Early surveyors\u27 notes from five counties bordering the Platte River in eastern Nebraska were utilized to measure the extent of original woody vegetation in this region. These data were compared to field studies from the same area made from 1979-1983, were used to determine areas of prairie-forest transition, and were used to tabulate the extent of woody vegetation in the lower Platte River Valley at the time of European settlement (1855-1857). Using a modified importance value based on relative density and relative dominance of witness trees, the highest ranking pre-settlement tree species were cottonwood [Populus eltoides Marsh. spp. monilifera (Ait.) Eckenw.], bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.), elms (Ulmus spp.), willows (Salix spp.), and black oak (Quercus velutina Lam.). The original survey indicated the presence of single trees and tree clusters within the original prairie vegetation of eastern Nebraska. Trees are presently more widespread, and their composition differs from the original woody vegetation. Presently, cottonwood, bur oak, American linden (Tilia americana L.), and rough-leaved dogwood (Cornus drummondii Meyer) are more common than they were 130 years ago

Rothenberger, Steven J.

English

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University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
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Proceedings of the North American Prairie 
Conferences North American Prairie Conference 
1989 
Extent of Woody Vegetation on the Prairie in Eastern Nebraska, 
1855-1857 
Steven J. Rothenberger 
Department of Biology, Midland Lutheran College, Fremont, Nebraska 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/napcproceedings 
 Part of the International and Area Studies Commons 
Rothenberger, Steven J., "Extent of Woody Vegetation on the Prairie in Eastern Nebraska, 1855-1857" 
(1989). Proceedings of the North American Prairie Conferences. 46. 
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/napcproceedings/46 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the North American Prairie Conference at 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Proceedings of the North 
American Prairie Conferences by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 
EXTENT OF WOODY VEGETATION ON THE PRAIRIE 
IN EASTERN NEBRASKA, 1855-1857 
Steven J. Rothenberger 
Department of Biology, Midland Lutheran College, Fremont, Nebraska 68025 
Abstract. Early surveyors' notes from five counties bordering the Platte 
River in eastern Nebraska were utilized to measure the extent of original 
woody vegetation in this region. These data were compared to field studies 
from the same area made from 1979-1983, were used to determine areas 
of prairie-forest transition, and were used to tabulate the extent of woody 
vegetation in the lower Platte River Valley at the time of European settle-
ment (1855-1857). Using a modified importance value based on relative 
density and relative dominance of witness trees, the highest ranking pre-
settlement tree species were cottonwood [Populus eltoides Marsh. spp. 
monilifera (Ait.) Eckenw.], bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.), elms 
(Ulmus spp.), willows (Salix spp.), and black oak (Quercus velutina Lam.). 
The original survey indicated the presence of single trees and tree clusters 
within the original prairie vegetation of eastern Nebraska. Trees are pres-
ently more widespread, and their composition differs from the original 
woody vegetation. Presently, cottonwood, bur oak, American linden (TWa 
americana L.), and rough-leaved dogwood (Corn us drummondii Meyer) 
are more common than they were 130 years ago. 
Key Words. presettlement vegetation, woody vegetation, prairie-forest tran-
sition, tallgrass prairie, succession, Nebraska 
INTRODUCTION 
The eastern one-third of Nebraska originally consisted of tallgrass 
prairie. It has generally been accepted that the small amount of 
woody vegetation present prior to 1855 existed only along or near 
rivers and streams. This would have provided a rather distinct 
prairie-forest ecotone restricted primarily to river floodplains, ter-
races, or other uplands bordering rivers and streams. However, 
evidence does suggest the existence of savanna-like stands of trees, 
some of which were located in areas formerly thought to be ex-
clusively tallgrass prairie (Rozmajzl 1988). 
Invasion of woody vegetation into grassland has often been 
attributed to decreased fIre intensity and frequency (Buell and 
Facey 1960, Vog11974, Towne and Owensby 1984, Abrams 1986, 
Hulbert 1986). Weaver (1960) described the ecotone between 
grassland and bur oak forest occurring on the upper slope of the 
bluffs bordering the Platte River as a "chaparral or scrub com-
munity containing wolfberry, dogwood, and prickly ash". More 
recent studies indicate that dense thickets of eastern red cedar 
(Juniperus virginiana L.), wild plum (Prunus americana Marsh.), 
choke cherry (Prunus virginiana L.), smooth sumac (Rhus glabra 
L.), and hazelnut [Corylus americana (L.) Walt.] were quite com-
mon along the margins of bur oak/bitternut hickory associations 
(Stephens 1973, Rothenberger 1985). These shrub communities 
are a direct result of post settlement fIre exclusion, and they some-
times encroach upon the few grassy openings that still exist in this 
heavily cultivated region. This study was designed to compare 
present woody vegetation of the area with the pre settlement woody 
vegetation as indicated by the General Land Office (GLO) records. 
