Prairies

How critical is fire to the health and survival of prairies? I think the answer might depend upon whether we’re talking prairie, as in the ecosystem, or a prairie, as in an individual patch of grassland. It might also depend on whether we’re talking about history or the present. Prairie fires have been an integral part of prairies for a very long time. Here are some things I think are true about fire in prairies: • Fire is one of three major forces (along with climate and grazing) responsible for creating, shaping, and sustaining prairie landscapes. • Fire can influence the competition between woody plants (trees and shrubs) and herbaceous plants (grasses, wildflowers, etc.) in grasslands. It can outright kill some woody plants (such as eastern redcedar) and top-kills others, forcing them to restart their growth at the ground’s surface. • Fire can also affect competition between herbaceous plants. A dormant season fire can speed up and enhance the growth of early spring plants. A growing season fire can suppress the growth of plants that are active at the time of the fire. Plants that begin their seasonal growth spurt right after the fire benefit greatly because it removes many of their competitors for light, nutrients, and moisture. See • Fire can remove litter (dead vegetation from previous years), exposing the soil beneath. Sunlight hitting that soil can increase microbial and root activity, making nutrients more available to plants and triggering seed germination among...

A prairie is a type of habitat with mostly grasses, but also flowering plants and occasional The word “prairie” comes from the French pre´rie (later, prairie), meaning meadow. The term was first applied to the swath of mid-continental North American grassland in the 1600s by French Jesuit missionaries and explorers, because the landscape resembled, on a much vaster scale, the familiar agricultural meadows of western Europe. Lands typically referred to as “prairie” tend to be in North America. The term encompasses the area referred to as the Interior Lowlands of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, which includes all of the Great Plains as well as the wetter, hillier land to the east. The formation of prairies started with the uplift of the Prairies cover almost 4 million square kilometers (1.5 million square miles) of land in the US Rainfall decreases as you move from east to west. Eastern prairies tend to be moister, while western prairies are usually drier the closer they get to desert areas. The vegetation is composed primarily of perennial grasses, with many species of flowering plants. Most authorities recognize three basic subtypes of prairie: tallgrass prairie, mixed grass prairie, and shortgrass prairie. Prairies are composed of Even though the prairie may seem desolate, it is actually a fertile and diverse habitat that has been known to harbor 80 different mammal species and more than 300 species of birds in some places. Native ungulates such as Native Americans...

Our American Prairie at Wakehurst is gradually taking shape right before our eyes to become a stunning sea of grasses and wildflowers. Covering six acres, Not only a beautiful and immersive visitor attraction, the prairie will also be a ‘living laboratory’ for our scientists to learn more about this critically endangered global habitat. But what exactly is a prairie? The North American prairie Prairies are flat, temperate grasslands found in North America. Like the Location is important when defining a prairie. Similar temperate grasslands in South America are called Pampas, while in Africa they are described as velds, and in Asia are known as steppes. The peak flowering season of the North American prairies is in late summer or early autumn. Rocky origin It all started with plate tectonics. Millions of years ago, the Rocky Mountains were forced upward, stopping large quantities of rainfall from falling in inner parts of North America. This is where the prairies formed. As they developed, they were maintained by the natural stresses of climate, grazing, and fire. We will be recreating some of theses stresses in our prairie at Wakehurst. 3 prairie subtypes Across North America, there are three main subtypes of prairie – the tallgrass, midgrass and shortgrass prairie. The tallgrass prairie, as the name reveals, is abundant with tallgrasses such as big bluestem, prairie cordgrass and prairie dropseed. This subtype has rich soil and is located in the eastern, more humid area o...

by Jaclyn Long figures by Wei Wu Because of the numerous species that call prairies home, as well as the unique habitat, these ecosystems can be difficult to understand. However, it’s important that we develop a complete picture of the state of these prairies so that we can best protect and preserve them. Ecological networks, which consist of species linked by their interactions, provide a holistic way to understand the grassland ecosystem. Ecological networks are made up of interacting species The first step in building an ecological network is knowing all of the species present in a given ecosystem. When we think of Schizachyrium scoparium), big bluestem ( Andropogon gerardii), Panicum virgatum), and Western wheatgrass). Some of the animals present in the prairie include bison, prairie dogs, jackrabbits, owls, rattlesnakes, and coyotes. Additionally, there are many fungi, such as mushrooms, bacteria, and insects, such as grasshoppers. Making a list of all of the species only provides us with so much information. The way that organisms Figure 1: Examples of species and interactions in the prairie ecosystem. Interactions can be beneficial (green arrow), harmful (red arrow), or neutral (yellow line) for the species involved. Many interactions between species are centered around resources. For example, competitive interactions occur when two organisms are both seeking a limited supply of the same resource. This resource could be food, water, or a specific habitat. Predation ...

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions. • Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives. • In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions. • In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find. • In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history. • Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more. • While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today. • Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians. • Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century. Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! • Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space! Spartina patens) Tallgrass prairie, sometimes called true prairie, is found in the eastern, more humid region of the prairie that borders see photograph), or Midgrass, or mixed-grass, prairie, supporting both bunchgrasses and sod-forming grasses, is the most extensive prairie subtype and occupies the central part ...

