Tallgrass Indicators Species List/Analysis spreadsheet available for download
Dan Lebedyk, Biologist/Ecologist at the Essex Region Conservation Authority and former Director of Tallgrass Ontario has released a new version of the SOFIA (Southern Ontario Floral Inventory Analysis) spreadsheet. SOFIA is a macro-enabled Microsoft Excel spreadsheet which tabulates, analyzes and automates floral inventories of natural areas within southern Ontario. Within this updated release, SOFIA now identifies if an inventory has tallgrass prairie/savanna indicator species. These ‘indicators’ are identified from the following sources:
Delaney, K., L. Rodger, P. A. Woodliffe, G. Rhynard, and P. Morris. 2000. Planting the Seed – A Guide to Establishing Prairie and Meadow Communities in Southern Ontario. Ministry of Public Works and Government Services Canada. 61 pages.
Rodger, Lindsay. 1998. Tallgrass Communities of Southern Ontario: A Recovery Plan. Prepared for World Wildlife Fund Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Toronto, Ontario. 66 pages.
as well as information within the S_RANK_REASON and SUBNATIONAL_TAXONOMY_COMMENTS fields of the NHIC Vascular Plant List (2020-01-17) (https://www.sdc.gov.on.ca/sites/MNRF-PublicDocs/EN/ProvincialServices/ONTARIO_SPECIES_LISTS.zip).
Dan has taken this list of tallgrass indicators and compiled them into an abridged/simplified spreadsheet. This allows you to sort and filter the list based on a host of attributes, such as the coefficient of wetness (the moisture preference of a species), the regional/county occurrence of the species according to Mike Oldham’s List of the Vascular Plants of Ontario’s Carolinian Zone, rarity status, plant form (grass, forb or wildflower, shrub, tree, etc.), and vulnerability to climate change.
Download
See here for the SOFIA Primer:
https://tallgrassontario.org/wp-site/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SOFIA-Primer.pdf
This new tallgrass indicators spreadsheet file is available through download via Google Drive at the following link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1My7UFxZZts47RX3c4EPPozUzslMo__ne/view?usp=sharing
After clicking on the link above, just click on the download icon in the upper right-hand corner of your browser window (circled below in red) and save the file to your computer.

Comments, suggestions for improvements, and bug reports are always welcome.
Please submit any directly to:

Dan Ledbedyk
Biologist/ Ecologist
Essex Region Conservation Authority
360 Fairview Avenue West, Suite 311
Essex, Ontario N8M 1V6
P. 519-776-5209 x 409 – F. 519-776-8688
dlebedyk@erca.org essexregionconservation.ca