Flowering big bluestem, a characteristic tallgrass prairie plant
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroachment of trees, recycling soil nutrients, and facilitating seed dispersal and germination. Prior to widespread use of the steel plow, which enabled large scale conversion to agricultural land use, tallgrass prairies extended throughout the American Midwest and smaller portions of southern central Canada, from the transitional ecotones out of eastern North American forests, west to a climatic threshold based on precipitation and soils, to the southern reaches of the Flint Hills in Oklahoma, to a transition into forest in Manitoba.
Retreating glaciers deposited the parent material for soil in the form of till, i.e. unsorted sediment, about 10,000 years ago. Wind-dropped loess and organic matter accumulated, resulting in deep levels[citation needed] of topsoil. Animals such as bison, elk, deer, and rabbits added nitrogen to the soil through urine and feces. Prairie dogs, a type of squirrel and considered to be a keystone species, dug tunnels, turning the soil and allowing water to travel several feet underground.[1]
For 5,000 to 8,000 years, more than 240million acres (970,000km2) of prairie grasslands were a major feature of the landscape.[2] Between 1800 and 1930, the vast majority was destroyed. Settlers transformed what they named "the Great American Desert" or "The Inland Sea" into farmland. Major reasons for the prairie's demise were the confined grazing pattern of European cattle versus bison, the near-extermination of prairie dogs, and the plowing and cultivation of the land, which breached tallgrass root systems and interrupted reproduction. Furthermore, extensive tile drainage has changed the soil's water content and hydrodynamics, and ongoing soil erosion results in its increasing loss.
Estimates differ of how much original tallgrass prairie survives, ranging from less than 1% mostly in "scattered remnants found in pioneer cemeteries, restoration projects, along highways and railroad rights-of-way, and on steep bluffs high above rivers"[1] to 4%.
Ecosystem
Tallgrass prairie is capable of supporting significant biodiversity. According to the World Wildlife Fund, parts of the ecoregion are among the "top ten ecoregions for reptiles, birds, butterflies, and tree species. Tallgrass species are found in the understory layer."[3] Oak, such as blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) and post oak (Q. stellata), and hickory tree species occur in some areas, but generally in moderate densities. Bison (Bison bison) were a dominant species.[3]
The tallgrass prairie biome depends on prairie fires, a form of wildfire, for its survival and renewal.[4] Tree seedlings and intrusive alien species without fire tolerance are eliminated by periodic fires. Such fires may either be set by humans (for example, Native Americans used fires to drive bison and improve hunting, travel, and visibility) or started naturally by lightning.[5]
White-tailed deer fecal matter has nutrients for plant biodiversity in Tallgrass prairie area.[6]
After the steel plow was invented by John Deere in 1833,[8] this fertile soil became one of America's most important resources. Over 95% of the original tallgrass prairie is now farmland.
The tallgrass prairie survives in areas unsuited to plowing: the rocky hill country of the Flint Hills, which runs north to south through east-central Kansas; the eastern fringe of the Red River Valley (Tallgrass Aspen Parkland) in Manitoba and Minnesota; the Coteau des Prairies, which extends from South Dakota through Minnesota and into Iowa; and the far north portion of Oklahoma. In Oklahoma, the tallgrass prairie has been maintained by ranchers, who saw the hat-high grass as prime grazing area for cattle.
The original extent of tallgrass prairie in Canada was the 2,300-square-mile (6,000km2) plain in the Red River Valley, southwest of Winnipeg in Manitoba (see map).[10] While most of Manitoba's tallgrass prairie has been destroyed through cultivation and urban expansion, relatively small areas persist. One of the largest blocks of remaining tallgrass prairie in Manitoba is protected by several conservation partners in a conservation area called the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland. The Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve, which occupies small portions of the municipalities of Stuartburn and Emerson – Franklin, forms a part of the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland. This preserve contains about 4,000ha (9,900 acres) of tallgrass prairie, aspen parkland, and wetlands.
