The Arboretum is home to more than 900 acres of woodlands, savanna and prairie habitat that reflect the Chicago region’s ecological diversity and land-use history. The lessons we learn from our research and field work have an impact throughout the natural ecosystems of the Upper Midwest.

In addition, The Morton Arboretum is a member of the Chicago Wilderness  consortium, an alliance of more than 200 public and private organization working together to study, restore, protect and manage the precious natural ecosystems of the Chicago region for the benefit of the public.

Currently, the Arboretum is managing a comprehensive woodland restoration project in a 60-acre site within the East Woods. Our woodlands are much different than they were in the early 1800s when this area was first settled. To learn how one of our Arboretum volunteers has been involved with the project, see the article “Returning to the Past for a Healthier Tomorrow” in Branches, the newsletter for Morton Arboretum volunteers.

“If we’re to preserve our natural areas for future generations, we need to make sure they are healthy and feature a diverse array of species. We believe this project will yield a blueprint on how to achieve that,” Dreisilker said, adding that the findings will be useful for those managing oak woodlands anywhere in the Midwest.

Healthy woodlands are important for sustaining good air and water quality in the region, and for sustaining a variety of trees, other plants, and wildlife, particularly native trees and plants.

Workers planted almost 500 trees and approximately 600 shrubs in a section of the Arboretum’s East Woods area. The project’s goal is to improve the woodlands’ biodiversity and composition, that is, to create a healthy and sustainable mixture of trees, shrubs, grasses, wildflowers, and sedges. This, in turn, will allow increased numbers of trees, other plants, and animals to inhabit the natural areas and flourish.

Early settlers of the East Woods logged the area, and for many years, the region was used to produce crops.

Restoration work began in October of 2007 with some preparations and, later, Arboretum crews were clearing overstocked native trees. The cut trees were used as benches, or chipped and recycled as mulch for Arboretum trails or garden beds.

“We’re experimenting with a new approach to thin the canopy, to allow enough sunlight through, enabling saplings to grow,” Dreisilker explained.

Crews have removed invasive plants–many small enough to be pulled by hand, many others needing chainsaws, and the removals are continuing.

Workers also removed old drain tiles that farmers used to convert wetlands to farmland. The removals have already begun to restore the natural movement of water through the site, and water has begun to pool in low-lying basins. Native species are growing from the seedbank within the wetlands.

In the spring and fall 2008, the Arboretum planted native species strategically to create a sustainable environment – trees such as white oak, red oak, bur oak; and shrubs such as American hazelnut, buttonbush, viburnums, elderberry and dogwood.

“This allows us to take a bigger step in restoring our natural areas – excelling restoration beyond introducing fire and controlling invasives. This is a massive replanting of native trees and shrubs,” Dreisilker says.

His team will closely monitor the project, looking for natural canopy regeneration in general, and among oaks in particular. The team will also see if the species being planted will flourish.

The Arboretum Education Program presents classes that use the restoration efforts for field study and stewardship training.

“We have the opportunity to display, introduce, and study advances in woodland management,” says Megan Dunning, Head of Education. “Here at the Arboretum we have a unique opportunity to explore new methods to enhance and restore woodland health, and then share those strategies with neighboring communities.”

The Morton Arboretum gratefully acknowledges Grand Victoria Foundation and DuPage Community Foundation for their generous support of the woodland conservation program and woodland stewardship training program respectively, during 2009.

The light available in woodlands determines which species can live there. In this symposium, we’ll discuss the ways that different management techniques, such as fire, thinning and gap creation can promote growth of oaks and other trees, diversity in the herbaceous plants in the groundlayer, and habitat for birds in different types of woodlands.

The symposium will run from 9 am – 4 pm on October 31, at the Thornhill Education Center, and will include a tour and discussion of the woodland restoration project in the East Woods of the Arboretum. Some of the presentations include:

Oak and fire: Past, current and future trends of oak in the eastern United States
Greg Nowacki, Regional Ecologist, USDA Forest Service, Eastern Region

From past to present: Long-term instability in Chicago region woody plant communities and its management implications
Marlin Bowles, Plant Conservation Biologist, The Morton Arboretum

Ecological restoration in oak forests: Fire and thinning effects on structure, composition and diversity
Todd Hutchinson, Ecologist, USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station

Long-term monitoring of biodiversity: Under variable cover regimes
Scott Kobal and Wayne Lampa, Ecologists, FPD of DuPage County

Patterns of plant and animal biodiversity: Across a fire-dependent sand savanna gradient
Noel Pavlovic and Ralph Grundel, US Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center

For more information contact the Registrar’s office at 630-719-2468. Or register online.