THE IMPACT OF TALL-GRASS PRAIRIE RESTORATION ON SOIL COMPOSITION AND MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES, SEBASTIAN COUNTY, ARKANSAS

Prior to European contact, Massard Prairie, a tall-grass ecosystem, covered approximately 10,000 acres south of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Today, only about 200 acres of Massard Prairie remain as isolated patches, the remainder being displaced by development. Cultivation and development of prairie have likely altered soil composition and microbial diversity. In 2016, Jay Randolph, CGCS Certified Golf Course Superintendent for Sebastian County, started a program to restore tall-grass vegetation in 1,300-acre Ben Geren Regional Park located in southeastern Fort Smith. Today, patches of remnant or restored prairie comprise about 100 acres in and around the 27-hole Ben Geren Golf Course. Geoscience and biology faculty and students from the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith are partnering with Randolph to study the impacts of tall-grass prairie development and restoration on soil compositions and microbial communities. Over 20 composite soil samples were collected from remnant and restored prairie as well as sites developed for golf or other recreational purposes. Biology faculty and students are classifying soil bacteria using 16S rRNA analysis by polymerase chain reaction coupled with sequencing analysis. Geoscience faculty and students are classifying soil samples according to grain size and using X-ray diffraction to determine the mineralogy of clay fractions. This presentation focuses primarily on soil classification and mineralogy.