METHODS 
Study Site 
The study site included Dodge, Saunders, Douglas, Sarpy, and 
Cass counties in eastern Nebraska, which border the lower 96 km 
of the Lower Platte River above its confluence with the Missouri 
River (Figure 1). This part of the river valley presents an extension 
of oak-hickory upland forest (Braun 1950) and cottonwood-wil-
low-elm riparian forest into the prairie. During pre settlement times, 
these woodlands were bordered exclusively by tallgrass or true 
prairie. The study area was located within the Drift Hills Region 
of the Central Lowland Province (Figure 1) and was within the 
western portion of the tallgrass prairie formation (KUchler 1964). 
Nebraska is a transitional plains state in which the drift hills in 
the east give way to loess hills, sandhills, and ultimately tablelands 
or high plains of the Great Plains Province in the western part of 
the state. The study area included elevations ranging from 290 to 
427 m and precipitation ranging from 74 to 80 cm per year. 
FIG 1. The physiography of Nebraska showing the fIve-county 
study site located in the Drift Hills region. 
A wide variety of tills and post glacial deposits were present. 
Much of the fIve-county area was mantled with loess which is 
largely Medial Wisconsin in age, but Late Wisconsin loess mantled 
Late Wisconsin terrace deposits along many of the valley sites of 
the principal stream courses (Burchett and Reed 1967). The Platte 
River terraces and most of the adjacent uplands were capped by 
Peoria loess of Medial Wisconsin origin (Wayne 1985). Even though 
the underlying sediments and tills varied throughout the area, the 
overlying loess mantle formed the basis for the development of 
the original tallgrass prairie and adjacent woodlands along major 
streams and their tributaries. 
Data Collection 
Early GLO survey records were studied and compared to fIeld 
data collected from 1979-1983 to determine the extent of original 
woody vegetation in a five-county study area of eastern Nebraska. 
The study area included Dodge, Saunders, Douglas, Sarpy, and 
Cass counties (Figure 1) and was selected because this area was 
originally composed of tallgrass prairie dissected by the Platte 
River (KUchler 1964). The Platte and its tributaries provided habitat 
conducive to the growth of woody plants in this area. 
The original GLO survey occurred from 1855-1857 when sig-
nificant settlement of Europeans fIrst began in this area. Records 
were obtained at the county offIces in Fremont, Papillion, Platts-
mouth, Omaha, and Wahoo, Nebraska, and from the state sur-
veyor's offIce in Lincoln. These records were in the form of original 
written descriptions, microfilm, and maps. 
Some difficulties were encountered in interpreting certain writ-
er's penmanship. Also, some inaccuracies due to species sampling 
errors and misuse of common names were probable. "Elm," "wil-
low," and "hickory" were reported without designation as to 
species. "Spanish oak" (referring to Quercus palustris Muench.) 
and "white oak" (Quercus alba L.) were reported in the GLO 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ELEVENTH NORTH AMERICAN PRAIRIE CONFERENCE 1989 15 
16 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ELEVENTH NORTH AMERICAN PRAIRIE CONFERENCE 
survey but were not found to occur in the area of the study of 
1979-1983 (Rothenberger 1985) .•• Hickory" was inferred to mean 
bitternut hickory [Carya cordinformis (Wang.) K. Koch.], the most 
common hickory in the area, and "Lynn" referred to American 
linden (Titia americana L.). Despite these problems, the use of 
witness tree data and written descriptions of vegetation provided 
a reasonably reliable source of information for this study. The 
witness tree data from the survey included the number of trees and 
their sizes (diameter) and was used to calculate importance value, 
a modified value equal to the sum of the relative density and the 
relative dominance for each species. Importance values were cal-
culated for each of the five separate county surveys. Botanical 
nomenclature follows the Great Plains Flora Association (1986). 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 
The concentration of witness trees recorded in the study area in 
1855-1857 were much higher within the Platte Valley and along 
the uplands bordering the river than on the open grassland (Figure 
2). However, some groupings of witness trees occurred on both 
upland and lowland sites away from the river. These small tree 
groves and single isolated witness trees located away from major 
streams and their tributaries were of special interest, because they 
gave evidence to the existence of some woody vegetation within 
the tallgrass prairie. Similar results were reported in Douglas and 
Washington counties, Nebraska, in which presettlement savanna 
relics were identified on uplands (Rozmajzl 1988). The incidence 
of these trees and tree "patches" was probably dependent on fire, 
climate, substrate, and topography (Bell and Hulbert 1974). 
