Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands biome Biome are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Biomes are defined by factors such as plant structures , leaf types (such as broadleaf and needleleaf), plant spacing (forest, woodland, savanna), and by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type. Temperate grassland regions include the Pampas The Pampas are the fertile South American lowlands that include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos and Córdoba, most of Uruguay, and the State of Rio Grande do Sul, in the southernmost end of Brazil covering more than 750,000 km2 (289,577 sq mi). These vast plains are only interrupted by the low Ventana and of Argentina The Argentine claims in Antarctica along with the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands (administered by the United Kingdom) shown in light green, and the steppes A steppe in physical geography refers to a biome region characterised by grassland plain without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. The prairie (especially the shortgrass and mixed prairie) is an example of a steppe, though it is not usually called such. It may be semi-desert, or covered with grass or shrubs or both, depending on the of Eurasia Eurasia is a large landmass covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface (36.2% of the land area) located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. Often considered a single continent, Eurasia comprises the traditional continents of Europe and Asia (with Eurasia being a portmanteau of the two), concepts which date.

Lands typically referred to as "prairie" tend to be in North America North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean; South America lies to the southeast. The term encompasses much of the area referred to as the Great Plains The Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie, steppe and grassland which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming, and the Canadian of the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language and Canada The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three. In the U.S., the area is constituted by most or all of the states of North Dakota The state capital is Bismarck and the largest city is Fargo. The primary public universities are located in Grand Forks and Fargo. The U.S. Air Force operates Air Force Bases at Minot AFB and Grand Forks AFB, South Dakota South Dakota is bordered by the states of North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana. The state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and socially distinct halves, known to residents as "East River" and "West River". Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the state', Nebraska Once considered part of the Great American Desert , Nebraska is now a leading farming and ranching state, Kansas Historically, the area was home to large numbers of nomadic Native Americans who hunted bison. It was first settled by European Americans in the 1830s, but the pace of settlement accelerated in the 1850s, in the midst of political wars over the slavery issue. When officially opened to settlement by the U.S. government in 1854, abolitionist Free-, Oklahoma A major producer of natural gas, oil and agriculture, Oklahoma relies on an economic base of aviation, energy, telecommunications, and biotechnology. It has one of the fastest growing economies in the nation, ranking among the top states in per capita income growth and gross domestic product growth. Oklahoma City and Tulsa serve as Oklahoma's, Texas Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and sixth largest United States metropolitan areas, respectively. Other major cities include El Paso and Austin—the, Wyoming As specified in the designating legislation for the Territory of Wyoming, Wyoming's borders are lines of latitude, 41°N and 45°N, and longitude, 104°3'W and 111°3'W , making the shape of the state a latitude-longitude quadrangle. Wyoming is one of only three states (along with Colorado and Utah) to have borders along only straight latitudinal and Montana Montana has several nicknames, none official, including: "The Treasure State" and "Big Sky Country," and slogans that include "Land of the Shining Mountains," and more recently, "The Last Best Place." The state ranks fourth in area, but 44th in population, and therefore has the third lowest population, and sizable parts of the states of Colorado Colorado is nicknamed the "Centennial State" because it was admitted to the Union as the 38th state in 1876, the centennial year of the United States Declaration of Independence. Colorado is bordered on the north by Wyoming and Nebraska, on the east by Nebraska and Kansas, on the south by Oklahoma and New Mexico, and on the west by Utah, Indiana Indiana has several metropolitan areas with populations greater than 100,000 as well as a number of smaller industrial cities and small towns. It is home to several major sports teams and athletic events including the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, the NBA's Indiana Pacers, the Indianapolis 500 motorsports race . Residents of Indiana are known as, Illinois United States migrant settlers began arriving from Kentucky in the 1810s; Illinois achieved statehood in 1818. The future metropolis of Chicago was founded in the 1830s on the banks of the Chicago River, one of the few natural harbors on southern Lake Michigan. Railroads and John Deere's invention of the self-scouring steel plow made central, Iowa Iowa is bordered by the Mississippi River on the east; the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west; the northern boundary is a line along 43 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude.[note 1] The southern border is the Des Moines River and a line along approximately 40 degrees 35 minutes north, as decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in Missouri, Wisconsin The word Wisconsin has its origins in the name given to the Wisconsin River by one of the Algonquian speaking American Indian groups living in the region at the time of European contact. French explorer Jacques Marquette was the first European to reach the Wisconsin River and record its name, arriving in 1673 and calling the river Meskousing in, Missouri Missouri mirrors the demographic, economic and political makeup of the nation with a mix of urban and rural culture. It has long been considered a political bellwether state. With the exceptions of 1956 and 2008, Missouri's results in U.S. presidential elections have accurately predicted the next President of the United States in every election, and the far western strip of Minnesota Nearly sixty percent of Minnesota's residents live in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area known as the "Twin Cities", the center of transportation, business and industry, education and home to an internationally known arts community. The remainder of the state consists of western prairies now given over to intensive agriculture;. The Central Valley The Central Valley is a large, flat valley that dominates the central portion of the U.S. state of California. It is home to many of California's most productive agricultural efforts. The valley stretches approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) from north to south. Its northern half is referred to as the Sacramento Valley, and its southern half as of California California's geography ranges from the Pacific coast to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east, to Mojave desert areas in the southeast and the Redwood–Douglas fir forests of the northwest. The center of the state is dominated by the Central Valley, one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. California is the most is also prairie. The Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies is a region of Canada, specifically in western Canada, which may correspond to several different definitions, natural or political. Notably, the Prairie provinces or simply the Prairies comprise the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as they are much covered by prairie. In a more restricted sense, the term may occupy vast areas of Manitoba According to the 2006 Census, the largest ethnic group in Manitoba is English Canadian , but there is a significant Franco-Manitoban minority (148,370) and a growing aboriginal population (192,865, including the Métis). Other ethnic groups include Germans (216,755 - the second-largest group), Scots (209,170), and the Irish (155,915). Manitoba is, Saskatchewan Other major cities, in order of size, are Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, Swift Current and North Battleford. The province's name comes from the Saskatchewan River, whose name comes from its Cree designation: ᑭᓯᐢᑳᒋᐘᓂ ᓯᐱᐩ , meaning "swift flowing river", and Alberta Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south. Alberta is one of three Canadian provinces and territories to border only a single U.S. state . It is also one of only two Canadian.

