In Texas, many remnant prairies were protected from conversion to cropland because they are used as hay meadows. Clymer Meadow was one such hay meadow until The Nature Conservancy bought it in 1986. Since then, management of the ~700 ha prairie has changed from annual haying to a more varied regime that includes grazing (cattle and, for a time, bison), prescribed fire in all seasons, and occasional haying and mowing. Since 1996, we have monitored plant diversity at Clymer Meadow in permanent plots. Our data show that species richness, especially of forbs, has increased as grass cover has declined. Average conservatism has not changed, but the number of specialist species increased, suggesting that their populations are expanding. Even though Clymer Meadow is a remnant prairie, vegetation composition has been changed by management. Understanding these changes is important when using remnant prairies as reference sites for restoration, because the condition of the reference site may influence restoration targets.