FIG 2. Witness trees recorded during the GLO survey of 1855-
1857. Each dot represents one tree. 
In the eastern Nebraska survey, bur oak savanna integraded 
sharply into tallgrass prairie on the uplands and gradually gave 
way to more established riparian forest types containing cotton-
wood [Populus deltoides Marsh. subsp. monilifera (Ait.) Eck-
enw.J, green ash [Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh. var. 
subintegerrima (Vah!.) Fern.], willows (Salix spp.), and elms (Ul-
mus spp.) as the surveyors approached the Platte River. Fire-sus-
ceptible species, such as eastern red cedar, were seldom encountered. 
Solitary trees, most notably cottonwood, green ash, and elms are 
more difficult to explain but must have occurred along creeks, 
near wetlands, or on similar sites where they were afforded some 
measure of fire protection. At several locations, few witness trees 
were reported even though the survey notes indicated the presence 
of significant amounts of woody vegetation. Perhaps the survey 
team felt that these trees were too small to sample. Whatever the 
reason, the surveyors' notes did not always accurately reflect the 
presence of woody vegetation. 
The exclusion of fire in the study area has resulted in succes-
sional changes in species composition and increases in the total 
amount of woody vegetation. Higher elevations on upland sites in 
eastern Nebraska were more open than they are now, with park-
like bur oak stands interrupted by grassy areas (Lawson et al. 
1980). In the Kansas Flint Hills, Bragg and Hulbert (1976) found 
prairies remaining unburned for 20 years or longer were replaced 
by forest on over one-half or more of their area. 
During the 130-year period since the original survey, fluctua-
tions in biotic and abiotic factors have caused inevitable changes 
in species composition. Table 1 compares the relative importance 
values of woody plants from the 1855-1857 GLO survey with 
those of the 1979-1983 study. Cottonwood and bur oak accounted 
for 73% of all witness trees reported. The high importance value 
for cottonwood also reflects the exceedingly large total basal area 
calculated for this species. Even though the GLO survey was not 
intended to be an ecological study, some interesting changes are 
noteworthy. These include: 
1. Increases in fire-sensitive eastern red cedar probably because 
of fire suppression. 
2. Increases in more mesic tree species, such as American lin-
den, red mulberry (Morus rubra L.), green ash, hackberry 
(Celtis occidentatis L.), and red oak [Quercus borealis Michx. 
var. maxima (Marsh.) Ashe.]. 
3. A high incidence of rough-leaved dogwood (Comus drum-
mondii Meyer). It should be noted that rough-leaved dog-
wood is present in large numbers although it was only 
occasionally mentioned by the GLO surveyors. 
4. A decrease in American elm (Ulmus americana L.), pre-
sumably because of Dutch elm disease (Ceratocystis ulmi). 
A combination of factors have changed the species composition 
of woody vegetation in eastern Nebraska. This study indicates that, 
initially, trees were mostly limited to river valleys or to scattered 
trees or groves. Subsequent vegetative changes, resulting from fire 
exclusion, disease, grazing, human activities, and variable pre-
cipitation have combined to form a somewhat different woody 
vegetation type along the rivers and streams in the study area. 
These changes are likely to continue and may result in a woody 
plant composition even more different from that dominating the 
pre settlement landscape. 
EXTENT OF WOODY VEGETATION ON THE PRAIRIE IN EASTERN NEBRASKA, 1855-1857 17 
Table 1. Total numbers and relative importance values for trees recorded during the original GLO survey compared to relative importance values of 
trees sampled in the study area from 1979-1983. 
Species 
Cottonwood [Populus deltoides Marsh subsp. monili/era (Ait.) Eckenw.] 
Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.) 
