Does removal of Baby’s Breath from Lake Michigan sand dunes restore native plant diversity and ecosystem function?
A collaboration between Dr. Sarah Emery of the University of Louisville, the National Park Service, and The Nature Conservancy in Michigan works to monitor the effects of removing Gypsophila paniculata (baby’s breath) from the Conservancy’s Zetterberg Preserve at Point Betsie and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. Project leader Sarah Emery became interested in this work through her related research on the role of plant-fungus mutualisms in the restoration of Great Lakes sand dunes (funded through a National Parks Ecological Research Fellowship). Great Lakes sand dunes represent the most extensive freshwater dunes in the world and contain more endemic species than any other Great Lakes ecosystem. These dune systems create a shifting landscape with Lake Michigan’s strong winds blowing waves of sand just like waves of water. Wind and wave erosion continually force dunes to move covering and uncovering vegetation along the way. Because of their dynamic nature, dune system
