Prairie/Grasslands Ana, Robert, and Brianna

Where is ecosystem located?  Canada to Texas  Prairies are in North America, Europe, Asia,  South America, Africa

Describe the abiotic factors of your ecosystem  It is dry but not dry enough to be a desert  Rich soil helps farmers grow crops  The sun rises and sets about the same time every year

Producer : Grass. How does your producer rely on other organisms in the grasslands to survive?  Rich soil from fires  Fire clears saplings and bushes  Wind spreads seeds  Sun  Water

How do other organisms of your ecosystem rely on your producer to survive?  Grass provides camouflage from predators for grasshoppers and other insects  A lot of food is on the ground –small shrubs for herbivores  Insects sip nectar from flowers to provide food for bees  Dry grass provides nest material for birds  Black birds, grouse, meadow larks, quail,and other birds nest in grass

How do humans affect your ecosystem?  Hunt animals like burrowing owls  Farmers plow the ground to plant seeds  Shopping malls and wheat fields replaced the wild grasses  People want to protect grasslands  People turn the grasslands into parks

Choose one biotic or abiotic factor in your ecosystem & describe how a change in one of these could affect your ecosystem. Change: people clearing for buildings  Removing the grass from the grasslands is going to affect the animals  Some of the animals could die without grass  It is going to affect the farms because they will not have wheat, rye, barley and corn  Some of the animals will have to migrate to another place  If you don’t have grass you wont have any wild flowers  If wild flowers don’t grow they won’t provide any nutrients

Other interesting facts:  Temperatures in prairies can drop more than 100 degrees from summer to winter.  The United States has 20 National Grasslands.  The first lighting strikes of rainy season often set the grass on fire.  Average rainfall is inches (25-80 cm) per year  By 1890, hunters had killed almost all of the bison in North America’s grasslands.

Sources Used  Howard, Fran. Grasslands. Edina, MN: ABDO, Print.  Lundgren, Julie K. Grassland Buffet. Vero Beach,FL: Rourke, 2009.Print.  Morgan, Ben. Tropical Grasslands. Austin, TX: Raintree Steck- Vaughn, Print.