Lloyd Hulbert

Lloyd Clair Hulbert (June 27, 1918 – May 23, 1986) was a professor of biology at Kansas State University from 1955 until 1986. He was recognized for his work to establish Konza Prairie and served as its first director from 1971–1986. Hulbert was internationally known for his "research of bluestem (tallgrass) prairie and prairie-forest interactions."

Early life and education Lloyd Hulbert was born in Lapeer, Michigan, on June 27, 1918. Hulbert, being a Quaker, was a pacifist for moral reasons. People in the Civilian Public Service were conscientious objectors to the war who worked in the United States in the areas of soil conservation, forestry, fire fighting, agriculture, social services and mental health. While in the Civilian Public Service, Hulbert performed range reseeding research in Montana and worked as a 'smoke jumper'. Hulbert and other faculty drafted a report in 1958 that led to increased support for ecological prairie research. Hulbert hoped to learn about how the prairie was "self-sustaining and stable, yet in less than 200 years of agricultural use, the same land ha begun to change. Vital nutrients [were] constantly [being] lost. Erosion ha become serious."

In the mid-1960s Hulbert spent 18 months trying to find an area of prairie that would be suitable for his ecological research. Once an appropriate area was found, Lloyd Hulbert and biologist Richard Marzolf went to Washington D.C. to try to get federal funds, but were unsuccessful.

Another experiment of Hulbert's, that took place over ten years, was about how highland and lowland, as well as fire, affects the biomass produced by the prairie. The biomass was much larger on lowland sites that had been burned than on lowland sites that had not, but there was only a small difference between highland sites being burned or not burned. Unburned areas, however, had much greater amounts of woody plants.

Family and later life Hulbert was given several awards for his dedication in the study of bluestem prairie and work in helping to create Konza Prairie. He received the Nature Conservancy's Oak Leaf Award in 1977 and the President's Stewardship Award in 1978. He was also awarded the prestigious Sol Feinstone Environmental Award (given annually "to only five individuals whose voluntary efforts contribute to environmental improvements") in 1986. Hulbert died on May 23, 1986 (at the age of 68). He died while in the Bahamas, trying to find a treatment for his cancer.

Publications of Lloyd Hulbert Gibson, DJ., C.C. Freeman, and L.C. Hulbert. Effects of small mammal and invertebrate herbivory on plant species richness and abundance in tall grass prairie (in preparation). Hulbert, L.C. 1988. Causes of fire effects in tallgrass prairie. Ecology 69(1):46-58.

Gibson, D.J. and L.C. Hulbert. 1987. Effects of fire, topography and year-to-year climatic variation on species composition in tallgrass prairie. Vegetation 72: 175-185. Abrams, M.D. and L.C. Hulbert. Effect of topographic position and fire on species composition in tallgrass prairie in northeast Kansas. American Midland Naturalist 117(2):442-445. Abrams, M.D., A.K. Knapp, and L.C. Hulbert. 1986. A ten-year record of aboveground biomass in a Kansas tallgrass prairie: Effects of fire and topographic position. American Journal of Botany 73 (10): 1509–1515. Hulbert L.C. 1986. Fire effects on tallgrass prairie. Pages 138–142 in Proceedings of the Ninth North American Prairie 'Conference (G.K. Clambey and R.H. Pemble, editors). Tri-College University Center for Environmental Studies, North Dakota State University; 1984. Fargo, North Dakota. Knapp. A.K. and L.C. Hulbert. 1986. Production. density and height of flower stalks of three grasses in annually burned and unburned eastern Kansas tall grass prairie: A four-year record. The Southwestern Naturalist 31(2):235-241. Freeman. C.C. and L.C. Hulbert. 1985. An annotated list of the vascular flora of Konza Prairie Research Natural Area, Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 88 (3-4):84-115. Knapp, A.K., M.D. Abrams, and L.C. Hulbert. 1985. An evaluation of beta attenuation for estimating aboveground biomass a tallgrass prairie. Journal of Range Management 38 (6):556-558. Hulbert. L.C. 1985. History and use of Konza Prairie Research Natural Area. The Prairie Scout 5:63-95 . Hulbert, LC. and J.K. Wilson. 1983. Fire interval effects on flowering of grasses in Kansas bluestem prairie. Pages 255- 257 in Proceedings of the Seventh North American Prairie Conference (C.L. Kucera, editor). Southwest Missouri State University; 1980. Springfield, Missouri. Brehm, R.W. and L.C. Hulbert. 1980. Decomposition of litter in Kansas bluestem prairie. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 83(1):33-35. Hulbert. L.C. 1978. Natural area needs for range research. Pages 263-265 in First International Rangeland Congress Proceedings (D.N. Hyder, editor). 1978. Denver. Colorado. Hulbert, L.C. 1978. Controlling experimental bluestem prairie fires. Pages 169-171 in Fifth Midwest Prairie Conference Proceedings (D.C. Glenn-Lewin and R.Q. Landers, Jr., editors). Extension Courses and Conferences, Iowa State University; 1976. Ames, Iowa. Dokken, D.A. and L.c. Hulbert. 1978. Effect of standing dead on stem density in bluestem prairie. Pages 78–81 in Fifth Midwest Prairie Conference Proceedings (D.C. Glenn-Lewin and R.Q. Landers, Jr., editors). Extension Courses and Conferences, Iowa State University; 1976. Ames, Iowa. Bragg, T.B. and L.C. Hulbert. 1976. Woody plant invasion of unburned Kansas bluestem prairie. Journal of Range Man¬agement 29(1): 19-24. Bellah, R.G. and L.C. Hulbert. 1974. Forest succession on the Republican River floodplain in Clay County, Kansas. The Southwestern Naturalist 19(2):155-166. Hulbert, L.C. 1973. Management of Konza Prairie to approximate pre-whiteman fire influences. Pages 14–17 in Third Midwest Prairie Conference Proceedings (L.C. Hulbert, editor). Kansas State University: 1972. Manhattan, Kansas. Hulbert, L.C. (editor). 1973. Third Midwest Prairie Conference Proceedings. Kansas State University; 1972. Manhattan, Kansas. Alizai. and L.C. Hulbert. 1970. Effects of soil texture on evaporative loss and available water in semi-arid climates. Soil Science 110(5):328-332. Hulbert, L.C. 1969. Fire and litter effects in undisturbed bluestem prairie in Kansas. Ecology 50(5):874-877. Robel, R.I., J.N. Briggs, A.D. Dayton, and L.C. Hulbert. 1970. Relationships between visual obstruction measurements and weight of grassland vegetation. Journal of Range Management 23(4):295-297. Oehme, R. W., W.E. Bailie, and L.C. Hulbert. 1968. Astragalus mollissimus (locoweed) toxicosis of horses in western Kansas. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association J52(3):271-278. Conservation Committee, Kansas Academy of Science, L.C. Hulbert (chair). 1966. A Plan for Natural Areas in Kansas. Kansas Academy of Science Transactions 69(1): 1-10. . Hulbert, L.C. and F. W. Oehme. 1960. Plants poisonous to livestock. Selected plants of the United States and Canada of 'Importance to veterinarians, 1st Edition (1960; 54 pp.), 2nd Edition (1963: 102 pp), 3rd Edition (1968; 138 pp.). Kansas State University Press, Manhattan, Kansas. Hulbert, L.C. 1963. Gates' phonological records of 132 plants at Manhattan, Kansas, 1926–1955. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 66(1):82-106. Hulbert, L. C. 1955. Ecological studies of Bromus tectorum and other annual bromegrasses, Ecological Monographs L,)(2):181-313.