Interesting Fact

Though prairies used to cover about 40% of the United States, only 1% still exists.

Eco-tourism

5 things people should learn and remember about this biome:

1. There is an incredible diversity of plant and animal life. The vast area that the temperate grasslands cover and the fact that the weather is not extreme supports a large amount of biodiversity.


2. The habitats are very fragile, and we discovered this the hard way with the Dust Bowl.


3. There is hardly any prairie left, almost all of it has been turned into farmland. We need to be diligent in our preservation of the prairie space we have left.


4. The over-hunting of one animal leads to the rapid decline of another who relies on it for survival, so we must maintain a watchful eye on the interactions of species. For example, with the decline of the prairie dog came the decline of hawks, foxes, owls and ferrets, all of which rely on the prairie dogs in some way.
   


5. The Dust Bowl served as a realization that humans need to consider the consequences of their actions and learn ways to minimize damage to the environment while still profiting off the fertile soil of the prairie.
   

Environmental Damage

During the 1930's, the Dust Bowl took place. This period of severe dust storms was caused by decades of extensive farming without cover crops, crop rotation, or other techniques to prevent erosion. The deep plowing of the fertile topsoil displaced natural grass which trapped moisture and kept soil in place. Millions of acres spanning across the United States and into Canada were transformed into dusty wastelands unsuitable for farming. The overuse of the prairie grasslands without considering long-term consequences took it's toll on the United States farmland, economy, and culture, and forced us to discover new, less invasive and more environmentally friendly ways to farm.

Succession

Primary Succession:

During the last glacier period, glaciers shaped parts of North Dakota into prairie flatland. After the glaciers passed, the land was stripped of the nutrients in the dirt and lichen spores were deposited by wind to the barren land. After the lichen had a foothold on the rocky soil they decomposed and grasses were able to grow.

Secondary Succession:

Prairie fires are necessary in maintaining the prairies and keeping them from turning into wooded areas. The prairie grass possesses a very deep root system, so even when the blade of the grass is burned off the plant remains alive. Invasive plants not adapted to prairies are killed and that gives the native grasses more room to grow.

Cycles

Nitrogen Cycle
Carbon Cycle

Phosphorus Cycle

Hydrologic Cycle

Invasive Species

Chinese Bush Clover:

• A legume


• It came from China in 1896 because of its


• was intended to be used as livestock forage and as soil erosion control


• Displaces natural vegitation, alters habitat and increases land management costs

Limiting Factors

Density-dependent:

• Overcrowding of coyotes will lead to the overhunting of smaller mammals (rabbits, prairie dogs) and eventually the starvation of coyotes, leading to a decline of population. This decline of coyote population will lead to the rise of the small mammal population, and the cycle starts again.
• Diseases spread much faster in denser populations such as that of the field mouse when compared to the population of hawks or other solitary, low density animals.

Density-independent:

• Natural disasters such as prairie fires will thin out populations, regardless of the population density.
• Human interactions, such as the damming of the Kansas River or the over-hunting of the rattlesnake population, will effect the population regardless of the density before the human effects took place.