Our American Prairie at Wakehurst is gradually taking shape right before our eyes to become a stunning sea of grasses and wildflowers. Covering six acres, Not only a beautiful and immersive visitor attraction, the prairie will also be a ‘living laboratory’ for our scientists to learn more about this critically endangered global habitat. But what exactly is a prairie? The North American prairie Prairies are flat, temperate grasslands found in North America. Like the Location is important when defining a prairie. Similar temperate grasslands in South America are called Pampas, while in Africa they are described as velds, and in Asia are known as steppes. The peak flowering season of the North American prairies is in late summer or early autumn. Rocky origin It all started with plate tectonics. Millions of years ago, the Rocky Mountains were forced upward, stopping large quantities of rainfall from falling in inner parts of North America. This is where the prairies formed. As they developed, they were maintained by the natural stresses of climate, grazing, and fire. We will be recreating some of theses stresses in our prairie at Wakehurst. 3 prairie subtypes Across North America, there are three main subtypes of prairie – the tallgrass, midgrass and shortgrass prairie. The tallgrass prairie, as the name reveals, is abundant with tallgrasses such as big bluestem, prairie cordgrass and prairie dropseed. This subtype has rich soil and is located in the eastern, more humid area o...

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions. • Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives. • In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions. • In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find. • In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history. • Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more. • While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today. • Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians. • Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century. Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! • Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space! Spartina patens) Tallgrass prairie, sometimes called true prairie, is found in the eastern, more humid region of the prairie that borders see photograph), or Midgrass, or mixed-grass, prairie, supporting both bunchgrasses and sod-forming grasses, is the most extensive prairie subtype and occupies the central part ...

How critical is fire to the health and survival of prairies? I think the answer might depend upon whether we’re talking prairie, as in the ecosystem, or a prairie, as in an individual patch of grassland. It might also depend on whether we’re talking about history or the present. Prairie fires have been an integral part of prairies for a very long time. Here are some things I think are true about fire in prairies: • Fire is one of three major forces (along with climate and grazing) responsible for creating, shaping, and sustaining prairie landscapes. • Fire can influence the competition between woody plants (trees and shrubs) and herbaceous plants (grasses, wildflowers, etc.) in grasslands. It can outright kill some woody plants (such as eastern redcedar) and top-kills others, forcing them to restart their growth at the ground’s surface. • Fire can also affect competition between herbaceous plants. A dormant season fire can speed up and enhance the growth of early spring plants. A growing season fire can suppress the growth of plants that are active at the time of the fire. Plants that begin their seasonal growth spurt right after the fire benefit greatly because it removes many of their competitors for light, nutrients, and moisture. See • Fire can remove litter (dead vegetation from previous years), exposing the soil beneath. Sunlight hitting that soil can increase microbial and root activity, making nutrients more available to plants and triggering seed germination among...

A prairie is a type of habitat with mostly grasses, but also flowering plants and occasional The word “prairie” comes from the French pre´rie (later, prairie), meaning meadow. The term was first applied to the swath of mid-continental North American grassland in the 1600s by French Jesuit missionaries and explorers, because the landscape resembled, on a much vaster scale, the familiar agricultural meadows of western Europe. Lands typically referred to as “prairie” tend to be in North America. The term encompasses the area referred to as the Interior Lowlands of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, which includes all of the Great Plains as well as the wetter, hillier land to the east. The formation of prairies started with the uplift of the Prairies cover almost 4 million square kilometers (1.5 million square miles) of land in the US Rainfall decreases as you move from east to west. Eastern prairies tend to be moister, while western prairies are usually drier the closer they get to desert areas. The vegetation is composed primarily of perennial grasses, with many species of flowering plants. Most authorities recognize three basic subtypes of prairie: tallgrass prairie, mixed grass prairie, and shortgrass prairie. Prairies are composed of Even though the prairie may seem desolate, it is actually a fertile and diverse habitat that has been known to harbor 80 different mammal species and more than 300 species of birds in some places. Native ungulates such as Native Americans...

by Jaclyn Long figures by Wei Wu Because of the numerous species that call prairies home, as well as the unique habitat, these ecosystems can be difficult to understand. However, it’s important that we develop a complete picture of the state of these prairies so that we can best protect and preserve them. Ecological networks, which consist of species linked by their interactions, provide a holistic way to understand the grassland ecosystem. Ecological networks are made up of interacting species The first step in building an ecological network is knowing all of the species present in a given ecosystem. When we think of Schizachyrium scoparium), big bluestem ( Andropogon gerardii), Panicum virgatum), and Western wheatgrass). Some of the animals present in the prairie include bison, prairie dogs, jackrabbits, owls, rattlesnakes, and coyotes. Additionally, there are many fungi, such as mushrooms, bacteria, and insects, such as grasshoppers. Making a list of all of the species only provides us with so much information. The way that organisms Figure 1: Examples of species and interactions in the prairie ecosystem. Interactions can be beneficial (green arrow), harmful (red arrow), or neutral (yellow line) for the species involved. Many interactions between species are centered around resources. For example, competitive interactions occur when two organisms are both seeking a limited supply of the same resource. This resource could be food, water, or a specific habitat. Predation ...