Formation

The formation of the North American Prairies started with the upwelling of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The North American Rocky Mountains stretch more than 3,000 miles (4,830 km) from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. The range's highest peak is Mount Elbert located in Colorado at 14,440 feet (4,401. The mountains created a rain shadow The condition exists because as warm moist air rises through "orographic lifting" to the top of a mountain range or large mountain, where due to decreasing atmospheric pressure with increasing altitude, it has expanded and adiabatically cooled to the point that the air reaches its adiabatic dew point . At the adiabatic dew point, that killed most of the trees.^{[citation needed]}

Most prairie soil was deposited during the last glacial advance Quaternary glaciation, also known as the Pleistocene glaciation, the current ice age or simply the ice age, refers to the period of the last few million years in which permanent ice sheets were established in Antarctica and perhaps Greenland, and fluctuating ice sheets have occurred elsewhere (for example, the Laurentide ice sheet). The major that began about 110,000 years ago. The glaciers expanding southward scraped the soil, picking up material and leveling the terrain. As the glaciers retreated about 10,000 years ago, it deposited this material in the form of till Till or glacial till is unsorted glacial sediment. Glacial drift is a general term for the coarsely graded and extremely heterogeneous sediments of glacial origin. Glacial till is that part of glacial drift which was deposited directly by the glacier. It may vary from clays to mixtures of clay, sand, gravel and boulders. Clay in till may form in.^{[citation needed]}