Considered the birthplace of ecological restoration, the first tallgrass prairie restoration was the 1936 Curtis Prairie at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum.[11] The UW Arboretum was the center of tallgrass prairie research through the first half of the 20th century, with the development of the nearby Greene Prairie, Aldo Leopold Shack and Farm and pioneering techniques like prescribed burning.[12] The latter half of the 20th century saw the growth of tallgrass prairie restoration beyond Wisconsin borders, with projects in Illinois such as at Knox College, College of DuPage, Morton Arboretum, and Fermi National Laboratory, and projects in Iowa including Grinnell College's Conard Environmental Research Area. These major tallgrass restoration projects marked restoration’s growth from isolated studies to widespread practice. Tallgrass prairie restoration efforts picked up wider public recognition in the 1980s, spurred by the publication of a book of appreciation, John Madson's Where the Sky Began: Land of the Tallgrass Prairie (1982).[13] Nonprofit organizations throughout the former tallgrass prairie region began to reserve or restore small remnants of native prairie. For example, the Native Prairies Association of Texas was founded in 1986 to locate, restore, and protect prairies in Texas; the group currently protects about 2,780 acres (11.3km2) of Texas prairies.[14]
The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, founded in 1996 near Elwood, Illinois, was, as of 2006, the largest tallgrass prairie restoration area in the United States. In Minnesota, Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge was established in 2004. The core of the refuge is a preserved 5,000-acre (20km2) tallgrass prairie remnant, and an additional 30,000 acres (121km2) are either in the process of restoration or will be soon. According to The Nature Conservancy, so far, 100 wetlands have been restored, and 8,000 acres (32km2) of land has been seeded with native plant species.[15]
Several books have been published on tallgrass prairie restoration, including:
Packard, Stephen; Mutel, Cornelia F., eds. (1997). The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook: For Prairies, Savannas, and Woodlands. Island Press.
Kurtz, Carl (2001). A Practical Guide to Prairie Reconstruction. University of Iowa Press.
Helzer, Chris (2009). The Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United States. University of Iowa Press.
Smith, Daryl; Williams, Dave; Houseal, Greg; Henderson, Kirk (2010). The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Prairie Restoration in the Upper Midwest. University of Iowa Press.
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type. Temperate grassland regions include the Pampas of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, and the steppe of Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan. Lands typically referred to as "prairie" tend to be in North America. The term encompasses the lower and mid-latitude of the area referred to as the Interior Plains of Canada, the United States, and Mexico. It includes all of the Great Plains as well as the wetter, hillier land to the east. From west to east, generally the drier expanse of shortgrass prairie gives way to mixed grass prairie and ultimately the richer soils of the tallgrass prairie.
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands are terrestrial biomes defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The predominant vegetation in these biomes consists of grass and/or shrubs. The climate is temperate and ranges from semi-arid to semi-humid. The habitat type differs from tropical grasslands in the annual temperature regime and the types of species found here.
An oak savanna is a type of savanna, where oaks are the dominant trees. It is also generally characterized by an understory that is lush with grass and herb related plants. The terms "oakery" or "woodlands" are also used commonly, though the former is more prevalent when referencing the Mediterranean area. Oak savannas typically exist in areas with low precipitation and feature poor soils. Predominant land uses include rangeland agriculture. Naturally, these savannas depend on natural wildfires to maintain their open vegetation.
The Flint Hills, historically known as Bluestem Pastures or Blue Stem Hills, are a region of hills and prairies that lie mostly in eastern Kansas. It is named for the abundant residual flint eroded from the bedrock that lies near or at the surface. It consists of a band of hills extending from Marshall and Washington Counties in the north to Cowley County, Kansas and Kay and Osage Counties in Oklahoma in the south, to Geary and Shawnee Counties west to east. Oklahomans generally refer to the same geologic formation as the Osage Hills or "the Osage."
Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area stretching from central Alberta, all across central Saskatchewan to south central Manitoba and continuing into small parts of the US states of Minnesota and North Dakota. Aspen parkland consists of groves of aspen, poplar and spruce, interspersed with areas of prairie grasslands, also intersected by large stream and river valleys lined with aspen-spruce forests and dense shrubbery. This is the largest boreal-grassland transition zone in the world and is a zone of constant competition and tension as prairie and woodlands struggle to overtake each other within the parkland.
The Texas Blackland Prairies are a temperate grassland ecoregion located in Texas that runs roughly 300 miles (480 km) from the Red River in North Texas to San Antonio in the south. The prairie was named after its rich, dark soil. Less than 1% of the original Blackland prairie vegetation remains, scattered across Texas in parcels.
The Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, in Osage County, Oklahoma near Foraker, Oklahoma, is the largest protected tract of tallgrass prairie in the world. Managed by The Nature Conservancy, the preserve contains 39,650 acres (160 km2) owned by the Conservancy and another 6,000 acres (24 km2) leased in what was the original tallgrass region of the Great Plains that stretched from Texas to Manitoba.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum is a teaching and research facility of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the site of historic research in ecological restoration. In addition to its 1,260 acres (5 km2) in Madison, Wisconsin, the Arboretum also manages 520 acres (210 ha) of remnant forests and prairies throughout Wisconsin. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2021, in recognition for its role as a pioneer in the field of ecological restoration.
Prairie restoration is a conservation effort to restore prairie lands that were destroyed due to industrial, agricultural, commercial, or residential development. The primary aim is to return areas and ecosystems to their previous state before their depletion.
