3. Scientific and Natural Areas found in Minnesota major biomes

5. "Biome" is a term used to describe a biological community. Usually, biomes occur over large areas and include many similar plant communities and the animals that live in them.Biome

8. Minnesota Ecosystem Coniferous Deciduous Prairie MINNESOTA ECOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM ECS

9. MINNESOTA BIOME PATTERNS AS INFLUENCED BY: -TEMPERATURE -PRECIPITATION

11. BIOMES THE BIG PICTURE

12. PRAIRIE

13. Types of Prairies There are three general types of prairie in Minnesota: wet, mesic (having moderately moist soil) and dry. Wet Prairies occur in shallow wetlands that are dry enough to support prairie grasses like big bluestem and switchgrass. Prairie cordgrass and blue- joint are often the dominant species. Wetland wildflowers are abundant, including New England aster, giant sunflower and gay-feather. Wetland alterations such as draining and filling have made wet prairies extremely rare in the metro region. Mesic Prairies are found on dark, rich soils prized for agriculture. They have a dense cover of tall grasses such as big bluestem and Indian grass along with forbs such as purple prairie clover and heart-leaved alexander. They were found along the Mississippi River from St. Anthony Falls to Anoka and Sherburne counties.

14. Dry Prairies are more sparsely vegetated grasslands, sometimes with exposed patches of bare sandy or gravelly soil. Dry prairies vary according to soil, substrate and topography, and they are divided into three major subtypes: Barrens prairie is the least common type of dry prairie, mainly occurring on sand dunes in Anoka County. They have sparse cover of grasses and sedges scattered or in clumps. Sand reedgrass, porcupine grass, little bluestem, rigid sunflower and hairy puccoon are typical species. Sand-gravel prairie is the most common type of dry prairie, occurring throughout the region but especially on mixed sand and gravel soil in southern Washington County, Anoka County and along Mississippi and Minnesota river terraces. Sand-gravel prairies have many species in common with mesic prairies such as big bluestem, little bluestem, butterfly milkweed, leadplant and purple prairie clover, but they are generally sparser and shorter in stature. Bedrock bluff prairie is found on rocky bluffs and has often been called "goat prairie." It is most common in southern Washington County. Little bluestem, side oats-grama, hairy grama and plains muhly dominate particularly dry slopes and rock ledges.

15. BIG BLUESTEM INDIAN GRASS SIDE OATS GRAMMA

16. DECIDUOUS FOREST

18. CONIFER FOREST

23. WET CONDITIONS WITHIN EACH MAJOR BOME PRODUCE WETLANDS

24. MINNESOTA WETLANDS

25. Bogs, or peatlands, are wetlands whose soils are made up of peat (the partially decomposed remains of plants and animals). Northcentral Minnesota has extensive peatlands. Shallow and Deep marshes are the most familiar to us. These open areas provide food and resting areas for migratory birds and wildlife. In southern and western Minnesota these types of wetlands may be called prairie potholes. Prairie potholes are shallow depressions formed by retreating glaciers. They provide excellent habitat and breeding grounds for migratory birds. Shrub and Wooded swamps are shrubby or forested wetlands found along the edges of lakes, rivers, and streams. Common wooded swamps are the black ash and black spruce forests. Seasonal Basins or flats are small, isolated wetlands that contain water only seasonally. Once the water recedes they can be cropped in agricultural areas or logged in floodplain forests. These wetlands are important places for amphibians to reproduce and provide habitat for rare plant species. Seasonal basins or flats are found throughout Minnesota. Wet meadows are low-lying grassy areas with saturated soils often found near streams, lakes and marshes. They include low prairies, sedge meadows and rare calcareous fens.

26. NW edge of Red Lake

27. MINNESOTA BIOMES: SPECIAL PLACES ALGIFIC SLOPES GOAT PRAIRIES OAK SAVANNAS GALLERY FOREST

28. ALGIFIC SLOPES

29. Take a trip to an Ice Age Refuge Portions of Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois contain unusual geology. The karst region, referred to as the “Driftless Area” escaped the last glaciers leaving the Paleozoic age (500,000 year old) bedrock subject to erosion. In addition to the curious topography of steep slopes and cliffs, there are unique habitats, the algific (cold air) talus (loose rock) slopes. These slopes remain cool throughout the year and are home to rare species of plants and animals. Established in 1989, Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge is helping to recover two federally listed species: the endangered Iowa Pleistocene snail and threatened Northern monkshood. Although the Refuge was established to protect the snail and flower an entire rare community of plants and animals is preserved on these sites. ALGIFIC SLOPES

30. The northern monkshood threatened species. ALGIFIC SLOPES

31. GOAT PRAIRIES

33. OAK SAVANNAS

34. OAK SAVANNA

35. GALLERY FORESTS

36. MINNESOTA RIVER GALLERY FOREST

37. HOW ACCURATE ARE THE PRE-SETTLEMENT VEGETATION MAPS?

47. SOILS