Pioneer‑cemetery microrefuges

Small, historically continuous burial grounds and similar legacy parcels often preserve remnants of pre‑settlement ecosystems (savanna, tallgrass prairie) and act as seed banks, carbon sinks, and biodiversity reservoirs. These microrefuges are managed under mixed governance (township trustees, volunteers, relatives) and therefore expose how local property rules, burial practice, and cultural values determine restoration outcomes. — Recognizing and inventorying pioneer cemeteries as conservation microrefuges reframes restoration policy: protecting these tiny parcels is a low‑cost, high‑value lever for biodiversity, carbon, and cultural heritage.