are considered part of the temperate
grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome
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 of Argentina, and the steppes of Russia and Central Asia.
Lands typically referred to as "prairie" tend to be in North America
. The term encompasses much of the area
referred to as the Great
Plains of the United States and Canada.
U.S., the area is constituted by most or all of the states of
Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, and sizable
parts of the states of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Minnesota. The Central Valley of California is also prairie. The Canadian Prairies occupy vast areas of
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
The formation of the North American Prairies started with the
upwelling of the Rocky Mountains
The mountains created a rainshadow
killed most of the trees.
Most prairie soil was deposited during the last glacial advance
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
Tallgrass Prairie evolved over tens of thousands of years with the
disturbances of grazing and fire. Native ungulates
such as bison
, and white-tailed deer
, roamed the expansive,
diverse, plentiful grassland before European colonization of
. For 10,000-20,000 years native people used fire
annually as a tool to assist in hunting, transportation, safety,
and probably entertainment. Evidence of ignition sources of fire in
the tallgrass prairie are overwhelmingly human as opposed to
lightning. Humans, and grazing animals, were active participants in
the process of prairie formation and the establishment of the
diversity of graminoid
species. Fire has the effect on prairies of
, clearing dead plant matter, and
changing the availability of certain nutrients in the soil from the
ash produced. Fire kills the vascular
of trees, but not prairie, as up to 75% (depending on
the species) of the total plant biomass
below the soil surface and will re-grow from its deep (up to 6
. Without disturbance
, trees will encroach on a grassland,
cast shade, which suppresses the understory
. Prairie and widely spaced
trees evolved to coexist in
the oak savanna
of long recurrent droughts and occasional
torrential rain, 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
and the other
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
The types of prairies in North America are usually split into three
groups: wet, mesic, and dry.
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
it often has plentiful stagnant
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.
Dry Prairie is a prairie which has somewhat wet to very dry soil
during the growing season because of good drainage. Often, this
prairie can be found on uplands or slopes.
The very dense soil plagued the first settlers who were using
, which were perfectly good 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
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="" tallgrass="" prairie="" biome="" remains.="" States=""
formerly="" with="" in="" native="" such="" as="" Iowa,=""
Illinois,="" Minnesota,="" Wisconsin,="" Nebraska,="" and=""
Missouri="" have="" became="" valued="" for="" their="" highly=""
productive="" soils="" are="" included="" 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.
by David Tilman, ecologist at the
Minnesota, suggests that "biofuels
made from high-diversity mixtures of prairie plants can reduce
global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the
Even when grown on infertile soils, they can
provide a substantial portion of global energy needs, and leave
fertile land for food production." 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. Some grasses commonly used are lupine, turkey
foot, blazing star, switchgrass
Only 1% of tallgrass prairie remains in the U.S. today.
Significant preserved areas of prairie include:
- Ceresco Prairie Conservancy,
Ripon College, Wisconsin
- Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan
Hills Interprovincial Park, Alberta and Saskatchewan
- Midewin National Tallgrass
Prairie, in Will County, Illinois
- Neal Smith
National Wildlife Refuge, Iowa
- Konza Prairie, Manhattan, Kansas
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,
- Jacobsburg Environmental Education
- Clymer Meadow Preserve, Hunt County, Texas
- Tallgrass Aspen Parkland, Manitoba & Minnesota
Prairie Preserve State Park, Okeechobee County, Florida
- Paynes Prairie Preserve State
Park, Alachua County,
- American Prairie Reserve, Phillips and Blaine Counties,
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
A prairie garden
is a garden
primarily consisting of plants from a prairie.