Elm (Ulmus americana L.) 
Willow (Salix spp.) 
Black oak (Quercus velutina Lam.) 
White oak (Quercus alba L.) 
Green ash [Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh. var. subintegerrima (Vahl.) Fern.] 
Pin oak (Quercus palustris Muench.) 
American linden (Ti/ia americana L.) 
Bitternut hickory [Carya cordi/ormis (Wang.) K. Koch] 
Red oak [Quercus borealis Michx. var. maxima (March.) Ashe.] 
Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana L.) 
Box elder (Acer negundo L.) 
Silver maple (Acer saccharinum L.) 
Hop horn bean [Ostrya virginiana (P. Mill.) K. Koch] 
Red elm (Ulmus rubra Muhl.) 
Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis L.) 
Species not reported in the GLO Survey: 
Rough-leaved dogwood (Comus drummondii Meyer) 
Red mulberry (Morus rubra L.) 
Black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) 
Northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa Warder) 
Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos L.) 
Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica L.) 
Peach-leaved willow (Salix amygdaloides Anderss.) 
Kentucky coffee tree [Gymnocladus dioica (L.) K. Koch] 
Black willow (Salix nigra Marsh.) 
White mulberry (Morus alba L.) 
Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra L.) 
Juneberry (Amelanchier arborea (Michx. f.) Fern.] 
Downy hawthorn [Crataegus mollis (T. & G.) Sheele] 
Red osier dogwood (Comus stoloni/era Michx.) 
Total 
trees 
1855-1857 Survey 
Relative 
importance 
value 
1979-1983 
Field Study 
Relative 
importance 
value 
--- no. --- ------------------------- 070 -------------------------
345 
177 
54 
34 
19 
16 
19 
4 
4 
10 
6 
6 
7 
3 
4 
3 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
55.6 
21.3 
7.7 
2.9 
2.5 
2.1 
1.9 
1.0 
1.0 
0.9 
0.7 
0.6 
0.6 
0.4 
0.4 
0.3 
0.1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
12.9 
12.0 
0.5 
0 
2.4 
0 
6.1 
0 
9.9 
2.6 
5.0 
5.4 
1.3 
2.3 
3.8 
7.6 
5.2 
9.0 
8.3 
1.4 
0.8 
0.7 
0.6 
0.6 
0.4 
0.4 
0.3 
0.2 
0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
i8 PROCEEDiNGS OF THE ELEVENTH NORTH AMERiCAN PRAIRiE CONFERENCE 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
I would especially like to thank the staff and officials of Dodge, 
Douglas, Cass, Sarpy, and Saunders counties and the state sur-
veyor's office in Lincoln for graciously allowing me access to 
records of the U.S. Land Survey. Their help was essential to this 
project. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Abrams, M.D. 1986. Historical development of gallery forests in 
northeast Kansas. Vegetatio 65:29-37. 
Bell, E.L., and L.c. Hulbert. 1974. Effect of soil on occurrence 
of cross timbers and prairie in southern Kansas. Kansas Acad-
emy of Sciences Transactions 77:203-209. 
Bragg, T.B., and L.c. Hulbert. 1976. Woody plant invasion of 
unburned Kansas bluestem prairie. Journal of Range Manage-
ment 29: 19-24. 
Braun, E.L. 1950. Deciduous forests of eastern North America. 
Hafner Press, New York. 
Buell, M.F., and V. Facey. 1960. Forest-prairie transition west of 
Itasca Park, Minnesota. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 
87:46-58. 
Burchett, R.R., and E.C. Reed. 1967. Centennial guidebook to 
the geology of southeastern Nebraska. The University of Ne-
braska Conservation and Survey Division, Lincoln. 
Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. 
University Press of Kansas, Lawrence. 
Hulbert, L.c. 1986. Fire effects on tallgrass prairie. Pages l38-
142. In G.K. Clambey and R.H. Pemble (eds.). Proceedings of 
the Ninth North American Prairie Conference, Tri-College Uni-
versity, Moorhead, Minnesota. 
KUchler, A.W. 1964. Potential natural vegetation of the conter-
minous United States. American Geographical Society, Special 
Publication Number 36. 
Lawson, M.P., R. Heim Jr., J .A. Mangimeli, and G. Moles. 1980. 
Dendroclimatic analysis of bur oak in eastern Nebraska. Tree 
Ring Bulletin 40:1-16. 