Tallgrass Prairie evolved over tens of thousands of years with the disturbances of grazing and fire. Native ungulates Ungulates are several groups of mammals, most of which use the tips of their toes, usually hoofed, to sustain their whole body weight while moving. They make up several orders of mammals, of which six to eight survive. There is some dispute as to whether Ungulata are a cladistic (evolution-based) group, or merely a phenetic group or folk taxon ( such as bison Members of the genus Bison are large even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant species and four extinct species are recognized. The surviving species are the American bison, Bison bison , found in North America, and the European bison, or wisent (Bison bonasus), found in Europe and the Caucasus. While these species are usually, elk The elk, or wapiti , is one of the largest species of deer in the world and one of the largest mammals in North America and eastern Asia. In the deer family (Cervidae), only the moose, Alces alces (called an "elk" in Europe), is larger, and Cervus unicolor (the sambar deer) can rival the C. canadensis elk in size. Elk are almost, and white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer, or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States (all but five of the states), Canada, Mexico, Central America, and in South America as far south as Peru. It has also been introduced to New Zealand and some countries in Europe, such as Finland and the Czech, roamed the expansive, diverse, plentiful grassland before European colonization of the Americas The start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492, although there was at least one earlier colonization effort. The first known Europeans to reach the Americas were the Vikings during the 11th century, who established several colonies in Greenland and one short-lived settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows (51°N) in the.^[1] For 10,000-20,000 years native people used fire annually as a tool to assist in hunting, transportation and safety.^[2] Evidence of ignition sources of fire in the tallgrass prairie are overwhelmingly human as opposed to lightning.^[3] Humans, and grazing animals, were active participants in the process of prairie formation and the establishment of the diversity of graminoid Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges (Cyperaceae) and the rushes (Juncaceae). The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns (turf) and grassland and forbs Forbs are herbaceous flowering plants that are not graminoids . The term is frequently used in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands. Forbs represent a guild of plant species with broadly similar growth form, which in ecology is often more important than taxonomic relationship species. Fire has the effect on prairies of removing trees A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to 6 m; some authors set a minimum of 10 cm trunk diameter, clearing dead plant matter, and changing the availability of certain nutrients in the soil from the ash produced. Fire kills the vascular tissue Vascular tissue is a complex conducting tissue, formed of more than one cell type, found in vascular plants. The primary components of vascular tissue are the xylem and phloem. These two tissues transport fluid and nutrients internally. There are also two meristems associated with vascular tissue: the vascular cambium and the cork cambium. All the of trees, but not prairie, as up to 75% (depending on the species) of the total plant biomass Biomass, a renewable energy source, is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms, such as wood, waste, gas, and alcohol fuels. Biomass is commonly plant matter grown to generate electricity or produce heat. In this sense, living biomass can also be included, as plants can also generate electricity while still alive. The is below the soil surface and will re-grow from its deep (up to 6 feet) roots In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating (growing up above the ground or especially above water). Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either (see rhizome). So, it is. Without disturbance In ecology, a disturbance is a temporary change in average environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in an ecosystem. Outside disturbance forces often act quickly and with great effect, sometimes resulting in the removal of large amounts of biomass. Ecological disturbances include fires, flooding, windstorm, insect outbreaks, as, trees will encroach on a grassland, cast shade, which suppresses the understory Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs. Young canopy trees often persist as suppressed juveniles for decades while they wait for an opening in the. Prairie and widely spaced Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist on earth. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus. The genus is native to the northern hemisphere, and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cold latitudes to tropical Asia and the Americas trees evolved to coexist in the oak savanna These savannas were maintained historically through fires set by lightning, herbivore grazing cycles, dry climates, poor soil, and/or fires set by Native Americans ecosystem.^[4]

Fertility

In spite of long recurrent droughts A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region. Although droughts can persist for several years, even a short, and occasional torrential rains, the grasslands of the Great Plains are not subject to great soil erosion. The deep, interconnected root systems of prairie grasses firmly hold the soil in place and prevent run-off of soil. When a plant dies, the fungi, bacteria and the other decomposers slowly eat the roots and leaves, returning nutrients to the soil.

These deep roots also help prairie plants to reach water in even the driest conditions. The grass suffers much less damage from dry conditions than the farm crops that have replaced many former prairies.

Types

The types of prairies in North America are usually split into three groups: wet, mesic, and dry.^[5]

Wet

In this type of prairie, the soil is usually very moist most of the growing season, and has poor water drainage. This can possibly contain a bog or fen, since it often has plentiful stagnant water.

Mesic

Mesic prairies have good drainage, but have good soil moisture during the growing season. This type of prairie is the most often converted for agricultural usage, consequently it is one of the more endangered types of prairie.

Dry

Dry Prairie is a prairie which has somewhat wet to very dry soil during the growing season because of good drainage in the soil. Often, this prairie can be found on uplands or slopes.

Farming

The very dense soil plagued the first settlers who were using wooden plows, which were more suitable for loose forest soil. On the prairie the plows bounced around and the soil stuck to them. This problem was solved in 1837 by an Illinois blacksmith named John Deere who developed a steel moldboard plough that was stronger and cut the roots, making the fertile soils ready for farming.

The tallgrass prairie has been converted into one of the most intensive crop producing areas in North America. Less than one tenth of one percent (<0.09%) of the original landcover of the tallgrass prairie biome remains.^[6] States formerly with landcover in native tallgrass prairie such as Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Missouri have became valued for their highly productive soils and are included in the Corn Belt. As an example of this land use intensity, Illinois and Iowa for the United States, rank 49th and 50th out of 50 states in total uncultivated land remaining.

