the SGI research program is working on classifying and describing the different types of grasslands in our focal region. To date, 118 unique grassland ecosystems have been recognized in our region but many others remain undescribed. For a general overview of main categories of grasslands, please visit https://www.segrasslands.org/what-are-southeastern-grasslands

SGI is collaborating with researchers at Auburn University to evaluate the ability of grassland ecosystems to sequester the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the soil. Researchers are especially interested in whether grasslands with a larger number of plant species are more effective than grasslands with only a few species in sequestering carbon and whether certain plant species are more effective than others at moving atmospheric carbon into the soil for long-term storage. 

In partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority, Electric Power Research Institute, and Mississippi State Entomology, SGI completed four years of field work and data collection that will result in a series of publications. The publications will center on data on plants, pollinators, and biodiversity of large TVA right-of-ways under power lines compared to adjacent biodiversity under closed canopy forested areas. Many of the TVA right-of-ways contain rare grassland species throughout the southeastern U.S.

The SGI research team is developing new tools to find grasslands and assess their quality. Based on key indicator species, we are developing ways to identify if degraded or overgrown lands were once grasslands pre-development. The tool will also help evaluate the present quality of degraded grasslands which will inform restoration strategies.

The SGI research team works closely with the Grasslandia project to monitor important grasslands and ecologically important species. The Grasslandia project will be made available to the public, and will contain important science-based information on grasslands restoration and SGI’s evidence-based restoration strategies. This project is funded by the US Department of Agriculture.

SGI has entered into a partnership with the National Parks Service that spans 40 National Parks. A majority of SGI staff are involved with this project. The goals of the project are to restore and monitor important species of plants and invertebrates in grasslands in our national parks, with major work scheduled to be published in peer reviewed journals.

From insects to plants,  SGI’s staff and affiliates are aware of many undescribed  “new” species that are unknown to the scientific community. Formally describing these species can take years of field and museum work as well as DNA. 

 SGI partnered with the Richmond Battlefield National Park in Virginia to conduct an invertebrate and plant study, and an assessment of grasslands in the park. The results of this project will be published in a National Parks Service report in the coming months. 

• North Carolina Botanical Garden

• Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association

• South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

• State Botanical Garden of Georgia

• Atlanta Botanical Garden 

• U.S. Forest Service

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

• Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy

• South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative

• Nonprofits

  • American Bird Conservancy

  • National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative

  • National Wild Turkey Federation

  • Quail Forever

• State agencies

  • Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources-Nongame Branch

  • Tennessee Dept. of Environment and Conservation

  • Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

• Federal agencies

  • Arnold Engineering Development Complex

• Businesses

  • Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC

Roadside Surveys

• The Cumberland Plateau Rights-Of-Way Project