Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a biome whose predominant vegetation consists of grasses and/or shrubs. The climate is temperate and semi-arid to semi-humid biome Biomes are climatically and geographically defined areas of ecologically similar climatic conditions 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), 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, and Córdoba, most of Uruguay, and the southernmost end of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, covering more than 750,000 km2 (289,577 sq mi). These vast plains are only interrupted by the low Ventana and Tandil hills near Bahía of Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the second largest country in South America and eighth in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico, Colombia and Spain are more populous, and the steppes In physical geography, a steppe is a biome region characterised by grassland plain without trees . The prairie (especially the shortgrass prairie) can be considered a steppe. It may be semi-desert, or covered with grass or shrubs or both, depending on the season and latitude. The term is also used to denote the climate encountered in regions too of Russia Russia (pronounced /ˈrʌʃə/ ; Russian: Россия, pronounced [rʌˈsʲijə]), officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation(Russian: Российская Федерация​ (help·info), Rossiyskaya Federatsiya), is a country in northern Eurasia (Europe and Asia together). It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 and Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south. It is also sometimes known as Middle Asia or Inner Asia, and is within the scope of the wider Eurasian continent. Various definitions of its exact composition exist and no one.

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 almost totally 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. The term encompasses much of the area referred to as the Great Plains The Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe 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 provinces of of the United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the and Canada Canada is a country occupying most of upper North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area and shares the world's longest common border with the United States to the south and northwest. In the U.S., the area is constituted by most or all of the states of North Dakota North Dakota ( /ˌnɔrθ dəˈkoʊtə/ ) is a state located in the Midwestern and Western regions of the United States of America. North Dakota is the 19th largest state by area in the US; it is the 3rd least populous, with just over 640,000 residents as of 2006. North Dakota was carved out of the northern half of the Dakota Territory and admitted, South Dakota South Dakota ( /ˌsaʊθ dəˈkoʊtə/ ) is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. The former territory was admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889. Centrally-located Pierre is the state capital and Sioux Falls is the state's largest city. As, Nebraska Nebraska (pronounced /nəˈbræskə/ ) is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and Western United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, Kansas The State of Kansas ( /ˈkænzəs/ ) is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American "Heartland" or "America's Breadbasket" referring to the state's enormous wheat-growing agribusiness. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn, Oklahoma Oklahoma ( /ˌoʊkləˈhoʊmə/ ) is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,617,316 residents in 2007 and a land area of 68,667 square miles (177,847 km²), Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state. The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning &, Texas Texas ( /ˈtɛksəs/ ) is a state in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. It is bordered by Mexico to the south, New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, with an area of 268,820 square miles (696, Colorado The State of Colorado ( /kɒləˈrædoʊ/ or /kɒləˈrɑːdoʊ/ (help·info)) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”. It is, Wyoming The State of Wyoming ( /waɪˈoʊmɪŋ/ ) is a state in the Western United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountain West, while the easternmost section of the state includes part of a high altitude prairie region known as the High Plains. While the tenth largest U.S. state by size, and Montana Montana ( /mɒnˈtænə/ ) is a state in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other 'island' ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographic and geographical fact is reflected in the state's name, derived from the, and sizable parts of the states of Indiana The State of Indiana ( /ɪndiˈænə/ ) was the 19th U.S. state admitted into the union. It is a Northern state located in the Great Lakes region of the United States of America. With about 6.3 million residents, it is ranked 16th in population and 17th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and of the lower 48 states, Indiana, Illinois The State of Illinois (pronounced /ˌɪlɨˈnɔɪ/ IL-i-NOY), the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and western, Iowa Iowa ( /ˈaɪəwə/ ) is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of, Wisconsin Wisconsin ( /wɪˈskɒnsɨn/ ) (French: Ouisconsin) (officially The State of Wisconsin) is one of the fifty states in the United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States. It borders two of the five Great Lakes and four U.S. states (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota). Wisconsin's capital is Madison, and its, Missouri Missouri (pronounced /mɨˈzʊəri/ , and infrequently locally /mɨˈzʊərə/) is a state in the Midwest region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the 18th most populous state. It comprises 114 counties and one independent city. Missouri's capital is Jefferson, and Minnesota Minnesota ( /mɪnɨˈsoʊtə/ ) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state on May 11,. 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 400 miles from north to south. Its northern half is referred to as the Sacramento Valley, and its southern half as the San Joaquin of California California ( /kælɪˈfɔrnjə/ ) is a state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and, to the south, the Mexican state of Baja California. California is the most populous U.S. state. Its four largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, 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 Manitoba (pronounced /ˌmænɨˈtoʊbə/ ) is a prairie province in Canada and has an area of 649,950 square kilometres (250,900 sq mi). Manitoba is bordered by the provinces of Ontario to the east and Saskatchewan to the west, the territory of Nunavut to the north, and the US states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south. Manitoba also has a, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan (pronounced /səˈskætʃɨwɑːn/ ) is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of 588,276.09 square kilometres (227,100 sq mi) and a population of 1,023,810 (according to 2009 estimates), mostly living in the southern half of the province. Of these, 233,923 live in the province's largest city, Saskatoon, while 194,971 live in, and Alberta Alberta is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.

