| Phone | (785) 864-1529 |
| Fax | (785) 864-1537 |
| Mailing Address | 135 Higuchi Hall 2101 Constant Ave. University of Kansas Lawrence, KS 66047-3729 |
| kindscher@ku.edu |
Go To: | Courses Taught | Research Interests & Projects | Selected References | Former Students | Lab | Professional Service Activities | Memberships | Links |
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany is the science of studying cultural use of plant materials. Current
research efforts are focused on use of native medicinal plants, especially a
new effort of collecting native plants for chemistry testing and use in natural
products. Other areas of study include the harvest, use and conservation
status of Echinacea, the purple coneflower, and a student project related to
the Yucatan.
Plant Communities: Prairie, Riparian, Wetlands and
Montane Meadow
My research focuses on the plant species composition and community dynamics
of prairies, riparian area wetlands, and other meadow communities in Kansas,
the Great Plains, and Inter-Mountain Western United States. Specific projects
include tallgrass prairie hay meadows in eastern Kansas, native prairie plant
communities, Gila River, New Mexico riparian areas, meadow communities of Grand
Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks, and mixed grass prairie plant community
classification in the Central Great Plains.
Restoration of Wetlands, Prairies, and other Habitats:
I am interested in understanding the dynamics of plant community restoration
to create functional habitats that best replicate natural communities. Specific
projects include a 70-acre tallgrass prairie and wet prairie restoration site
east of Paola, Kansas, and wetlands at the Nature Conservancy's Cheyenne Bottoms
Preserve, and the Sante Fe wetland mitigation site for the South Lawrence Trafficway.
Publications for some of these projects are listed below in the Selected References
section.
Conservation of Midwest/Great Plains ecosystems:
Good science is needed to make good decisions in how we use our natural resources.
I have served on the Executive Committee of the University of Kansas Field Station
and have provided land management advice to the Nature Conservancy and the Kansas
Land Trust. I have also served as the conservation easement chair for the
Tallgrass Legacy Alliance--a
rancher agency group in the Flint Hills of Kansas dedicated to the conservation
of tallgrass prairie, and I am a board member of the Kansas Land Trust.
Kindscher, K., 1992. Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence. Contains 203 native species, illustrated with line drawings and maps.
Kindscher, K. 1987. Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence. Contains 123 native species, illustrated with line drawings and maps.
Kindscher, K., D.M. Price, and L. Castle. (in press). Re-sprouting of Echinacea angustifolia Augments Sustainability of Wild Medicinal Plant Populations. Economic Botany.
Foster, B.L., C.A. Murphy, K. Keller, T. Aschenbach, E.J. Questad, and K. Kindscher. (in press). Restoration of Prairie Community Structure and Ecosystem Function in an Abandoned Hayfield: A Sowing Experiment. Restoration Ecology.
Long, Q. and K. Kindscher. 2007. A Comparison of the Influence of Disturbance Regimes on Native Forbs (Kansas). Ecological Restoration 25:129-30.
Price, D.H. and K. Kindscher. 2007. One Hundred Years of Echinacea angustifolia Harvest in the Smoky Hills of Kansas, USA. Economic Botany 61:86-95.
Busby, W.H., J.M. Delisle, C.C. Freeman, K. Kindscher, H. Loring, D.E. Nimz, and C.J. Schmidt. 2007. A Natural Features Inventory of the Smoky Hill ANG Range, Kansas. Open-File Report No. 137. Kansas Biological Survey, Lawrence, KS. 403 pp.
Powell, A. W. Busby, and K. Kindscher. 2006. Status of the Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia) and Effects of Fire Management on its Abundance in Northeastern Kansas. Journal of Insect Conservation, November 1006, 10 pages.
Aschenbach, T. and K. Kindscher. 2006. Plant Species on Salt-Affected Soil and Cheyenne Bottom, Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 109:207-213.
Kindscher, K. 2006. Natural Resource Inventory and Restoration Plan for the Black Jack Battlefield Site. Open-File Report No. 129. Kansas Biological Survey. Lawrence, KS. 21 pp.
Ashworth, S., B. Foster, and K. Kindscher. 2006. Relative Contributions of Adjacent Species Set and Environmental Conditions to Plant Community Richness and Composition in a Group of Created Wetlands. Wetlands 26:149-167.
Jog, S., E. Questad, K. Kindscher, B. Foster, and H. Loring. 2006. Floristic Quality as an Indicator of Native Species Diversity within Managed Grasslands. Natural Areas Journal 26:149-167.
