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Prairie food chains
\"Vibrant photographs and carefully leveled text introduce readers to the prairie biome and the food chains that operate there.\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
ecology and management of prairies in the central United States
Most prairies exist today as fragmented landscapes, making thoughtful and vigilant management ever more important. Intended for landowners and managers dedicated to understanding and nurturing their prairies as well as farmers, ranchers, conservationists, and all those with a strong interest in grasslands, ecologist Chris Helzer's readable and practical manual educates prairie owners and managers about grassland ecology and gives them guidelines for keeping prairies diverse, vigorous, and viable.Chapters in the first section, \"Prairie Ecology,\" describe prairie plants and the communities they live in, the ways in which disturbance modifies plant communities, the animal and plant inhabitants that are key to prairie survival, and the importance of diversity within plant and animal communities. Chapters in the second section, \"Prairie Management,\" explore the adaptive management process as well as guiding principles for designing management strategies, examples of successful management systems such as fire and grazing, guidance for dealing with birds and other species that have particular habitat requirements and with the invasive species that have become the most serious threat that prairie managers have to deal with, and general techniques for prairie restoration. Following the conclusion and a forward-thinking note on climate change, eight appendixes provide more information on grazing, prescribed fire, and invasive species as well as bibliographic notes, references, and national and state organizations with expertise in prairie management.Grasslands can be found throughout much of North America, and the ideas and strategies in this book apply to most of them, particularly tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies in eastern North Dakota, eastern South Dakota, eastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, northwestern Missouri, northern Illinois, northwestern Indiana, Iowa, southwestern Wisconsin, and southwestern Minnesota. By presenting all the factors that promote biological diversity and thus enhance prairie communities, then incorporating these factors into a set of clear-sighted management practices,The Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United Statespresents the tools necessary to ensure that grasslands are managed in the purposeful ways essential to the continued health and survival of prairie communities.
eBook
Do you really want to visit a prairie?
\"A child goes on an adventure to the tall grass prairie of the Kansas Flint Hills, encountering bad weather and harsh climates, as well as encountering the animals and plants that live in this biome. Includes world map of prairies and glossary\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Seasons of the Tallgrass Prairie
A respected author and scholar, Paul A. Johnsgard has spent a lifetime observing the natural delights of Nebraska's woodlands, grasslands, and wetlands. Seasons of the Tallgrass Prairie collects his musings on Nebraska's natural history and the issues of conservation facing our future. Johnsgard crafts essays featuring snow geese, owls, hummingbirds, and other creatures against the backdrop of Great Plains landscapes. He describes prairie chickens courting during predawn hours and the calls of sandhill cranes; he evokes the magic of lying upon the prairie, hearing only the sounds of insects and the wind through the grasses. From reflections following a visit to a Pawnee sacred site to meditations on the perils facing the state's finite natural resources, Seasons of the Tallgrass Prairie celebrates the gifts of a half century spent roaming Nebraska's back roads, trails, and sometimes-forgotten places.
eBook
Loss of plant species after chronic low-level nitrogen deposition to prairie grasslands
Rates of atmospheric deposition of biologically active nitrogen (N) are two to seven times the pre-industrial rates in many developed nations because of combustion of fossil fuels and agricultural fertilization. They are expected to increase similarly over the next 50 years in industrializing nations of Asia and South America. Although the environmental impacts of high rates of nitrogen addition have been well studied, this is not so for the lower, chronic rates that characterize much of the globe. Here we present results of the first multi-decadal experiment to examine the impacts of chronic, experimental nitrogen addition as low as 10 kg N ha-1 yr-1 above ambient atmospheric nitrogen deposition (6 kg N ha-1 yr-1 at our site). This total input rate is comparable to terrestrial nitrogen deposition in many industrialized nations. We found that this chronic low-level nitrogen addition rate reduced plant species numbers by 17% relative to controls receiving ambient N deposition. Moreover, species numbers were reduced more per unit of added nitrogen at lower addition rates, suggesting that chronic but low-level nitrogen deposition may have a greater impact on diversity than previously thought. A second experiment showed that a decade after cessation of nitrogen addition, relative plant species number, although not species abundances, had recovered, demonstrating that some effects of nitrogen addition are reversible.
Journal Article
Where The Sky Began
\"It was a flowing emerald in spring and summer when the boundless winds ran across it, a tawny ocean under the winds of autumn, and a stark and painful emptiness when the great long winds drove in from the northwest. It was Beulahland for many; Gehenna for some. It was the tall prairie.\"-from the \"Prologue\"
Originally published in 1982,Where the Sky Began, John Madson's landmark publication, introduced readers across the nation to the wonders of the tallgrass prairie, sparking the current interest in prairie restoration. Now back in print, this classic tome will serve as inspiration to those just learning about the heartland's native landscape and rekindle the passion of long-time prairie enthusiasts.
eBook
Discovery and renewal on Huffman Prairie : where aviation took wing
In 1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright returned to their hometown of Dayton, Ohio, from North Carolina, where they had piloted their powered flying machine for several short flights. They wanted to continue their research closer to home and chose a flat expanse called Huffman Prairie, eight miles east of Dayton, to continue their experiments. Here, in 1904 and 1905, the brothers refined their machine, creating the world's first practical powered aircraft. Huffman Prairie was one of many large grasslands in the valley of the Mad River of southwestern Ohio when the area was settled in the 1790s. These untamed fields of tall grasses and wildflowers were a product of the region's geology, climate, and ecology. This 2,000-acre grassland became part of a large, innovative flood control project, the Miami Conservancy District, and subsequently one of the country's first military aviation fields, which has evolved into a major air force base, Wright-Patterson. These achievements have provided great benefits to the citizens of the Dayton area and the United States, but at the cost of a diverse and beautiful landscape that was largely forgotten. Discovery and Renewal on Huffman Prairie tells the region's story from before the time when great continental glaciers covered much of what is now Ohio to the present. Along the way it covers the natural and human history of the site and the changes made to it by Native Americans, early settlers, farmers, flood control engineers, and the U.S. government. It goes on to explore how part of the prairie survived, leading to the restoration effort. Abundantly illustrated, this book includes a color photographic tour of the varied life of the prairie, as well as an overview of the Dayton Aviation National Historical Park that protects and interprets the Wright brothers' flying field.
Book
Island of Grass
Island of Grasstells the story of the Cathy Fromme Prairie Natural Area, a 240-acre preserve surrounded by housing developments in Fort Collins, Colorado. This small grassland is a remnant of the once-vast prairies of the West that early European explorers and settlers described as seas of grass.Agricultural land use and urban expansion during the past two centuries have fragmented and altered these prairies. All that remains today are small islands. These remnants cannot support some of the larger animals that once roamed the prairie, but they continue to support a diverse array of plants and animals and can still teach us much about grassland ecology. Through her examinations of daily changes during walks across the Fromme Prairie over the course of a year, Ellen Wohl explores one of the more neglected ecosystems in North America, describing the geology, soils, climate, ecology, and natural history of the area, as well as providing glimpses into the lives of the plants, animals, and microbes inhabiting this landscape. Although small in size, pieces of preserved shortgrass prairie like the Cathy Fromme Prairie Natural Area are rich, diverse, and accessible natural environments deserving of awareness, appreciation, and protection. Anyone concerned with the ecology and conservation of grasslands in general, the ecology and conservation of open space in urban areas, or the natural history of Colorado will be interested in this book.
eBook