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Chatham Trails Restoration <br />2024 Land Management Proposal <br />Background <br />Oak Ecosystems and Their Dependence on Fire <br />At the time of European settlement, this area that is now Arden Hills was predominantly oak savanna, <br />with some areas of wet prairie and hardwood forest. Fires occurred about every 10-20 years, on average. <br />Oak savannas are now “one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems,” (according to cullennature.org) <br />with only 0.06% of the Midwest’s historic 50 million acres remaining. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> mnatlas.org <br /> <br /> Oak savannas and woodlands are typically composed of pyrophilic (fire-tolerant) tree species such as: <br />oak, aspen, plum, hawthorn, hickory, and pine. Without periodic burning, these ecosystems gradually begin <br />to be replaced by pyrophobic trees such as: maple, ash, <br />cherry, cottonwood, basswood, elm, walnut, and <br />hackberry. <br /> <br /> As a plant community transitions from a pyrophilic <br />savanna (5-50% canopy cover) or woodland (50-70% <br />cover) to a pyrophobic forest (70-100% cover), there’s a <br />decline in: <br />● Herbaceous diversity <br />● Bee diversity <br />● Ecosystem functionality