What is a prairie?

Definition of a Prairie Large communities covered with grasses and similar small plants Occur in climates with a dry season Contains few trees except for near water sources Rich soils Populated by grazing animals, and many species of insects, birds, reptiles, and mammals

Historical Range of Prairies Short-grass Mid-grass Tall-grass Historical range of prairies Before European settlers, prairies covered much of the central US Directly east of the Rocky mountains in the rain shadow where little precipitation occurs, are the short grasses In the center where a bit more precipitation falls, is the mid grass prairie And in the most eastern area are the tall grasses where precipitation is highest. Unfortunately for the prairies, this area has some of the best soils in the world and is well suited for agriculture

Endangered Ecosystem North American prairie is one of the most endangered ecosystems on earth--perhaps even more endangered than the South American rain forest The area known as the Great Plains was once the greatest grassland on earth and covered over a quarter of the continental U.S. The prairie stretched from the Rocky Mountains eastward for over 800 miles, and extended more than 3000 miles from north to south. The Homestead Act was passed in 1860 and as a direct result, over 400 million acres of prairie were converted to farmland In some areas, up to 99 percent of the prairie has been destroyed in just the last 125-150 years

What makes a prairie? Climate Fire Grazing

Climate Highly variable from year to year Between 25 and 75 cm of precipitation annually Three types of prairie created by differences in annual rainfall Year Avg. temperature (oC) 8 10 12 14 1960 1970 1980 1990 Avg. annual rainfall (mm) 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600

Fire Without fire, tallgrass and midgrass prairie can become overgrown with woody vegetation Prairies burn naturally due to lightening and were burned by Native Americans to attract bison (Bison bison) Prairie fires destroy tree seedlings, but burn only the uppermost part of grass plants Today, ranchers burn to encourage grass growth Prairie sites can be managed with controlled burns

Post-Fire The roots of grasses are unharmed, and in a short time, the plant will grow again The ashes then act as fertilizer for the grass Animals survive by retreating underground Increases warm-season grasses but decreases cool-season grasses and species diversity

Grazing Historically, large herds of bison, elk (Cervus canadensis), pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) and deer (Odocoileus sp.) grazed the prairies Ranchers brought in cattle to replace bison Grazing increases numbers of non-grass species (forbs and woodies)

Interactions among main factors affecting prairies Variable plant growth from year to year and place to place Variable weather patterns Ungulate grazing and migration patterns differ from year to year and place to place Conditions conducive to wide-spread fire differ from year to year and place to place Interactions among main factors affecting prairies Variable weather patterns Variable plant growth from year to year and place to place Ungulate grazing and migration patterns differ from year to year and place to place Conditions conducive to wide-spread fire differ from year to year and place to place

Our Project Schoolyard long-term ecological research (SLTER) and Prairies Across Kansas (PAK) in connection with Konza Prairie and K-State Take samples and submit data from our prairie site to SLTER online database Our work will become a part of research on prairies all over the state

References 1. Biology: The Dynamics of Life. s.l. : Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2000. 2. Prairie Ecosystem. Black-footed Ferret Recovery Program. [Online] January 20, 2005. http://www.blackfootedferret.org/prairie.html. 3. Horne, Eva. Ecology of the Tallgrass Prairie: Research at the Konza Prairie Biological Station. [PowerPoint Presentation] June 2006.