Tallgrass Indicators Species List/Analysis spreadsheet available for download
Dan Lebedyk, is a retired Biologist/Ecologist that worked at the Essex Region Conservation Authority. Dan is a former Director of Tallgrass Ontario and continues to support SOFIA (Southern Ontario Floral Inventory Analysis) through Tallgrass Ontario.
New versions of the SOFIA (Southern Ontario Floral Inventory Analysis) spreadsheet can be found via the link below. 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).
NOTE: WE REALIZE THE LINK ABOVE IS A DEAD LINK. WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE AS WE SEEK OUT A NEW LINK. FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: https://www.ontario.ca/page/natural-heritage-information-centre .
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 (it will be updated soon):
https://tallgrassontario.org/wp-site/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SOFIA-Primer.pdf
Additional guidance and instruction on the new version 4.0 from Craig Irwin and Cathy Quinlan can be found here.
The latest version of SOFIA is available through download via Google Drive at the following link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uJXOueMkd_d1HQQeff1Jqd1j9Qtj98wu/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 questions directly to info@tallgrassontario.org . You can also ask to be put on an email distribution list to be notified when there are updated versions to SOFIA.
SOFIA is free to use. Please consider donating to Tallgrass Ontario if you would like to support SOFIA.