Rothenberger, S.J. 1985. Community analysis of the forest veg-
etation in the lower Plant River Valley, eastern Nebraska. Prairie 
Naturalist 17: 1-14. 
Rozmajzl, M.K. 1988. Presettlement oak savanna in eastern Ne-
braska. Master of Arts Thesis, University of Nebraska, Omaha. 
Stephens, H.A. 1973. Woody plants of the North Central Plains. 
University Press of Kansas, Lawrence. 
Towne, G., and C. Owensby. 1984. Long-term effects of annual 
burning at different dates in ungrazed Kansas tallgrass prairie. 
Journal of Range Management 37:392-397. 
Vogl, R.J. 1974. Effects of fire on grasslands. Pages l39-194. In 
T.T. Kozlowski and C.E. Ahlgren (eds.). Fire and Ecosystems. 
Academic Press, New York. 
Wayne, W. J. 1985. Drainage p~tterns and glaciations in eastern 
Nebraska. Pages 111-117. In W. Dort, Jr. (ed.). TER-QUA 
Symposium, V. 1, Nebraska Academy of Sciences, Lincoln. 
Weaver, J .E. 1960. Flood plain vegetation of the central Missouri 
Valley and contacts of woodland with prairie. Ecological Mon-
ographs 30:37-64. 


Extent of Woody Vegetation on the Prairie in Eastern Nebraska, 1855-1857

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Proceedings of the North American Prairie Conferences North American Prairie Conference 1989 Extent of Woody Vegetation on the Prairie in Eastern Nebraska, 1855-1857 Steven J. Rothenberger Department of Biology, Midland Lutheran College, Fremont, Nebraska Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/napcproceedings  Part of the International and Area Studies Commons Rothenberger, Steven J., "Extent of Woody Vegetation on the Prairie in Eastern Nebraska, 1855-1857" (1989). Proceedings of the North American Prairie Conferences. 46. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/napcproceedings/46 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the North American Prairie Conference at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Proceedings of the North American Prairie Conferences by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. EXTENT OF WOODY VEGETATION ON THE PRAIRIE IN EASTERN NEBRASKA, 1855-1857 Steven J. Rothenberger Department of Biology, Midland Lutheran College, Fremont, Nebraska 68025 Abstract. Early surveyors' notes from five counties bordering the Platte River in eastern Nebraska were utilized to measure the extent of original woody vegetation in this region. These data were compared to field studies from the same area made from 1979-1983, were used to determine areas of prairie-forest transition, and were used to tabulate the extent of woody vegetation in the lower Platte River Valley at the time of European settle-ment (1855-1857). Using a modified importance value based on relative density and relative dominance of witness trees, the highest ranking pre-settlement tree species were cottonwood [Populus eltoides Marsh. spp. monilifera (Ait.) Eckenw.], bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.), elms (Ulmus spp.), willows (Salix spp.), and black oak (Quercus velutina Lam.). The original survey indicated the presence of single trees and tree clusters within the original prairie vegetation of eastern Nebraska. Trees are pres-ently more widespread, and their composition differs from the original woody vegetation. Presently, cottonwood, bur oak, American linden (TWa americana L.), and rough-leaved dogwood (Corn us drummondii Meyer) are more common than they were 130 years ago. Key Words. presettlement vegetation, woody vegetation, prairie-forest tran-sition, tallgrass prairie, succession, Nebraska INTRODUCTION The eastern one-third of Nebraska originally consisted of tallgrass prairie. It has generally been accepted that the small amount of woody vegetation present prior to 1855 existed only along or near rivers and streams. This would have provided a rather distinct prairie-forest ecotone restricted primarily to river floodplains, ter-races, or other uplands bordering rivers and streams. However, evidence does suggest the existence of savanna-like stands of trees, some of which were located in areas formerly thought to be ex-clusively tallgrass prairie (Rozmajzl 1988). Invasion of woody vegetation into grassland has often been attributed to decreased fIre intensity and frequency (Buell and Facey 1960, Vog11974, Towne and Owensby 1984, Abrams 1986, Hulbert 1986). Weaver (1960) described the ecotone between grassland and bur oak forest occurring on the upper slope of the bluffs bordering the Platte River as a "chaparral or scrub com-munity containing wolfberry, dogwood, and prickly ash". More recent studies indicate that dense thickets of eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana L.), wild plum (Prunus americana Marsh.), choke cherry (Prunus virginiana L.), smooth