Formation

The formation of the North American Prairies started with the upwelling of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometres from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States. The range's highest peak is Mount Elbert in Colorado at 14,440 feet (4,401 m) above sea level. The mountains created a rainshadow is an area proximal to a mountain range which is warm and dry despite relative tropical conditions on the other side of the mountain. The condition exists because as warm moist air rises "orographic lifting" to the top of a mountain range or large mountain, it expands and cools to the point that the air reaches its dew point. At the dew that killed most of the trees.

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 10000 years ago, it deposited this material in the form of till 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 spherical shapes.

These treeless grasslands Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae) and other herbaceous (non-woody) plants (forbs). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica. In temperate latitudes, such as northwest Europe, grasslands are dominated by have an extreme climate: cold in winters and hot in summers.

Fire

Fire is an important part of the prairie ecosystem An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all of the physical (abiotic) factors of the environment. An ecosystem is a unit of interdependent organisms which share the same habitat. Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs which show the interdependence of the. Fire does at least two important jobs, 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 and clearing dead grasses. Forests A forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on the various criteria. These plant communities presently cover approximately 9.4% of the Earth's surface in many different regions and function as habitats for organisms, hydrologic flow modulators, and soil conservers, constituting one of the most can overwhelm a prairie grassland, as too many trees create shade, killing the grasses. Fire destroys the trees, but not the grass, as most of the grass is underground and will regrow from its deep 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. As fire clears the dead leaves In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues. Leaves are also the sites in most plants where transpiration and guttation take place, the ashes fertilize the soil

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 Rain is liquid precipitation. On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface. Rain is the primary source of fresh water for most areas of the world, providing suitable conditions for diverse ecosystems, as well as water for hydroelectric power plants and crop irrigation, the grasslands of the Great Plains The Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe 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 provinces of are not subject to great soil erosion Erosion is the removal of solids in the natural environment. It usually occurs due to transport by wind, water, or ice; by down-slope creep of soil and other material under the force of gravity; or by living organisms, such as burrowing animals, in the case of bioerosion. 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 A fungus is a eukaryotic organism that is a member of the kingdom Fungi (pronounced /ˈfʌndʒaɪ/ or /ˈfʌŋɡaɪ/). The fungi are a monophyletic group, also called the Eumycota (true fungi or Eumycetes), that is phylogenetically distinct from the morphologically similar slime molds (myxomycetes) and water molds (oomycetes). The fungi are, bacteria The bacteria [bækˈtɪərɪə] (singular: bacterium)[α] are a large group of unicellular microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria are ubiquitous in every habitat on Earth, growing in soil, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, water, and deep and the other decomposers Decomposers are organisms that consume dead or decaying organisms, and, in doing so, carry out the natural process of decomposition. Like herbivores and predators, decomposers are heterotrophic, meaning that they use organic substrates to get their energy, carbon and nutrients for growth and development. Decomposers use deceased organisms and non- 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 prairie grass, on North America, is usually split into three groups, depending on how much water that area gets. The types are wet, mesic, and dry.

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 A bog or mire is a wetland type that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—usually mosses, but also lichens in Arctic climates or fen, since it often has plentiful stagnant water.

Dry

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

Mesic

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

Farming

The very dense soil plagued the first settlers using wooden plows, perfectly good for the forest where the soil is loose. On a prairie, the plows just bounced around, and the soil stuck to the plow.

This was solved in 1837, when an Illinois blacksmith named John Deere developed a steel moldboard plough that was stronger and cut the roots, making the fertile soils ready for farming.

The prairie today is one of the most plentiful crop producing areas. Illinois became a figurative breadbasket for the United States. Illinois ranks 49 of 50 states in total land remaining uncultivated.

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." ^[1] 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 fuel would yield 51 percent more energy per acre than ethanol from corn grown on fertile land.^[1] Some grasses commonly used are lupine, turkey foot, blazing star, switchgrass, and prairie clover.

Preservation

Only 1% of tallgrass prairie remains in the U.S. today.^[2]

Significant preserved areas of prairie include:

• 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 Reserve, 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. ^ ^{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 on December 7, 2006.
2. ^ 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
• Prairie Types Guide by Prairie Guide

Categories: Prairies

See Also:

• Prairie
• Silicon Prairie
• Texas Blackland Prairies
• Regional: North America: United States: Texas: Localities: P: Prairie Lea
• Regional: North America: United States: Texas: Localities: P: Prairie View

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