Nabhan, G. and K. Kindscher. 2006. Renewing the Native Food Traditions of Bison Nation. Renewing America's Food Traditions Consortium. Flagstaff, AZ. 8 pp.
White, S. and K. Kindscher. 2006. Natural Resource and Open Space Assessment and Planning Recommendations for Miami County, Kansas. Open-File Report No. 126. Kansas Biological Survey. Lawrence, KS. 30 pp.
Kindscher, K. 2006. Forward to A Taste of Heritage, by Alma Snell. University of Nebraska Press, edited by Lisa Castle.
Fraser, A., and K. Kindscher. 2005. Spatial Distribution of Spartina pectinata Transplants to Restore Wet Prairie. Restoration Ecology 13:144-151.
Kindscher, K. W. Busby, J. Delisle, J. Dropkin, and C. Freeman. 2005. A Natural Areas Inventory of Douglas, Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, and Wyandotte Counties in Northeast Kansas. Open-File Report No. 124. Kansas Biological Survey. Lawrence, KS. 79 pp.
Kindscher, K. 2004. Plant Lore. In Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, ed. David Wishart, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, p. 309.
Kindscher, K., T. Aschenbach, and S. Ashworth. 2004. Wetland Vegetation Response to the Restoration of Sheet Flow at Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas. Restoration Ecology 12(3):368-375.
Su, J.C., D.M. Debinski, M.E. Jakubauskas, and K. Kindscher. 2004. Beyond Species Richness: Community Similarity as a Measure of Cross-Taxon Congruence for Coarse-Filter Conservation. Conservation Biology 18:167-173.
Aschenbach, T. and K. Kindscher. 2003. Comparison of Planting Treatments in a Tallgrass Prairie Restoration. Proceedings of the 18th North American Prairie Conference. Truman State University, Kirksville, MO, pp. 44-48.
Barnes, C. C., M. K. Smalley, K.P. Manfredi, K. Kindscher, H. Loring, and D.M. Sheeley. 2003. Characterization of a Anti-Tuberculosis Resin Glycoside from the Prairie Medicinal Plant Ipomoea leptophylla. Journal of Natural Products 66:1457-1462.
Menard, S., K. Kindscher, and D. Peterson. 2002. Using Ecological Systems as Land Cover Map Units for the GAP Analysis Program in Kansas: Summary Report to USGS-BRD Gap Analysis Program. NatureServe, Mineapolis, MN and Kansas Biological Survey, Lawsrence, KS. Unpublished report. 63 pp.
Jakubauskas, M.E., K. Kindscher, and D.M. Debinski. 2001. Spectral and Biophysical Relationships of Montane Sagebrush Communities in Multitemporal SPOT XS Data. International Journal of Remote Sensing 22:1767-78.
Saveraid, E.H., D.M. Debinski, K. Kindscher, and M.E. Jakubauskas. 2001. A Comparison of Satellite Data and Landscape Variables in Predicting Bird Species Occurrences in the Greater Yellowshone Ecosystem. Landscape Ecology 16(1):71-83.
Vallurupalli, V., M. Demidova, K. Kindscher, L.K. Pannell, and K.P. Manfredi. 2001. A New Prenylated Bibenzyl from Glycyrrhiza lepidota. Phytochemistry 58:153-157.
Kindscher, K. and A. Fraser. 2000. Planting Forbs First Provides Greater Species Diversity in Tallgrass Prairie Restorations. Ecological Restoration 18:115-116.
Jakubauskas, M.E., K. Kindscher, A. Fraser, and D.M. Debinski. 2000. Close-Range Remote Sensing of Aquatic Macrophyte Vegetation Cover. International Journal of Remote Sensing 21:3533-3538.
Debinski, D.M., M.E. Jakubauskas, and K. Kindscher. 2000. Montane Meadows as Indicators of Environmental Change. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 64:213-225.
Anderson, H.W., W. Silberstein, M. Cobb, and K. Kindscher. 2000. Conservation Easements in the 10th Federal Circuit. In Protecting the Land: Conservation Easements, Past, Present, and Future. Island Press, Covelo, CA.
Lauver, C.L., K. Kindscher, D. Faber-Langendoen, and R. Schneider. 1999. A Classification of the Natural Vegetation of Kansas. Southwest Naturalist 44:421-444.
Davison, C., and K. Kindscher. 1999. Tools for Diversity: Fire, Grazing, and Mowing on Tallgrass Prairies. Ecological Restoration 17:136-143.
