Prairies

Prairie Classification Prairies are grasslands that have few trees if any Prairies are classified according to the height of their plants or the amt. of water they get

Dry Prairie Short Grasses Low Rainfall Highlands Sandy/poor soil

Mesic Prairie Tall grass prairie Mixed prairie has qualities of both short grass prairies and tall grass prairies. Tall grass prairie Wet prairie Tall Grasses and forbes can be 6+ feet Good soil Low lands/wetlands

Important Abiotic Factors Fires are natural and needed in prairies started by Native Americans Lightning Spontaneous Combustion (mold) Kill off trees Kill off invading/non-native species Provide fertilizers Open up ground to sunlight for new growth Help seeds to germinate Heat/chemicals

Abiotic Factors (continued) Fires Low moisture High winds Cold winters Violent Storms Soil Type

Biotic Factors Competitive Plants Bison and large grazers Prairie Dogs 1st to sunlight wins Bloom times (pollinators) Competition for nutrients and water Bison and large grazers Prairie Dogs Invasive species

Human Influence Prairies produce more topsoil than any other biome Mesic and wet prairies make the best farmland in the world Less than 1% of the worlds prairies remain It has all been turned into farmland Bread Basket (USA), Nile river valley (Africa), Black earth region (Russia), Pamplona Region (Spain). All were grasslands/prairies

Parts of a grass

The End