Biofuels

Research, by David Tilman, ecologist at the University of Minnesota, suggests that "biofuels made from high-diversity mixtures of prairie plants can reduce global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Even when grown on infertile soils, they can provide a substantial portion of global energy needs, and leave fertile land for food production."^[7] Unlike corn and soybeans which are major food crops, prairie grasses are not used for human consumption. Prairie grasses can be grown in infertile soil, eliminating the cost of adding nutrients to the soil. Tilman and his colleagues estimate that prairie grass biofuels would yield 51 percent more energy per acre than ethanol from corn grown on fertile land.^[7] Some grasses commonly used are lupine, big bluestem (turkey foot), blazing star, switchgrass, and prairie clover.

Preservation

Only 1% of tallgrass prairie remains in the U.S. today.^[8]

Significant preserved areas of prairie include:

• University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin
• Ceresco Prairie Conservancy, Ripon College, Wisconsin
• Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan
• Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, Alberta and Saskatchewan
• Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, in Will County, Illinois
• Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Iowa
• Konza Prairie, Manhattan, Kansas
• Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Kansas
• Tallgrass Prairie Preserve 32,000 acres (130 km²), Oklahoma
• Nine-Mile Prairie, Nebraska
• Zumwalt Prairie, Wallowa County, Oregon
• Richard Bong State Recreation Area, in Kenosha County, Wisconsin
• Hoosier Prairie, Lake County, Indiana
• Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, Pennsylvania
• Clymer Meadow Preserve, Hunt County, Texas
• Tallgrass Aspen Parkland, Manitoba & Minnesota
• Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, Okeechobee County, Florida
• Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Alachua County, Florida
• American Prairie Foundation, Phillips and Blaine Counties, Montana

Virgin prairies

Virgin prairie refers to prairie land that has never been plowed. Small virgin prairies exist in the American Midwestern states and in Canada. Restored prairie refers to a prairie that has been reseeded after plowing or other disturbance.

Prairie garden

A prairie garden is a garden primarily consisting of plants from a prairie.

See also

• Buffalo Commons
• Coastal plain
• Coastal prairie
• Field
• Flooded grasslands and savannas
• Flood-meadow
• Grassland
• Heath (habitat)
• Meadow
• Outback
• Pampa
• Pasture
• Plain
• Prairie Clover
• Prairie madness
• Prairie restoration
• Puszta
• Rangeland
• Savanna
• Shortgrass prairie
• Steppe
• Switchgrass
• Tallgrass prairie
• Water-meadow
• Wet meadow
• Veld

References

1. ^ Dinsmore, James and Muller, Mark. (Illustrator) A Country So Full of Game: The Story of Wildlife in Iowa Burr Oak Series. April 1994.
2. ^ William J. McShea (Editor), William M. Healy (Editor) Oak Forest Ecosystems: Ecology and Management for Wildlife The Johns Hopkins University Press; 1 edition (October 21, 2003)
3. ^ Abrams, Marc D. Native Americans as active and passive promoters of mast and fruit trees in the eastern USA The Holocene, Vol. 18, No. 7, 1123-1137 (2008)
4. ^ Thompson, Janette R. Prairies, Forests, and Wetlands: The Restoration of Natural Landscape Communities in Iowa Burr Oak Series. University Of Iowa Press; 1 edition (June 1, 1992)
5. ^ Prairie Frontier: General Information about Prairie Types
6. ^ Carl Kurtz. Iowa's Wild Places: An Exploration With Carl Kurtz (Iowa Heritage Collection) Iowa State Press; 1st edition (July 30, 1996)
7. ^ ^{a b} David Tilman. "Mixed Prairie Grasses Better Source of Biofuel Than Corn Ethanol and Soybean Biodiesel"". National Science Foundation (NSF). http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=108206. Retrieved December 7, 2006.
8. ^ Roy Robison, Donald B. White, and Mary H. Meyer: Plants in Prairie Communities. University of Minnesota, 1995.

External links

• The Prairie Enthusiasts Grassland protection and restoration in the upper Midwest.
• Prairie Plains Resource Institute
• [www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/RENEW/Biomass/biofuels.shtml]
• The Native Prairies Association of Texas
• Terraformers Canadian Prairie Conservation Foundation
• Importance of fire within the prairie
• Missouri Prairie Foundation

Categories: Prairies

See Also:

• Silicon Prairie: Encyclopedia
• Grand Prairie, Texas: Encyclopedia
• Texas Blackland Prairies: Encyclopedia

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