The dictionary definition for prairie is shown below.
prai·rie [prair-ee]
noun.An extensive, level or slightly undulating, mostly treeless tract of land in the Mississippi valley,characterized by a highly fertile soil and originally covered with coarse grasses, and merging intodrier plateaus in the west.
Compare pampas, savanna, steppe.
Every one to five years fire would spread across any given area of land. These fires moved rapidly across the land and did not penetrate into the soil very far. They killed most saplings, and removed the thatch of dead grasses, allowing early flowering spring species to grow. Soils in prairie's are very poor but near streams and lakes they tend to be high.
The prairies were maintained in their natural state by climate, grazing and fire. Rainfall varies from year to year in the prairies. There is usually a long dry period during the summer months.
Today very little of the original prairies survive, only one to two percent. Much of the land has been turned into agricultural uses, urban areas are moving in, and fires are being suppressed. The genetic and biological diversity of the plants are disappearing. The herds of thousands of buffalo were all but wiped out. There is a strong movement to educate people about prairies. Many states are rehabilitating what is left of their prairies and reintroducing the native wildlife and plants.
- Quick Facts!
- Tall grass prairie once covered 142 million acres.
- Prairies once covered about 40% of the United States.
- Prairies formed about 8,000 years ago.
- About one percent of the North American prairies still exists.