The Konza Prairie Biological Station is a 8,616-acre (3,487 ha) protected area of native tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills of northeastern Kansas. "Konza" is an alternative name for the Kansa or Kaw Indians who inhabited this area until the mid-19th century. The Konza Prairie is owned by The Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University.
The Tallgrass Aspen Parkland is an ecoregion located in southeastern Manitoba and northwestern Minnesota. The area is characterized by a mosaic of habitat types, including tallgrass prairie, aspen woodland, sedge meadow wetlands, riparian woodland, and oak savanna. A number of endangered and threatened species occur in the area, including the western prairie fringed orchid and Dakota skipper. One of Minnesota's only wild elk herds utilizes the area as well.
The Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve is located in southeastern Manitoba near Gardenton and Vita, this is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Steinbach, Manitoba. It is one of the last remaining stands of tallgrass prairie in Manitoba and is part of the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland conservation area in Manitoba and Minnesota. Several groups and organizations help in land preservation in the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie such as the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Nature Manitoba, Environment Canada, Manitoba Conservation and the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation.
The Northern Tallgrass Prairie is one of 844 terrestrial ecoregions defined by One Earth. This ecoregion largely follows the Red River Valley in the Canadian province of Manitoba and the American states of North Dakota and Minnesota.
The Central tall grasslands are a prairie ecoregion of the Midwestern United States, part of the North American Great Plains.
The ecology of the Great Plains is diverse, largely owing to their great size. Differences in rainfall, elevation, and latitude create a variety of habitats including short grass, mixed grass, and tall-grass prairies, and riparian ecosystems.
The Central Great Plains are a prairie ecoregion of the central United States, part of North American Great Plains. The region runs from west-central Texas through west-central Oklahoma, central Kansas, and south-central Nebraska.
The Canadian Aspen Forests and Parklands is one of 844 terrestrial ecoregions defined by One Earth. This ecoregion includes parts of the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, north-central and eastern North Dakota, most of east South Dakota, and north-central Nebraska in the American Great Plains. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines this ecoregion as the Northern Glaciated Plains.
Kankakee Sands is a 10,000-acre (4,000 ha) complex of tallgrass prairie and oak savanna restorations and remnants in Kankakee County, Illinois and Newton County, Indiana. It is managed by The Nature Conservancy staff and volunteers. The Efroymson Restoration at Kankakee Sands is 8,400 acres (3,400 ha) of prairies and wetlands connecting Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area, Beaver Lake Nature Preserve, Conrad Savanna Nature Preserve and Conrad Station Savanna. This creates over 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) of dry, mesic and wet sand prairies, sand blows, sedge meadows, wetlands, and black oak savannas.
Cemetery prairies are remnants of native North American prairie that survive on land set aside by settlers as burial grounds. These places were thus left unplowed and largely undisturbed, such that the cemeteries became de facto nature preserves. Natural prairie grasses are often perennial species that regrow from the roots after ruminant grazing or grassfire; plowing destroys the root system and eventually the ecosystem.
References
1 2 Graham, Pam. Tallgrass Prairie. ProQuest Discovery Guides Released November 2011.
↑ Jordan, III, W. R. (2011). Making nature whole: a history of ecological restoration. Washington, DC: Island Press. ISBN9781610910422. OCLC750183084.
↑ Court, F. E. (2012). Pioneers of ecological restoration: the people and legacy of the University of Wisconsin Arboretum. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN978-0299286637. OCLC814694131.
Chapman, Kim Alan, Adelheide Fischer, and Mary Ziegenhagen. Valley of Grass: Tallgrass Prairie and Parkland of the Red River Region. St. Cloud, MN: North Star Press, 1998. ISBN978-0878391271
Jones, Stephen R., and Ruth Carol Cushman. A Field Guide to the North American Prairie. Peterson Field Guides. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. ISBN9780618179305
Crosby, Cindy. The Tallgrass Prairie: An Introduction. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 2017. ISBN9780810135475
Gruchow, Paul. Journal of a Prairie Year. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions, 2009. ISBN9781571313188
Heat-Moon, William Least. PrairyErth: (A Deep Map). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. ISBN9780395925690
Manning, Richard. Grassland: The History, Biology, Politics, and Promise of the American Prairie. London: Penguin Books, 1997. ISBN9780140233889
Savage, Candace. Prairie: A Natural History. Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2011. ISBN9781550549850
White, Matt. Prairie Time: A Blackland Portrait. College Station, TX: Texas A & M University Press, 2013. ISBN9781623491369
Tallgrass Prairie - Video footage of the area and a list of relevant resources.
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