1. INTRODUCTION TO BIODIVERSITY
In the
tallgrass prairie community

2. The prairie is a community – with many different plants & animals.
Bio means:
Diversity means:
BIODIVERSITY means:
a variety of life forms
life.
a variety
Each one has a special job
its “ecological niche”
Here we will call its “prairie job”

3. A eco-system is stronger if it has more biodiversity.
For example, risks are spread out between more species. i.e in a field of only corn plants: if a corn disease comes in, it could wipe out the whole crop.
In the prairie full of many kinds of plants, a disease may hurt one kind of plant, but not all of them.

4. Let’s meet some of our neighbors on our biodiverse tallgrass prairie.
Remember: they have lived here a lot longer than we have. . .
We should know their names!
As we see their pictures and names, see how many you can remember!

5. First, here are the four main warm season tallgrasses in our prairie community.

6. Big Bluestem 2-9 feet high Seed heads
-usually have 3 spikes –look like a turkey’s foot
The biggest, most predominant member of the prairie community the “superhero” of grasses!

7. Indiangrass Indiangrass Height: 3-7 feet Seedheads are
-long, thick, shaped like a feather
- A beautiful golden color
This is also a big grass, not quite as big as Big Bluestem, but tall and strong.

8. Switchgrass Height: 2-6 feet Seed heads pyramid-shaped
open with branches like a tree
Another big, strong, tall grass!

9. Little Bluestem Height: 2-4 feet Short stout stems grow in a clump
Seed heads are fuzzy
with little stars
Turn red after frost
Is our Kansas State Grass!
A strong little grass that can grow in many different places Not as big as the Big Bluestem, but a very productive grass.

10. The FOUR main grasses of the Flint Hills have important PRAIRIE JOBS:
grow big and reproduce
hold the soil – prevent erosion
provide food for the grazing animals such as cattle and buffalo
give cover - shelter and protection - to little animals & birds such as Prairie Chickens

11. Who else is in the prairie?
Remember: Prairies have high biodiversity with a variety of different plants – not just grasses.
Who else is in the prairie?
The Flint Hills have over a thousand species of WILDFLOWERS.

12. FORBS are non-woody, flowering plants.
Often called: “wildflowers”
They are beautiful!
Many are quite palatable = tasty to cattle.
Some taste SO good cows want to eat them first! We call them “ice cream plants”.
Here are a few . . .

13. Our first forb / wildflower is a spectacular-looking plant!
Its broad lower leaves line up north and south – so it is named...
COMPASS PLANT

14. BUTTERFLY MILKWEED 1 – 3 feet high Big bunches of bright orange blooms
Attracts butterflies
People love this plant!
The prairie jobs of Butterfly Milkweed & Compass Plant are to
Look spectacular! - attract bees and other insect pollinators
Hold soil
Provide food for grazers.

15. The next group of forbs are LEGUMES – their prairie jobs are to:
Gather nitrogen to fertilize the prairie
Grow and reproduce
Attract pollinators
Hold the soil
Provide food for grazers

16. CATCLAW SENSITIVE BRIAR
This pretty plant
Is a legume
Has gorgeous flowers - golden-tipped pink pom-poms.
Is called “briar” since it’s stickery - but nutritious for cattle and they love it
Is called “sensitive” - when touched, its leaves fold together – you can SEE IT MOVE!
CATCLAW SENSITIVE BRIAR

17. LEADPLANT legume with tall purple & orange blooms
silvery-colored leaves like the color of lead
roots can go down 16 feet!
Native Americans used it to make a tea

18. BLUE WILDINDIGO
BLUE WILDINDIGO
A legume
tallest plant in early spring
flower is tall column over a foot high
loaded with bluish-purple blooms
One of the prettiest plants of the tallgrass prairie!

19. RED-TAIL HAWK
Beautiful big bird of prey – or predator - eats other animals - even other birds.
Big wing span feet wide!
Flies very high- looking down to find food
His prairie job is to control the populations of rodents, snakes, etc.

20. RACOON very common on the prairie - even in town
eat everything: insects, plants, and small animals and birds
sometimes they are predators - might steal eggs from a nest!
have a black mask around their eyes

21. PRAIRIE CHICKEN
Used to be hundreds of thousands, but now because so much prairie has been plowed, they live mainly only in the Flint Hills.
Lives only in the open prairie - never near forests
Make their nest down in tallgrass
Male performs amazing mating dance and “booms”
Their job is to search for thick tall grass to build their nest – to hide it from predators and grow their eggs.

22. Can you identify these members of the
PRAIRIE COMMUNITY?

23. BLUE WILDINDIGO

24. RACOON

25. BUTTERFLY MILKWEED

26. Switchgrass

27. PRAIRIE CHICKEN

28. COMPASS PLANT

29. Little Bluestem

30. CATCLAW SENSITIVE BRIAR

31. Big Bluestem

32. LEADPLANT

33. Indiangrass

34. RED-TAIL HAWK