sumac (Rhus glabra L.), and hazelnut [Corylus americana (L.) Walt.] were quite com-mon along the margins of bur oak/bitternut hickory associations (Stephens 1973, Rothenberger 1985). These shrub communities are a direct result of post settlement fIre exclusion, and they some-times encroach upon the few grassy openings that still exist in this heavily cultivated region. This study was designed to compare present woody vegetation of the area with the pre settlement woody vegetation as indicated by the General Land Office (GLO) records. METHODS Study Site The study site included Dodge, Saunders, Douglas, Sarpy, and Cass counties in eastern Nebraska, which border the lower 96 km of the Lower Platte River above its confluence with the Missouri River (Figure 1). This part of the river valley presents an extension of oak-hickory upland forest (Braun 1950) and cottonwood-wil-low-elm riparian forest into the prairie. During pre settlement times, these woodlands were bordered exclusively by tallgrass or true prairie. The study area was located within the Drift Hills Region of the Central Lowland Province (Figure 1) and was within the western portion of the tallgrass prairie formation (KUchler 1964). Nebraska is a transitional plains state in which the drift hills in the east give way to loess hills, sandhills, and ultimately tablelands or high plains of the Great Plains Province in the western part of the state. The study area included elevations ranging from 290 to 427 m and precipitation ranging from 74 to 80 cm per year. FIG 1. The physiography of Nebraska showing the fIve-county study site located in the Drift Hills region. A wide variety of tills and post glacial deposits were present. Much of the fIve-county area was mantled with loess which is largely Medial Wisconsin in age, but Late Wisconsin loess mantled Late Wisconsin terrace deposits along many of the valley sites of the principal stream courses (Burchett and Reed 1967). The Platte River terraces and most of the adjacent uplands were capped by Peoria loess of Medial Wisconsin origin (Wayne 1985). Even though the underlying sediments and tills varied throughout the area, the overlying loess mantle formed the basis for the development of the original tallgrass prairie and adjacent woodlands along major streams and their tributaries. Data Collection Early GLO survey records were studied and compared to fIeld data collected from 1979-1983 to determine the extent of original woody vegetation in a five-county study area of eastern Nebraska. The study area included Dodge, Saunders, Douglas, Sarpy, and Cass counties (Figure 1) and was selected because this area was originally composed of tallgrass prairie dissected by the Platte River (KUchler 1964). The Platte and its tributaries provided habitat conducive to the growth of woody plants in this area. The original GLO survey occurred from 1855-1857 when sig-nificant settlement of Europeans fIrst began in this area. Records were obtained at the county offIces in Fremont, Papillion, Platts-mouth, Omaha, and Wahoo, Nebraska, and from the state sur-veyor's offIce in Lincoln. These records were in the form of original written descriptions, microfilm, and maps. Some difficulties were encountered in interpreting certain writ-er's penmanship. Also, some inaccuracies due to species sampling errors and misuse of common names were probable. "Elm," "wil-low," and "hickory" were reported without designation as to species. "Spanish oak" (referring to Quercus palustris Muench.) and "white oak" (Quercus alba L.) were reported in the GLO PROCEEDINGS OF THE ELEVENTH NORTH AMERICAN PRAIRIE CONFERENCE 1989 15 16 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ELEVENTH NORTH AMERICAN PRAIRIE CONFERENCE survey but were not found to occur in the area of the study of 1979-1983 (Rothenberger 1985) .•• Hickory" was inferred to mean bitternut hickory [Carya cordinformis (Wang.) K. Koch.], the most common hickory in the area, and "Lynn" referred to American linden (Titia americana L.). Despite these problems, the use of witness tree data and written descriptions of vegetation provided a reasonably reliable source of information for this study. The witness tree data from the survey included the number of trees and their sizes (diameter) and was used to calculate importance value, a modified value equal to the sum of the relative density and the relative dominance for each species. Importance values were cal-culated for each of the five separate county surveys. Botanical nomenclature follows the Great Plains Flora Association (1986). