Fast Facts!!!
Prairies once covered 142 million acres of North America.
The are three main types of prairie: tall-, mid-, and shortgrass prairie.
Tallgrass prairies contain 60-80 species of grass and over 300 species of wildflower and legume.
Several species of grass found in the tallgrass ecosystem can grow to be 10-12 feet tall.
Prairies thrive on periodic, ferocious prairie fires, which in the tallgrass
region reached heights of 20 feet and could move with the speed of a
galloping horse.
70-85% of a prairie’s biomass is underground, in roots that stretch 10-15 feet
deep and have thousands of “rootlets” that, if laid end to end, would stretch
for miles.
The tallgrass ecosystem is one of the most endangered in the world. Just 1% of
its original extent survived the plow. 40% of the northern mid- and shortgrass
prairies survive, and on the southern plains, only 25%.
Prairie dogs, the keystone species of the
prairie ecosystem, now occupy just 1% of their original range. The prairie
dog-dependent black footed ferret is the rarest mammal in
North America.
The are three main types of prairie: tall-, mid-, and shortgrass prairie.
Tallgrass prairies contain 60-80 species of grass and over 300 species of wildflower and legume.
Several species of grass found in the tallgrass ecosystem can grow to be 10-12 feet tall.
Prairies thrive on periodic, ferocious prairie fires, which in the tallgrass
region reached heights of 20 feet and could move with the speed of a
galloping horse.
70-85% of a prairie’s biomass is underground, in roots that stretch 10-15 feet
deep and have thousands of “rootlets” that, if laid end to end, would stretch
for miles.
The tallgrass ecosystem is one of the most endangered in the world. Just 1% of
its original extent survived the plow. 40% of the northern mid- and shortgrass
prairies survive, and on the southern plains, only 25%.
Prairie dogs, the keystone species of the
prairie ecosystem, now occupy just 1% of their original range. The prairie
dog-dependent black footed ferret is the rarest mammal in
North America.