50 Years of Change in Illinois Hill Prairies

A classic in the annals of prairie ecology is this report by Ken Robertson, et al, on the changes in a collection of Illinois hill prairies over a 50 year period. The original, earlier perspective on these sites is that of Dr. Robert Evans of the Illinois Natural History Survey.

"On average, these hill prairies lost 63% of their area, became fragmented into smaller units, and increased the ratio of edge to center. Field studies showed that sites losing a larger portion of area also had lower species richness. " The report was originally published in Erigenia in 1995.