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The concentration of witness trees recorded in the study area in 1855-1857 were much higher within the Platte Valley and along the uplands bordering the river than on the open grassland (Figure 2). However, some groupings of witness trees occurred on both upland and lowland sites away from the river. These small tree groves and single isolated witness trees located away from major streams and their tributaries were of special interest, because they gave evidence to the existence of some woody vegetation within the tallgrass prairie. Similar results were reported in Douglas and Washington counties, Nebraska, in which presettlement savanna relics were identified on uplands (Rozmajzl 1988). The incidence of these trees and tree "patches" was probably dependent on fire, climate, substrate, and topography (Bell and Hulbert 1974). FIG 2. Witness trees recorded during the GLO survey of 1855-1857. Each dot represents one tree. In the eastern Nebraska survey, bur oak savanna integraded sharply into tallgrass prairie on the uplands and gradually gave way to more established riparian forest types containing cotton-wood [Populus deltoides Marsh. subsp. monilifera (Ait.) Eck-enw.J, green ash [Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh. var. subintegerrima (Vah!.) Fern.], willows (Salix spp.), and elms (Ul-mus spp.) as the surveyors approached the Platte River. Fire-sus-ceptible species, such as eastern red cedar, were seldom encountered. Solitary trees, most notably cottonwood, green ash, and elms are more difficult to explain but must have occurred along creeks, near wetlands, or on similar sites where they were afforded some measure of fire protection. At several locations, few witness trees were reported even though the survey notes indicated the presence of significant amounts of woody vegetation. Perhaps the survey team felt that these trees were too small to sample. Whatever the reason, the surveyors' notes did not always accurately reflect the presence of woody vegetation. The exclusion of fire in the study area has resulted in succes-sional changes in species composition and increases in the total amount of woody vegetation. Higher elevations on upland sites in eastern Nebraska were more open than they are now, with park-like bur oak stands interrupted by grassy areas (Lawson et al. 1980). In the Kansas Flint Hills, Bragg and Hulbert (1976) found prairies remaining unburned for 20 years or longer were replaced by forest on over one-half or more of their area. During the 130-year period since the original survey, fluctua-tions in biotic and abiotic factors have caused inevitable changes in species composition. Table 1 compares the relative importance values of woody plants from the 1855-1857 GLO survey with those of the 1979-1983 study. Cottonwood and bur oak accounted for 73% of all witness trees reported. The high importance value for cottonwood also reflects the exceedingly large total basal area calculated for this species. Even though the GLO survey was not intended to be an ecological study, some interesting changes are noteworthy. These include: 1. Increases in fire-sensitive eastern red cedar probably because of fire suppression. 2. Increases in more mesic tree species, such as American lin-den, red mulberry (Morus rubra L.), green ash, hackberry (Celtis occidentatis L.), and red oak [Quercus borealis Michx. var. maxima (Marsh.) Ashe.]. 3. A high incidence of rough-leaved dogwood (Comus drum-mondii Meyer). It should be noted that rough-leaved dog-wood is present in large numbers although it was only occasionally mentioned by the GLO surveyors. 4. A decrease in American elm (Ulmus americana L.), pre-sumably because of Dutch elm disease (Ceratocystis ulmi). A combination of factors have changed the species composition of woody vegetation in eastern Nebraska. This study indicates that, initially, trees were mostly limited to river valleys or to scattered trees or groves. Subsequent vegetative changes, resulting from fire exclusion, disease, grazing, human activities, and variable pre-cipitation have combined to form a somewhat different woody vegetation type along the rivers and streams in the study area. These changes are likely to continue and may result in a woody plant composition even more different from that dominating the pre settlement landscape. EXTENT OF WOODY VEGETATION ON THE PRAIRIE IN EASTERN NEBRASKA, 1855-1857 17 Table 1. Total numbers and relative importance values for trees recorded during the original GLO survey compared to relative importance values of trees sampled in the study area from 1979-1983. Species Cottonwood [Populus deltoides Marsh subsp. monili/era (Ait.) Eckenw.] Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.) Elm (Ulmus americana L.) Willow (Salix spp.) Black oak (Quercus velutina Lam.) White oak (Quercus alba L.) Green ash [Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh. var. subintegerrima (Vahl.) Fern.] Pin oak (Quercus palustris Muench.) American linden (Ti/ia americana L.) Bitternut hickory [Carya cordi/ormis (Wang.) K. Koch] Red oak [Quercus borealis Michx. var. maxima (March.) Ashe.] Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana L.) Box elder (Acer negundo L.) Silver maple (Acer saccharinum L.) Hop horn bean [Ostrya virginiana (P. Mill.) K. Koch] Red elm (Ulmus rubra Muhl.) Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis L.) Species not reported in the GLO Survey: Rough-leaved dogwood (Comus drummondii Meyer) Red mulberry (Morus rubra L.) Black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) Northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa Warder) Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos L.) Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica L.) Peach-leaved willow (Salix amygdaloides Anderss.) Kentucky coffee tree [Gymnocladus dioica (L.) K. Koch] Black willow (Salix nigra Marsh.) White mulberry (Morus alba L.) Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra L.) Juneberry (Amelanchier arborea (Michx. f.) Fern.] Downy hawthorn [Crataegus mollis (T. & G.) Sheele] Red osier dogwood (Comus stoloni/era Michx.) Total trees 1855-1857 Survey Relative importance value 1979-1983 Field Study Relative importance value --- no. --- ------------------------- 070 -------------------------345 177 54 34 19 16 19 4 4 10 6 6 7 3 4 3 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 55.6 21.3 7.7 2.9 2.5 2.1 1.9 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12.9 12.0 0.5 0 2.4 0 6.1 0 9.9 2.6 5.0 5.4 1.3 2.3 3.8 7.6 5.2 9.0 8.3 1.4 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 i8 PROCEEDiNGS OF THE ELEVENTH NORTH AMERiCAN PRAIRiE CONFERENCE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would especially like to thank the staff and officials of Dodge, Douglas, Cass, Sarpy, and Saunders counties and the state sur-veyor's office in Lincoln for graciously allowing me access to records of the U.S. Land Survey. Their help was essential to this project. LITERATURE CITED Abrams, M.D. 1986. Historical development of gallery forests in northeast Kansas. Vegetatio 65:29-37. Bell, E.L., and L.c. Hulbert. 1974. Effect of soil on occurrence of cross timbers and prairie in southern Kansas. Kansas Acad-emy of Sciences Transactions 77:203-209. Bragg, T.B., and L.c. Hulbert. 1976. Woody plant invasion of unburned Kansas bluestem prairie. Journal of Range Manage-ment 29: 19-24. Braun, E.L. 1950. Deciduous forests of eastern North America. Hafner Press, New York. Buell, M.F., and V. Facey. 1960. Forest-prairie transition west of Itasca Park, Minnesota. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 87:46-58. Burchett, R.R., and E.C. Reed. 1967. Centennial guidebook to the geology of southeastern Nebraska. The University of Ne-braska Conservation and Survey Division, Lincoln. Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence. Hulbert, L.c. 1986. Fire effects on tallgrass prairie. Pages l38-142. In G.K. Clambey and R.H. Pemble (eds.). Proceedings of the Ninth North American Prairie Conference, Tri-College Uni-versity, Moorhead, Minnesota. KUchler, A.W. 1964. Potential natural vegetation of the conter-minous United States. American Geographical Society, Special Publication Number 36. Lawson, M.P., R. Heim Jr., J .A. Mangimeli, and G. Moles. 1980. Dendroclimatic analysis of bur oak in eastern Nebraska. Tree Ring Bulletin 40:1-16. Rothenberger, S.J. 1985. Community analysis of the forest veg-etation in the lower Plant River Valley, eastern Nebraska. Prairie Naturalist 17: 1-14. Rozmajzl, M.K. 1988. Presettlement oak savanna in eastern Ne-braska. Master of Arts Thesis, University of Nebraska, Omaha. Stephens, H.A. 1973. Woody plants of the North Central Plains. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence. Towne, G., and C. Owensby. 1984. Long-term effects of annual burning at different dates in ungrazed Kansas tallgrass prairie. Journal of Range Management 37:392-397. Vogl, R.J. 1974. Effects of fire on grasslands. Pages l39-194. In T.T. Kozlowski and C.E. Ahlgren (eds.). Fire and Ecosystems. Academic Press, New York. Wayne, W. J. 1985. Drainage p~tterns and glaciations in eastern Nebraska. Pages 111-117. In W. Dort, Jr. (ed.). TER-QUA Symposium, V. 1, Nebraska Academy of Sciences, Lincoln. Weaver, J .E. 1960. Flood plain vegetation of the central Missouri Valley and contacts of woodland with prairie. Ecological Mon-ographs 30:37-64. 

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Extent of Woody Vegetation on the Prairie in Eastern Nebraska, 1855-1857

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