Prairie Described
Prairie, from the French prairie ("meadow", "grassland", "pasture"), refers to an area of land of low topographic
relief that historically supported grasses and herbs, with few or no trees, and having generally a mesic climate.
Lands typically referred to as "prairie" tend to be in North America. The term encompasses much of the area
referred to as the Great Plains of the United States and Canada. In the U.S., the area is constituted by most or
all of the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana,
and sizable parts of the states of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Minnesota. The Central Valley
of California is also prairie. The Canadian Prairies occupy vast areas of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. There
is only 2% of prairie land left in the U.S.
In spite of long recurrent droughts and occasional torrential rains, the grasslands of the Great Plains are not
subject to great soil erosion. The deep, interconnected root systems of prairie grasses firmly hold the soil in
place and prevent run-off. These deep roots also help prairie plants to reach water in even the driest conditions.
The prairies are able to survive in extreme conditions and the grass suffers less damage from dry conditions than
the farm crops which have replaced many former prairies.
Virgin prairie refers to prairie land that has never been plowed. Small virgin prairies exist in the American
Midwestern states and in Canada. Restored prairie refers to a prairie that has been reseeded after plowing or other
disturbance.
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on
similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant
vegetation type. Other temperate grasslands regions include the Pampas of Argentina, and the steppes of Russia and
Central Asia.
Below is a typical food chain for the types of animals you could find on the Prairie. From the predators on top all the way down to the producers on the bottom.
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