottom line: big effects on soils and soil microbes (fungi, bacteria), little consequence for plants.

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The hypothesis is that fire adapted species (oaks, hickories) will perform best is soils from savannas experiencing frequent fires, due to how fire shapes plant-microbe (esp mycorrhizae) relationships Fire sensitive species (maples, cherries) will do best in soils from fire-suppressed savannas

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

New research happening to test how prescribed fire shapes plant-soil feedbacks in oak savannas Tree seedlings are growing in soils collected from plots with/without recent management with fire, within our long-running prescribed fire experiment at the MSU MacCready Reserve

A greenhouse filled with white oak, pignut hickory, black cherry, and red maple seedlings, in pots.

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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

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

Thank goodness for the Pythagorean Theorem!

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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 · 07/09/2026

It's good to be back connected with you!

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

Glades are systems (including savannas) with exposed bedrock and thin soils We also recognize other deep-soil systems on more productive soils All differ in plant composition and other attributes More here, if you're interested: mnfi.anr.msu.edu/communities/... mnfi.anr.msu.edu/communities/...

mnfi.anr.msu.edu

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

Great question, Kaleb. Terminology can differ regionally, but here in Michigan we recognize different types of savannas (systems with partial canopy cover). Barrens are types on coarse-textured soils and we distinguish between those with primarily oak canopies pine vs oak and pine

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

This (and other native plants) surprise me, too - always welcome, though!

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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

I'm also curious to hear if Ashish has thoughts on this, next time he's on here =)

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

Thanks, Nash - we had a great leader in Ashish!

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

These differences suggest altered ecosystem process rates, like nutrient cycling, in secondary vs. old-growth grasslands. They also persisted for more than a century, pointing to the vital importance of preserving intact old-growth grasslands and need for active restoration following degradation

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

We found that plant species in secondary grasslands tend to have traits enabling rapid growth and acquisition of resources like light and water, and also be taller. Those in old-growth grasslands, like wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana), are slow growing and also tend to be shorter

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

We pulled together findings from 24 past studies to ask how plant species living in secondary grasslands - those recovering from cultivation or other major disturbances - differ from those living in ancient, old-growth grasslands

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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

I haven't seen one lately, but am sure they're still there.

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