This study is being conducted in collaboration with Northern Kentucky University and Greenacres Foundation.

Addressing a knowledge gap in woodland restoration, this study seeks to address whether spring ephemeral plants can be reestablished on the forest floor after invasive shrubs, such as Amur honeysuckle, have been removed. This study is being conducted in collaboration with NKU researchers Kristine Hopfensperger, PhD and Denice Robertson, PhD and NKU undergraduate students. The study is funded by a grant from Greenacres Foundation, who is also a collaborator on the project.  

A number of study plots are established at the Nature Center on sites where honeysuckle has recently been removed. Researchers are comparing the success of different methods of re-establishing spring ephemerals: seed spreading, planting bare-root plants, and planting seedlings. A number of other environmental variables are being investigated as well. Results of this study will help inform the Nature Center and other land practitioners on the best methods for restoring these native plants to the forest floor.

This study is being conducted in collaboration with the University of Cincinnati.

Dr. George Uetz and his students at the University of Cincinnati investigate how the evolution of animal behaviors are influenced by the environment. To do so, they use the brush-legged wolf spider (Schizocosa ocreata) which is common in the leaf litter of upland forests. The Uetz lab collects spiders at Rowe Woods then rears them in the lab to study questions related to communication, sexual selection, and mate recognition.

Dr. Uetz and his students have been collecting wolf spiders at Rowe Woods for over 40 years!