Debinski, D., K. Kindscher, and M.E. Jakubauskas. 1999. A Remote Sensing and GIS-Based Model of Habitats and Biodiversity in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. International Journal of Remote Sensing 17:3281-3291.
Kindscher, K., K.P. Manfredi, M. Britton, M. Demidova, and D. Hurlburt. 1998. Testing Prairie Plants with Ethnobotanical Importance for Anti-Cancer and Anti-AIDS Compounds. Journal of Ethnobiology 18:229-245.
Kindscher, K., and L. Tieszen. 1998. Floristic and Soil Organic Matter Changes after Five and Thirty-Five Years of Native Tallgrass Prairie Restoration. Restoration Ecology 6:181-196.
Kindscher, K., and D. Hurlburt. 1998. Huron Smith's Ethnobotany of the Hocak (Winnebago). Economic Botany 52:352-372.
Kindscher, K., A. Fraser, M.E. Jakubauskas, and D. Debinski. 1998. Identifying Wetland Meadows in Grand Teton National Park Using Remote Sensing and Average Wetland Values. Wetlands Ecology and Management 5:265-273.
Kindscher, K., M. Mehaffey, A. Fraser, and E. Pogge. 1998. Kansas Department of Transportation Wetland Mitigation Sites--Analysis and Opportunity for Improving Success. Kansas Biological Survey Report No. 82, 46 pp.
Kindscher, K and J. Holah. 1998. An Old-Growth Definition of Western Hardwood Gallery Forest. U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Southern Research Station, General Technical Report SRS-22, 12 pp.
Kindscher, K. 1994. Rockefeller Prairie: A Case Study of Plant Guild Classification of a Tallgrass Prairie. PP. 123-140 of Proceedings of the 13th North American Prairie Conference: Spirit of the Land, Our Prairie Legacy, ed. Robert G. Wicket, Patricia Dolan Lewis, Allan Woodliffe, and Paul Pratt. Department of Parks and Recreation, Windsor, ON.
Kindscher, K. 1992. Restoring and Creating Wetlands: A Planning Guide for the Central States Region: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, Bob Barber, project officer.
Kindscher, K. 1988. The Ethnobotanical Use of Native Prairie Plants for Food. Section 2.04 of Proceedings of the Tenth North American Prairie Conference, ed. Arnold Davis and Geoffrey Stanford. Native Prairie Association of Texas, Texas Women's University, Denton, TX.
Listed below are the members of the Kindscher Lab. Their work represents a variety of interests that fit into the broader framework of plant ecology.
Quinn Long is a PhD candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. His dissertation research focuses on restoration ecology and plant community ecology in tallgrass prairie. Additional research interests include botanical studies in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico and Cloud Forest Conservation in Costa Rica.
Field Ecologist, Plant Taxonomist, Consultant, and Itinerant Botanist working on Chihuahuan Ethnobotany Project:
Lisa Castle
Doctoral Dissertation--Castle, L. (2006). The Prairie Turnip Paradox: Contributions of Population Dynamics, Ethnobotany, and Community Ecology to Understanding Pediomelum esculentum Root Harvest on the Great Plains. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. 183 pp.
Doctoral Dissertation - Aschenbach, T.A. (2005). Community Assembly Approach to Prairie Restoration. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. 118 pp.
Master's Thesis - Aschenbach, T. (2000). Plant Community Dynamics at Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. 112 pp.
Sharon Ashworth
Doctoral Dissertation--Ashworth, Sharon M. (2003). Vegetation Dynamics of Restored Wetlands at Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. 99 p.
Doctoral Dissertation - Hurlburt, D.P. (1999). Population Ecology and Economic Botany of Echinacea angustifolia, a Native Prairie Medicinal Plant. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS: 154.
Doctoral Dissertation - Fraser, A. (2003). What Spatial Scale Maximizes Wetlands Conservation and Restoration? Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS: 53.
Master's Thesis - Fraser, A. (1997). Plant Community Dynamics of the Santa Fe Wetland Mitigation. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.
Lisa Kahn
Doctoral Dissertation - Kahn, L. (1998). Vegetation Establishment in a Tallgrass Prairie Restoration. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS: 77.
Doctoral Dissertation - Mehaffey, M.H. (1998). The Impact of Litter Quality on Tallgrass Prairie Soils of Northeastern Kansas. Department of Systematics and Ecology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS: 111.
Kansas Biological Survey
Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory
Environmental Studies Program
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology