Grasses: The short version

By: Rosha Lewis, Mark King, Morgan Thornton, Aaron Patterson aaronpatterson@live.com

Short Grasses (Location) East of the Rocky Mountains

From the east coast, the grass begin to decline in height.

The environment begins to get so dry that, the soil holds little water. As the soil weakens, it retains little water.

The geographical area usually is dry prairies which are found in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.

Yellow = Short-Grass prairies

Climatic Conditions

The average precipitation amounts to12.6 inches in short grass prairies. 10 to 12 inches of rainfall a year. The amount of rainfall determines the height of the grasses.

North American prairies during the summer: Reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit

Short grass prairies have hotter summers and colder winters compared to tall grass prairies. Winters: can be as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit and as high as 70

degrees Fahrenheit. Two real seasons:

Growing season – no frost; plants can grow. (100-175 days) Dormant season – nothing can grow, too cold.

Short Grass Soil

Soils are lighter brown than compared to mixed prairies and tall-grass ones. Light brown soils tell us that the nitrogen and humus content are

low. Humus – partly decomposed organic matter

Plants use more shallow root systems Less rainfall

The calcium carbonate layer is closer to the surface as well.

Drier and weaker soils in the short-grass prairies.

Plants

Indian Grass A perennial bunchgrass A warm season grass Ideal for grazing animals

Buffalo Grass A hardy grass Common in North American prairies Drought resistant Tolerant to the heat and cold seasons

Big Bluestem Grass (Turkey Foot) Adapted to growing in dense stands Allows for less competition of sunlight

Generally, the key to survival are thick deep roots Anchor into the soil to prevent being blown away in the wind

Animals

The Prairie dogs Essentially are the squirrel of the prairies

Normally, squirrels inhabit trees, but in the prairies there aren’t any trees. Therefore they burrow underground.

Adapted to creating guard systems Some stay outside the burrow to watch for predators while others mate and

connect burrows Adapted to a semi-arid, windy environment with few trees or shrubs.

Many of the animals are thankful for the rodent populations and steal their burrows to survive the freezing to the sweltering hot temperatures.

They can also withstand a great range in temperature from well below freezing in the winter to sweltering heat in the summer.

Biome in DANGER!

Human EncroachmentThe large fields of the grasslands are

becoming idea for farming and airways which eventually introduce industry, commercial, and recreational development.

Fires that get carried away by the wind can trap or enclose some herds and killing them.