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رسی suomi français edit links article talk english read edit view history tools tools move to sidebar hide actions read edit view history general what links here related changes upload file permanent link page information cite this page get shortened url switch to legacy parser print export download as pdf printable version in other projects wikimedia commons wikidata item appearance move to sidebar hide from wikipedia the free encyclopedia ecosystem located on the north american great plains shortgrass prairie of the llano estacado shortgrass prairie in relation to the great plains of the united states shortgrass prairie mixed grass prairie tallgrass prairie the shortgrass prairie is an ecosystem located in the great plains of north america the two most dominant grasses in the shortgrass prairie are blue grama bouteloua gracilis and buffalograss bouteloua dactyloides the two less dominant grasses in the prairie are greasegrass tridens flavus and sideoats grama bouteloua curtipendula the prairie was formerly maintained by grazing pressure of american bison which is the keystone species due to its semiarid climate the shortgrass prairie receives on average less precipitation than that of the tall and mixed grass prairies to the east 1 lying largely in the rain shadow of the mountains to the west the prairie includes lands in the eastern foothills of the rocky mountains and extends east as far as nebraska and north into saskatchewan the prairie stretches through parts of alberta wyoming montana north dakota south dakota and kansas and passes south through the high plains of colorado oklahoma texas and new mexico 2 history edit the shortgrass prairie has a long human history the kiowa comanche and arapaho peoples occupied the land and hunted bison and pronghorn seasonally these tribes would stage hunts in the adjacent mountains such as the rocky mountains to manage the prairie those tribes and their predecessors likely used fire they would create fuel breaks a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a brushfire or wildfire a firebreak may occur naturally in areas without vegetation or other fuel such as a river lake or canyon around their settlements these fuel breaks would also entice large herbivores to patches of fresh new growth 3 european explorers trappers and fur traders began to settle the shortgrass prairie they developed an extractive economy that led to the later growth and industrialization of the prairie in the mid to late 19th century the railroads expanded transportation channels and helped to increase settlement predominantly in rural and small towns while more people began to settle in the prairie large scale cattle and sheep ranching increased as well and later led to the development of gold silver and copper mining communities 4 dust bowl edit in the 1920s el niño played a big role in the success of crop growing in the shortgrass prairie by causing more precipitation throughout the prairie and promoting plant growth the success encouraged farmers to buy more efficient farming equipment with the new equipment farmers turned up the native land exposing the soil by the time the 1930s came around it was too late to protect the soil with grass the unprotected soil contributed to the dust bowl by being blown around and creating dust storms acts edit food security act of 1985 edit the food security act of 1985 allowed for lower commodity prices and income supports this act also laid the foundation for the dairy herd buyout program the act made changes to several other usda programs conservation reserve program edit further information conservation reserve program farmers enrolled in the program agree to abolish environmentally destroyed land from agricultural production and cattle grazing to improve and regrow healthy grass and habitats in exchange for a yearly rental payment 5 today edit much of the shortgrass prairie is grazed by domestic livestock with a human population that is dependent upon agriculture however energy and mining exploration have increased there has been a precipitous decline of many species but farmers and ranchers of the region are demonstrating that sound land management practices can help sustain the native species natural communities and ecosystems 6 climate edit the shortgrass prairie is a long thin stretch of territory that starts at the top of the country and makes its way to the bottom due to this the climate varies from north to south but is essentially the same from east to west the temperature in the north is significantly colder on average then the temperature in the south also there is more precipitation to the south and more precipitation to the east the shortgrass prairie has a one to two month summer drought unlike the tall and mixed grass prairies it also the driest of the three prairie types 7 this region has hailstorms blizzards tornadoes and dust storms 4 ecosystem edit the shortgrass prairie was once filled with huge herds of free ranging bison and pronghorn the prairie also teemed with large prairie dog colonies deer and elk and predators such as gray wolves and grizzly bears the prairie is home to healthy populations of plains blue grama a vast array of songbirds and raptors carpets of buffalo grass and a broad diversity and abundance of wildflowers and butterflies it was a landscape so teeming with life it has been compared to the south american pampas today the most populous animal on the prairie is domestic cattle pronghorn and prairie dogs still inhabit the prairie however in fewer numbers top predators have been replaced by coyotes 8 ecological processes on a large scale level such as climate fire and grazing have strong influences in this system today the shortgrass prairie has suffered the greatest biological destruction of any major biome in north america the three central processes historically shaping the shortgrass prairie are herbivory drought and fire through habitat destruction extermination of native herbivores and predators proliferation of noxious weeds and altered fire regimes have negatively been impacted 6 flora edit shortgrass prairie the shortgrass prairie consists of different varieties of vegetation notably abundant grasses are blue grama bouteloua gracilis sod forming grass and buffalo grass bouteloua dactyloides less prevalent is galleta grass hilaria these grasses are native to the shortgrass prairie and therefore are drought and grazing resistant not many plant varieties appear in the shortgrass prairie because of its extreme changes in annual precipitation and temperature from one year to the next two of the main plants that are able to thrive are soap weed yucca yucca glauca and plains prickly pear opuntia in the years of greater precipitation otherwise dormant wildflowers bloom in the spring quickly diminishing in the hotter and drier summer months 9 fauna edit the shortgrass prairie consists of many kinds of birds reptiles and mammals most of those animals have adapted to living in such an open area and many have adapted to living under ground or traveling long distances to find shelter birds edit grassland birds particularly those of the shortgrass prairie are one north america s fastest declining groups of animals some of birds still inhabiting the shortgrass prairie are the cassin s sparrow loggerhead shrike sandhill crane scaled quail swainson s hawk burrowing owl mountain plover and thick billed longspur although