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The economics of prairie plantings are gone into in greater <br /> detail here because . of the probability that they will be the <br /> most suited to sites where lawns presently exist - or might be <br /> installed, e.g. , sunny areas with or without. scattered <br /> trees. <br /> Woodland plantings (where appropriate) are more expensive . <br /> An approximate cost of a woodland (ground layer only) plant- <br /> ing -can be obtained by adding the cost of top soil to the <br /> cost of prairie plants ($600. 00 + $4,000. 00 ) . . This gives a <br /> figure of $4 , 600. 00 for an 8, 000 square foot parcel of land. <br /> Note that this does not include prices for trees. This <br /> figure can be highly variable and highly expensive! Methods <br /> for establishing woodlands can be found in the books listed <br /> in the Propagation, Establishment and Maintenance section of <br /> the bibliography. <br /> Once prairie plantings are established, they require no <br /> herbicides, fertilizer, water, dethatching, aerifying, leaf <br /> removal or mowing . Prairie Restorations Inc. of Wayzata, <br /> Minnesota calculated that prairie maintenance was, one seven- <br /> th of the cost of lawn maintenance. The chart below summa- <br /> rizes some specific costs for the Madison area. <br /> MAINTENANCE COSTS FOR 8, 000 SQ.FT . (80 ' x 100' ) (1979 PRICES) <br /> LAWN PRAIRIE <br /> FERTILIZER ( 2 applications 24-4-8) $16.00 Not Needed <br /> WATER ( 700 gal . /week for .20 weeks ) 36. 00 Not Needed <br /> (1 , 400 - gal... /week for 20 weeks = $72. 00 ) <br /> WEED KILLER. (1 quart) 5. 00 Not Needed <br /> MOWING ( 4 gallons of fuel/season) 4 .00 Not Needed <br /> MOWER REPAIRS/REPLACEMENT 10 . 00 10.00 <br /> TOTAL $89 .00 $ 10.00 <br /> In the above chart, you will notice that water seems to be a <br /> relatively inexpensive item. However, when the usage is <br /> applied city wide, the demand for water becomes staggering. <br /> This necessitates the continuing construction of expensive <br /> new pumping facilities. <br /> Nor does the water conservation end with not having to <br /> water. Comparative studies have shown that there is more <br /> than twice as much runoff of rainfall off of turfgrass as <br /> there is from woodland or prairie vegetation. Extensive use <br /> of natural vegetation could have a profound positive effect <br /> on the water quality of our lakes . <br /> 4 <br />