What are Prairies?

About Prairies:

• Prairies are flat, temperate grasslands found in North America.
• Most North American prairies are in locations with a low amount of annual
• Prairie vegetation is maintained by grazing, fire, drought, and low temperatures.
• Although grasses dominate, lichens, mosses, forbs, and low- to mid-size shrubs also comprise prairie vegetation.
• Taller shrubs and trees, mostly willows and poplars, including aspen and cottonwoods, are found in depressions and valleys where there is sufficient moisture and nutrients.
• Prairie, like other temperate grasslands, is among the most productive and diverse of earth’s terrestrial ecosystems.
• Grasses, the predominant cover in prairie vegetation, have the following adaptations:
  • Deep or extensive roots.
  • Growing points at or near the soil surface that are tucked in the crown of the plant.
  • Narrow leaves.
  • Small flowers in dense heads that are pollinated by wind.
  • Tough stems and leaves hardened with silica phytoliths (plant stones).
  • Strategies to optimize photosynthesis without losing moisture.
• Wildlife species living in prairies have adapted to a semi-arid, windy, open environment.
• Species found here include elk, deer, coyote, bobcat, Badgers, jackrabbits, ground squirrels, pocket gophers, etc
• Similar temperate grasslands in South America are called Pampas, while in Africa they are described as velds and in Asia are known as steppes.