the loggerhead shrike and scaled quail are among the more common birds to see in the shortgrass prairie they are also on the steepest decline 10 reptiles edit roundtail horned lizard texas garter snake texas horned lizard texas long nosed snake and western massasauga are among the most dominant reptiles in the shortgrass prairie most of those animals are cold blooded and so in the winter months they live underground until spring comes 10 mammals edit a bison mother and calf grazing on the prairie today cattle pronghorn and white tailed deer are the most abundant mammals on the shortgrass prairie domestic cattle were placed in the prairie and have essentially replaced the native species that used to live in the shortgrass prairie such as bison and elk in addition the top predators used to be the great plains wolf and the grizzly bear but the coyote has replaced those animals prairie dogs were once the most abundant animals in the shortgrass prairie and historically numbers in north america were estimated to be around 5 billion by the year 1800 however a wide range of both anthropogenic and natural factors like habitat loss and disease like sylvatic plague have massively reduced numbers reducing their range across several american states like utah by up to 90 11 the decrease has also been driven by poisoning campaigns habitat disruption and hunting the decline in prairie dogs has significantly impacted many of the other animals that reside in the shortgrass prairie including the black footed ferret whose diet relies on prairie dogs other animals negatively affected by the decline of prairie dogs are the mountain plover swift fox ferruginous hawk and the burrowing owl conservation edit in colorado which contains a substantial portion of the shortgrass prairie biome no legal ecosystem protection exists more than 85 of prairie is privately owned and used for agriculture particularly for dry land wheat irrigated corn soybeans and alfalfa roughly half of the original prairie extent is still present however conservation in the long run is uncertain urban expansion is likely to continue having an impact climate change has less of an effect here than in other areas of colorado due to the lower elevation but can still be expected to affect the biome 6 prairie dog coalition edit the prairie dog coalition is a non profit group of scientists organizations and citizens who are fighting for the protection of prairie dogs and their environments the alliance educates people on the declining populations of prairie dogs and engages with projects likely to destroy prairie dog habitat 12 southern plains land trust edit the southern plains land trust splt creates and protects a network of shortgrass prairie preserves to ensure the future of all native animals and plants in the region as of 2019 over 25 000 acres are included in splt s preserve network 13 american prairie foundation edit the american prairie foundation is a nonprofit organization in montana that seeks to build a nature reserve called the american prairie through land acquisition and public land integration population edit there are two significant population trends currently impacting the shortgrass prairie region firstly the population of rural areas in the region is decreasing with many of those people moving westward additionally more people are moving to metropolitan areas with about three quarters of the population in this region residing in those metropolitan areas the growth of these urban areas may negatively affect their local ecosystems due to the potential introduction of invasive species decreasing the biodiversity in impacted areas the human population today is still mainly dependent on agriculture but fields such as energy exploration and mining are expanding 4 economy edit crop production edit large portions of central grasslands in the united states are used for intensive agriculture it is estimated that about 50 percent of the shortgrass prairie is still uncultivated the shortgrass prairie yields for a lot of crop production and in this specific prairie wheat is the major crop grown other major crops grown are maize soybeans and cotton citation needed livestock production edit the dry grasslands of the shortgrass prairie yield for extensive grazing operations typically cow calf operations with the young animal sold for finishing in feedlots stocking rates and the economy in this region highly depend on the amount of precipitation range conditions and other environmental factors citation needed art edit parts of the shortgrass prairie are untouched and pastoral many artists and photographers travel to this prairie for inspiration and economic opportunities paintings and photographs are often sold at high prices for their aesthetic beauty the dust bowl brought a lot of artists and photographers to this area in seek of fame and economic opportunities 14 boundaries edit the shortgrass prairie is located on the western side of the great plains with the colorado rockies to its west and the mixed grass prairie to its east the prairie extends to the eastern part of the rocky mountains to the west up to canada to the north as far as nebraska to the east and as far as parts of texas to the south 15 see also edit buffalo lake national wildlife refuge buffalo commons canadian prairies grassland great plains high plains llano estacado semi arid climate tallgrass prairie steppe temperate grasslands savannas and shrublands great american desert references edit a complex prairie ecosystem tallgrass prairie national preserve u s national park service hill r t 1901 geography and geology of the black and grand prairies texas in walcott c d ed twenty first annual report of the united states geological survey to the secretary of the interior 1899 1900 part vii texas 666 pp heckel jodi december 25 2022 new book examines tallgrass prairies ecological history effects on indigenous cultures phys org retrieved december 16 2022 1 2 3 central shortgrass prairie landscope america www landscope org retrieved november 16 2016 grassland of the world www fao org retrieved november 16 2016 1 2 3 shortgrass prairie landscope america retrieved november 16 2016 samson fred b knopf fritz l august 1 1996 prairie conservation preserving north america s most endangered ecosystem island press isbn 9781610913942 shortgrass prairie ecosystem protection pdf retrieved november 10 2016 the short grass prairie pdf retrieved november 12 2016 1 2 shortgrass prairie region pdf retrieved november 12 2016 facts about prairie dogs ifaw org international fund for animal welfare retrieved march 7 2025 about the prairie dog coalition the humane society of the united states retrieved november 16 2016 home southern plains land trust retrieved august 21 2020 worster beverley 2008 the nature of kansas lands art architecture and photography subjects isbn 978 0 7006 1622 0 retrieved november 16 2016 grassland slides www tarleton edu retrieved november 16 2016 external links edit what are rangelands university of idaho authority control databases gnd retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title shortgrass_prairie oldid 1376480580 categories temperate grasslands savannas and shrublands prairies grasslands of the united states grasslands of canada hidden categories articles with short description short description is different from wikidata use mdy dates from december 2022 all articles with unsourced statements articles with unsourced statements...