Download Prairie Ecosystem - Intel-2009

Tall Grass Prairie Ecosystem
By Miss Sazenski
Location
• I am a Tall Grass Prairie. I
am found all over the
world—on every continent
except Antarctica. Here is
a map of where I was
found before settlers
came to the United States.
Now, I am in danger of
disappearing.
• There are also Short
Grass Prairies and Mixed
Grass Prairies.
Living Parts of a Prairie—Plants
• I have many different
species of plants. A few of
them are:
– Sweet Coneflower: gets to
be 6 feet tall if it grows in
moist soil.
– Big Bluestem: the tallest
grass found on prairies—it
can get to be 11 feet tall!
This grass was an important
food for bison.
– Prairie Blazingstar: gets to
be about 5 feet high. Many
kinds of butterflies are
attracted to this kind of
flower.
Living Parts of a Prairie—Insects
• There are also many
insects that use my
plants for their
survival.
– Bees: We use the
plants to make honey
and we use the soil to
make our hive. We also
help pollination occur
for flowers and plants.
– Crickets and
Grasshoppers
Living Parts of a Prairie—Insects
– Monarch butterflies:
We depend on the
milkweed plant found
in many prairies. Our
larvae feeds on the
leaves of the plant. The
leaves are toxic to
most insects, but when
we are adults it
protects us from birds
because it makes us
poisonous.
– Butterflies and Moths
Living Parts of a Prairie—Animals
• Animals use my plants
for protection from
predators and
weather, for homes,
and to find food for
their survival.
– Birds: We eat the
seeds that fall off of
flowers, build nests in
grasses and trees, and
find food in the soil.
Living Parts of a Prairie—Animals
– Bison: We used to
roam the grasslands of
the United States. Now
there are fewer of us,
but we feed on
grasses, twigs, and
shrubs.
– Coyote: We eat
rodents, snakes,
grains, and fruit found
in the prairie. We also
scavenge dead
animals that are
decomposing.
Living Parts of a Prairie—Animals
– Rodents: We typically blend in with the prairie
landscape and a lot of us can dig underground to
escape predators.
– Reptiles and Amphibians : We feed on small
mammals, reptiles, birds, and insects found in the
prairie.
Non-Living Parts of a Prairie
• Air
• Water
• The soil of a prairie is very fertile so it is great for growing
plants.
• Fire is necessary on prairies because it discourages nonnative plants and trees from growing. The native plants
and trees are not harmed by fires though! Without fires,
prairies would slowly turn into forests.
Roles
• Grazing animals allows the prairie to grow in a healthy
way by removing the thick vegetation. It actually increases
the growth of prairie plants. However, overgrazing is a
problem!
• Bees help to pollinate the plants and flowers of the prairie.
Birds help to carry seeds to new places.
• Grasses and flowers provide food and shelter to many
insects and animals.
• Smaller prairie animals, such as the prairie dogs, are food
for the larger prairie animals and birds. When these
smaller animal populations diminish, the other animals
also disappear.
Ways the Prairie Ecosystem Can Change
and How the Changes Effect the Prairie
• Humans converted many wild grasslands to farms
because the soil is so rich in nutrients in the early 1900s.
• Other prairies that haven’t been planted with crops have
been grazed over by cattle. The cattle don’t move on, like
wild bison used to, so the prairie doesn’t have a chance to
replenish itself.
How We Can Protect the Prairie
Other Facts about Prairies
• Prairies once covered about 40% of the United
States.
• About one percent of North American prairies still
exist.
• Over 100 plant species can occur in a prairie of
less than 5 acres!
• Some prairie plants have roots that go 12 feet
below the prairie surface!
• Prairie fires can move as fast as 600 feet per
minute and burn as hot as 700 degrees
Fahrenheit!