Why Does MPF use the term Native Grasslands?
All grass is not created equal. There is a vast difference between a native landscape and a domesticated one. Missouri has large blocks of introduced tall fescue, which are technically grasslands, but they are definitely not prairies. The term Native Grasslands is used to encompass all native, restored and recontructed areas that contain native grassland species, including prairies, glades and savannas.
What is Prairie?
The prairie is an ecosystem of mostly grasses and forbs (flowering plants) with many other fauna, fungi, the soil, geology, and fire playing important roles. All elements of a prairie are interdependent upon each other. The prairie is an intricate web, with more of its living mass below ground, in the deep roots of the grasses and flowering plants, than we can see above ground.
The prairie is an ecosystem of mostly grasses and forbs (flowering plants) with many other fauna, fungi, the soil, geology, and fire playing important roles. All elements of a prairie are interdependent upon each other. The prairie is an intricate web, with more of its living mass below ground, in the deep roots of the grasses and flowering plants, than we can see above ground.
How did the Prairie get here?
As the glacial ice-sheets retreated from the Midwest 12,000 to 10,000 years ago, the climate gradually changed. As the forests retreated with the colder glacial climate, prairie became established in the warmer, drier climate. Forests have made advances into the prairie at different times in the past 8,000 years as the climate has changed. Fires kept most of the forest at bay. Certain trees could survive some of the fires and grew wide-spaced intermingling with the prairie, creating savannas. Rocky slopes that contain native prairie species are called glades.
As prairie plants grow, most of the initial growth is below ground into very deep root systems. Two-thirds of the living portion of the prairie is below ground in the roots. As fire burns across the land, it burns the dead material from the top of the plants, returning its' nutrients to the earth. Fire eliminates most plants that have shallow roots and can't survive fire. Prairie plants then re-sprout from its deep roots. Over thousands of years, the continuous cycle of life and death on the prairie built the rich, black soils of the Midwest.
When European-American settlers first came to the Midwest, they thought it was a desert because there were few trees over much of the land.
This map, (above) by Walter Schroeder, shows the extent of the tallgrass prairie in Missouri before European settlement.
As the glacial ice-sheets retreated from the Midwest 12,000 to 10,000 years ago, the climate gradually changed. As the forests retreated with the colder glacial climate, prairie became established in the warmer, drier climate. Forests have made advances into the prairie at different times in the past 8,000 years as the climate has changed. Fires kept most of the forest at bay. Certain trees could survive some of the fires and grew wide-spaced intermingling with the prairie, creating savannas. Rocky slopes that contain native prairie species are called glades.
As prairie plants grow, most of the initial growth is below ground into very deep root systems. Two-thirds of the living portion of the prairie is below ground in the roots. As fire burns across the land, it burns the dead material from the top of the plants, returning its' nutrients to the earth. Fire eliminates most plants that have shallow roots and can't survive fire. Prairie plants then re-sprout from its deep roots. Over thousands of years, the continuous cycle of life and death on the prairie built the rich, black soils of the Midwest.
When European-American settlers first came to the Midwest, they thought it was a desert because there were few trees over much of the land.
This map, (above) by Walter Schroeder, shows the extent of the tallgrass prairie in Missouri before European settlement.
How much Prairie is left, and why is it important?
Today, less that 1/10th of 1% of native prairies remain.
Its' demise is the result of many factors including agriculture conversion, urban sprawl and fire suppression. These important remnants harbor knowledge yet untold. The prairie's beauty is unrivaled, with the blooms of its' flowers and grasses changing with each passing season and feeding the senses with a calming aesthetic. The genetic and biological diversity it harbors in its flora and fauna are disappearing from the earth. Native prairie grasslands were once the dominant feature of the American landscape. Now, tallgrass prairie is more rare than the more famous tropical rainforests. We are committed to saving this natural, historic legacy.
Today, less that 1/10th of 1% of native prairies remain.
Its' demise is the result of many factors including agriculture conversion, urban sprawl and fire suppression. These important remnants harbor knowledge yet untold. The prairie's beauty is unrivaled, with the blooms of its' flowers and grasses changing with each passing season and feeding the senses with a calming aesthetic. The genetic and biological diversity it harbors in its flora and fauna are disappearing from the earth. Native prairie grasslands were once the dominant feature of the American landscape. Now, tallgrass prairie is more rare than the more famous tropical rainforests. We are committed to saving this natural, historic legacy.
What is the difference between a Prairie Remnant, a Restoration, and a Reconstruction?
Remnant: A pre-settlement native plant community (i.e. prairie or forest). A plant community that has survived on a site to the present day.
Restoration: A native ecosystem that has been taken over to some degree by another plant community. Management is being used to restore pre-settlement vegetation. Restorations are often supplemented with seeds from plants that may have grown on the site. Restorations usually involve removing a plant community that has taken over the remnant.
Reconstruction: A planted prairie, usually a planting of grasses and forbs (flowering plants) onto land that had the native vegetation removed (i.e. agricultural land). Reconstructions usually will not have the plant diversity of a remnant or a restoration. Insect and other organisms are missing, too.
Remnant: A pre-settlement native plant community (i.e. prairie or forest). A plant community that has survived on a site to the present day.
Restoration: A native ecosystem that has been taken over to some degree by another plant community. Management is being used to restore pre-settlement vegetation. Restorations are often supplemented with seeds from plants that may have grown on the site. Restorations usually involve removing a plant community that has taken over the remnant.
Reconstruction: A planted prairie, usually a planting of grasses and forbs (flowering plants) onto land that had the native vegetation removed (i.e. agricultural land). Reconstructions usually will not have the plant diversity of a remnant or a restoration. Insect and other organisms are missing, too.
What is Local Ecotype?
A subset of a species that has adapted to a specific geographic environment and as a result has evolved to be genetically distinct from other members of the same species found in different environments is commonly called a local ecotype. Different ecotypes of the same species can usually form fertile hybrids but in some cases they do not.
Thank you to the Iowa Prairie Network for much of the text on this page.
A subset of a species that has adapted to a specific geographic environment and as a result has evolved to be genetically distinct from other members of the same species found in different environments is commonly called a local ecotype. Different ecotypes of the same species can usually form fertile hybrids but in some cases they do not.
Thank you to the Iowa Prairie Network for much of the text on this page.