Extension Publications

In the quest to manage nitrate levels in Iowa’s waters, researchers are developing new ways to keep both soil and water healthy. The use of woodchip bioreactors is just one tool Iowa State University Extension and Outreach specialist recommend to help manage nitrates levels.

Discover biological, chemical and integrated management methods to control aquatic weeds.

This publication discusses how to design, plant, and maintain a multi-species buffer strip, which is an important part of river ecosystems.

Includes information to calculate surface areas, depth, and water volume as well as various useful conversions.

Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, is a neurological disease infecting wild white-tailed deer in Iowa and throughout North America. This article reviews the most relevant and up-to-date scientific information about the disease and provides recommendations for addressing this emerging challenge in Iowa. Learn more about CWD from this video:

Trees provide many benefits to communities such as improved air quality, wildlife habitat and reduced energy consumption during the summer and winter. This publication discusses proper techniques for selecting, planting and caring for trees.

There is growing concern over the possible impact of rented land on soil conservation. Concerns regarding conservation practices are not new; however, the recent increase in concerns has come about for several reasons. More than half of Iowa’s farmland is rented and operated by someone other than the owner. In addition, landowners are aging and therefore are less likely to be actively engaged in farming. The general assumption people have is if a farmer does not own the land they farm, they are less likely to have an incentive to use conservation practices.

When initiating a prescribed fire, it is important to determine the type of ignition pattern, or combination of patterns prior to the burn. Making this determination depends on several factors: burning objectives, fuel characteristics, pre- and post-burn weather, smoke management, manpower and equipment availability, and adjacent fuels.

Prescribed fire is one of a suite of tools used to manage landscapes to achieve specific management goals. Safety in using prescribed fire is of utmost importance. To conduct a safe and effective prescribed fire requires not only a burn plan and clear lines of communication, but also the right equipment and a crew who know how to safely use that equipment and employ the correct firing techniques.

Burn plans are a critical component of any prescribed burn. The purpose of a burn plan is to provide a description of the burn area, target weather conditions, hazards that may be encountered, personnel needs and safety and contacts to make prior to burning. This publication includes a burn plan template and explains the importance and purpose of each section of the template.

While the monarch butterfly is perhaps the most recognizable and iconic insect in North America, their population has declined 80% over the past two decades. This publication discusses a project undertaken by extension and research staff at Iowa State University to demonstrate conservation practices for incorporating monarch breeding habitat across the state of Iowa.

Conservation practices for water quality and pollinator habitat can be complementary - using some of the same land and resources can multiply ecological benefits for water and wildlife. This publication discusses the ways saturated riparian buffers can be used for planting pollinator habitat. It provides information on site selection, preparation and establishment, management and seed mixes.

Fire is a critical natural process necessary for maintaining ecosystems around the world, providing a means for renewal, regrowth and maintenance of habitats. In grassland and savanna ecosystems, fire plays an important role by limiting encroachment of wood species and cycling nutrients; however, in nearly all grassland and savanna habitats fire was not the only process at work. Historically, fire was closely coupled with grazing – namely by large mammals.

The forests of a prairie state like Iowa are unique refugia of biological diversity and important ecological and economical function. This article explores Iowa's forest ecosystems and the critical roles they play in our environment, economy, and quality of life.

For as long as the tallgrass prairie blooms have blown in the breeze and the muddy Missouri flowed past its western border, the land we call Iowa has been stewarded and cared for by people. From the diversity of Native cultures that have called this land home to the 20th century advocates who fought for its protection and care amid unprecedented exploitation, thousands of influential voices have fought to protect this land and its diversity.

Asked to picture Iowa's wildlife diversity and many people may think first of vertebrates, rather than the invertebrates who comprise the vast majority of diversity found among the living animals of Iowa's lands and waters! This article features the stories of a few of the thousands of insects, spiders, crustaceans, butterflies, moths, worms, snails, mussels, and leeches found in Iowa, everywhere from our border rivers to our homes.

Iowa’s forests play host to a spectacular diversity of birds throughout the year. This article explores this diversity, describing how birds feed, nest, and move within and among many different types of forests found in Iowa. The management of forest habitats for birds is explored with recommendations for making the most of any forest parcel for birds and the people that enjoy them.

Iowa has a rich diversity of mammals, ranging in form and function from the one third-of-an-ounce western harvest mouse which summits blades of grass to eat seeds in Iowa’s prairies to the over 1,000 pound bison whose diet shapes the community of grasses on which it grazes. Our fellow mammals enrich the lives of Iowans from city lots to rural farmsteads. Few sights rival that of a flight of bats at dusk on a warm summer evening, the passing flash of a gray fox in the headlights on a night drive, or the beauty of a herd of snow-covered white-tailed deer on a winter day.

This publication contains a high diversity seed mix developed by the Iowa State University Monarch Research Team for research purposes. All species are perennials native to Iowa.

From the bur oak tree towering over the savanna to the humble bladderwort, floating untethered in the water of wetlands, Iowa's plants and plant-like organisms are fascinatingly diverse. This article explores that diversity, describing the classification Iowa's plants, the varied places they occur, and the remarkable adaptations they have to life in Iowa.

Iowa, like no other state in the U.S., is defined by its tallgrass prairies. This article takes a deep dive into those prairie ecosystems, learning about the cast of plants, animals, and people dependent on them and how people today are working to manage and protect this critical ecosystem.

Iowa has been working for decades to protect and improve water quality through best scientific management, land use, and edge-of-field practices to reduce nutrient loss from farmland. The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy is a science and technology-based framework to assess and reduce nutrients to Iowa waters and the Gulf of Mexico.

This publication lists several shade tree selections for the Iowa landscape. It lists trees that might serve as replacements for the ash tree, which is susceptible to the emerald ash borer.

Managing smoke produced by prescribed fires has, in recent years, become a critical consideration when planning a prescribed fire event. In some situations, planning for smoke management may be more complicated than planning for the prescribed fire itself. Considerations such as human and animal health and safety, air pollution, and reduced visibility must be taken into careful account when planning even a small, routine prescribed burn.