Soil and Elemental Characteristics of Selected Prairie and Rare Plant Sites in the Piedmont of North and South Carolina.

Attempts in restoring prairie sites in the Piedmont have increased in recent years. Any information that could improve restoration success is of great value. Our objective is to determine if soil characteristics are similar among Piedmont prairie and rare plant sites. We determined the concentrations of 11 elements and values of 12 physical characteristics from eight prairie and rare plant sites located in the North and South Carolina Piedmont.  Two, 2.5 cm soil cores were taken to a depth of 15 cm at 20 locations on each site.  Concentrations for B, C, Ca, Cu, K, Mg, Mn, N, Na, P, and Zn, in addition, acidity, buffer pH, pH, Ca base saturation, CEC, K base saturation, Mg base saturation, Na base saturation, total base saturation, percent sand, silt, and clay were determined. Concentrations for C, N, and Zn were not significantly different between locations while all other characters were found to be significantly different between locations.  C and N levels were low averaging 2.0 and 0.1 % respectively across all locations.  Total base saturation ranged from 29 to 70 %, averaging 52%.  When the elements are rated on their sufficiency for growth, B was found to be sufficient. Ca was sufficient in three locations, medium in three locations, and high in two other locations.  K was found to be low or medium in all locations except one where it exceeds requirements.  Mg was found to be high in all locations except one.  Mn exceeded requirements in all locations except two where it was sufficient.  P was found to be low in all locations.  Zn was found to be sufficient in all locations.  Sand comprised the largest fraction of soil in all locations, except one, averaging 45%, followed by silt, 33%, and clay, 21%.  Silt content, total base saturation, K, pH, P, and Cu content accounted for a large amount of the variation between locations with r² values of 0.92, 0.91, 0.88, 0.76, 0.73, and 0.72 respectively.