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Prairie
*** Shopping-Tip: Prairie
'''Prairie''' refers to an area of land in
North America of low topographic relief that principally supports grasses and herbs, with few trees, and is generally of a mesic (moderate or temperate) climate. Most of the
Great Plains, including the states of
Ohio,
Indiana,
Illinois and
Iowa, and much of
Missouri and
Minnesota, is considered prairie. French explorers called these areas ''prairie'', from the
French language French word for "meadow". Almost all of this area has been converted into farmland in the last two hundred years. Sometimes in the
United States and
Canada distinction is made between the shortgrass vegetation of the High Plains west of the 100th meridian and the tallgrass vegetation to the east from central
Texas to
Minnesota and southern
Manitoba. When this distinction is made, it is common to limit the word "prairie" to the tallgrass area.
In Canada, the terms '''''Prairie provinces''''' and '''''the Prairies''''' refer to the western provinces of
Alberta,
Saskatchewan, and
Manitoba, where prairie grasslands and shrubs abound (''see
Canadian Prairies'').
Fire is an important part of prairie
ecology; natural and human induced fires were common in historic prairie areas. Grazing by animals such as the
American Bison and
Prairie dogs also helped maintain the original prairie ecology. Small areas of prairies also exist in eastern North America, and it is possible that these were created by
Native Americans in the United States Native Americans by periodic burning. One such area was along the southeastern shore of
Lake Erie in what is now
Pennsylvania and
New York; another was between
Seneca Lake and
Cayuga Lake in present New York.
Image:Prairie grass.JPG thumb|right|Prairie grasses
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
Ukraine.
Significant preserved areas of prairie include:
*
Bong Recreational Area, in
Kenosha County, Wisconsin
*
Nine-Mile Prairie,
Nebraska
*Konza Prairie,
Manhattan, Kansas
*
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve,
Kansas
*Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge,
Iowa
*
Zumwalt Prairie, Wallowa County, Oregon
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 has been reseeded after plowing or other disturbance.
See also
*
Buffalo Commons, a proposal to restore a significant proportion of the Shortgrass Prairie
*
Prairie madness
*
coastal prairie
External links
-
The Native Prairies Association of Texas
-
The Native Plant Society of Texas
-
Find A Prairie around Chicago from the [http://chi.vibary.net Chicagoland Vibary Network]
Category:Prairies *
de:Prärie
es:Pradera
eo:Prerio
fr:Prairie (géographie)
io:Prato
it:Prateria
nl:Prairie
ja:プレーリー
pl:Preria
sv:Prärie
fi:Preeria
*** Shopping-Tip: Prairie
