Prairie
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226140577
2008-07-17T00:21:38Z
SDC
181435
{{otheruses}}
[[Image:Konza1.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Prairie]]
'''Prairie''', from the [[French language|French]] ''prairie'' ("meadow", "grassland", "pasture"),<ref>[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prairie English Wiktionary]</ref> refers to an area of land of low topographic relief that historically supported [[grasses]] and [[herbs]], with few or no [[trees]], and having generally a [[mesic habitat|mesic]] climate.
==In North America==
[[Image:Prairie grass.JPG|thumb|right|Prairie grasses]]
Lands typically referred to as "prairie" tend to be in [[North America]]. The term encompasses much of the area referred to as the [[Great Plains]] of the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]. In the U.S., the area is constituted by most or all of the states of [[North Dakota]], [[South Dakota]], [[Nebraska]], [[Kansas]], [[Oklahoma]], [[Texas]], [[Colorado]], [[Wyoming]] and [[Montana]], and sizable parts of the states of [[Indiana]], [[Illinois]], [[Iowa]], [[Wisconsin]], [[Missouri]], and [[Minnesota]]. The [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]] of [[California]] is also prairie. The [[Prairie Provinces|Canadian Prairies]] occupy vast areas of [[Manitoba]], [[Saskatchewan]], and [[Alberta]].
===Drought===
In spite of long recurrent droughts and occasional [[rain|torrential rain]]s, the [[grassland]]s of the [[Great Plains]] are not subject to great soil [[erosion]]. The deep, interconnected root systems of prairie grasses firmly hold the soil in place and prevent run-off. These deep roots also help prairie plants to reach water in even the driest conditions. The prairie evolved to survive in extreme conditions and suffers less damage from dry conditions than the farm crops which have replaced many former prairies.
===Fire===
[[Fire]] is an important part of prairie [[ecology]]; natural and human-induced fires were common in historic prairie areas, rejuvenating the [[herbaceous]] species, and top killing trees and brush. Grazing by animals such as the [[American bison]] and [[prairie dog]]s also helped maintain the original prairie ecology. Small areas of prairies also exist in eastern North America. 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 (New York)|Seneca Lake]] and [[Cayuga Lake]] in present New York.
==Preserved prairies==
Significant preserved areas of prairie include:
*[[Grasslands National Park]], [[Saskatchewan]]
*[[Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park]], [[Alberta]] and [[Saskatchewan]]
*[[Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie]], in [[Will County, Illinois]]
*[[Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge]], [[Iowa]]
*[[Konza Prairie]], [[Manhattan, Kansas]]
*[[Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve]], [[Kansas]]
*[[Tallgrass Prairie Preserve]] 32,000 acres (130 km²), [[Oklahoma]]
*[[Nine-Mile Prairie]], [[Nebraska]]
*[[Zumwalt Prairie]], [[Wallowa County, Oregon]]
*[[Richard Bong State Recreation Area]], in [[Kenosha County, Wisconsin]]
*Hoosier Prairie, [[Lake County, Indiana]]
*[[Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center]], [[Pennsylvania]]
*[[Clymer Meadow Preserve]], [[Hunt County]], [[Texas]]
*[[Tallgrass Aspen Parkland]], [[Manitoba]] & [[Minnesota]]
===Virgin prairies===
Virgin prairie refers to prairie land that has never been plowed. Small virgin prairies exist in the American Midwestern states and in Canada. [[Prairie restoration|Restored prairie]] refers to a prairie that has been reseeded after plowing or other disturbance.
===Prairie garden===
A '''prairie garden''' is a [[garden]] primarily consisting of [[plants]] from a [[prairie]].
==In the world==
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 [[Pampa]]s of [[Argentina]], and the [[steppe]]s of [[Russia]] and [[Ukraine]] and Western Germany.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==See also==
*[[Buffalo Commons]]
*[[Coastal plain]]
*[[Coastal prairie]]
*[[Field (agriculture)|Field]]
*[[Flooded grasslands and savannas]]
*[[Flood-meadow]]
*[[Grassland]]
*[[Meadow]]
*[[Pasture]]
*[[Plain]]
*[[Prairie madness]]
*[[Prairie restoration]]
*[[Puszta]]
*[[Rangeland]]
*[[Savanna]]
*[[Shortgrass prairie]]
*[[Steppe]]
*[[Tallgrass prairie]]
*[[Water-meadow]]
*[[Wet meadow]]
*[[Veld]]
==External links==
*[http://www.theprairieenthusiasts.org The Prairie Enthusiasts] Grassland protection and restoration in the upper Midwest.
*[http://www.prairieplains.org Prairie Plains Resource Institute]
*[http://www.texasprairie.org/ The Native Prairies Association of Texas]
*[http://prairie.terraformers.ca/ Terraformers Canadian Prairie Conservation Foundation]
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