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The Konza Prairie Biological Station is a 3,487-hectare (8,616 acre, 13.5 sq mi) preserve
Biosphere reserve

A biosphere reserve is an international conservation designation given by UNESCO under its Programme on Man and the Biosphere . The World Network of Biosphere Reserves is the collection of all 531 biosphere Nature reserve in 105 countries ....
 of native tallgrass prairie
Tallgrass prairie

The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to Central United States North America, with fire as its primary periodic disturbance. In the past, tallgrass prairies covered a large portion of the American Midwest, just east of the Great Plains, and portions of the Canadian Prairies....
 in the Flint Hills
Flint Hills

The Flint Hills, historically known as Bluestem Pastures or Blue Stem Hills, are a band of hills in eastern Kansas stretching into north-central Oklahoma, extending from Marshall County, Kansas in the north to Cowley County, Kansas and Osage County, Oklahoma in the south....
 of northeastern Kansas
Kansas

The State of Kansas is a Midwestern U.S. state in the Central United States of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the United States "Heartland"....
. It is located south of Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan, Kansas

Manhattan is a city in Pottawatomie County, Kansas and Riley County, Kansas counties in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kansas. Located at the junction of the Big Blue River and Kansas River rivers, the city is the county seat of Riley County....
 and its southern boundary parallels Interstate 70
Interstate 70

Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 in Utah near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride in Baltimore, Maryland....
. A scenic overlook exists along the preserves eastern boundary along K-177
K-177 (Kansas highway)

K-177 is a state highway in central Kansas. It runs from U.S. Route 54 near El Dorado, Kansas to Manhattan, Kansas, passing through the Flint Hills....
.

The Konza Prairie is owned by The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization working to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
 and Kansas State University
Kansas State University

Kansas State University, officially named Kansas State University of Agriculture and Applied Science but commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, Kansas, in the United States....
, and is operated as a field research station by the university's Division of Biology.






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The Konza Prairie Biological Station is a 3,487-hectare (8,616 acre, 13.5 sq mi) preserve
Biosphere reserve

A biosphere reserve is an international conservation designation given by UNESCO under its Programme on Man and the Biosphere . The World Network of Biosphere Reserves is the collection of all 531 biosphere Nature reserve in 105 countries ....
 of native tallgrass prairie
Tallgrass prairie

The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to Central United States North America, with fire as its primary periodic disturbance. In the past, tallgrass prairies covered a large portion of the American Midwest, just east of the Great Plains, and portions of the Canadian Prairies....
 in the Flint Hills
Flint Hills

The Flint Hills, historically known as Bluestem Pastures or Blue Stem Hills, are a band of hills in eastern Kansas stretching into north-central Oklahoma, extending from Marshall County, Kansas in the north to Cowley County, Kansas and Osage County, Oklahoma in the south....
 of northeastern Kansas
Kansas

The State of Kansas is a Midwestern U.S. state in the Central United States of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the United States "Heartland"....
. It is located south of Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan, Kansas

Manhattan is a city in Pottawatomie County, Kansas and Riley County, Kansas counties in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kansas. Located at the junction of the Big Blue River and Kansas River rivers, the city is the county seat of Riley County....
 and its southern boundary parallels Interstate 70
Interstate 70

Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 in Utah near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride in Baltimore, Maryland....
. A scenic overlook exists along the preserves eastern boundary along K-177
K-177 (Kansas highway)

K-177 is a state highway in central Kansas. It runs from U.S. Route 54 near El Dorado, Kansas to Manhattan, Kansas, passing through the Flint Hills....
.

The Konza Prairie is owned by The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization working to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
 and Kansas State University
Kansas State University

Kansas State University, officially named Kansas State University of Agriculture and Applied Science but commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, Kansas, in the United States....
, and is operated as a field research station by the university's Division of Biology. It is one of 26 sites within the Long Term Ecological Research Network
Long Term Ecological Research Network

The Long Term Ecological Research Network consists of a group of over 1800 scientists and students studying ecology over extended temporal and spatial scales....
.

It has a continental climate characterized by warm, wet summers and dry, cold winters. Average annual precipitation (32.9 in, 835 mm) is sufficient to support woodland or savanna vegetation; consequently, drought, fire and grazing are important in maintaining this grassland. The site is topographically complex with an elevation range from 1050 to 1457 ft (320 to 444 m). In addition to the dominant tallgrass prairie
Tallgrass prairie

The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to Central United States North America, with fire as its primary periodic disturbance. In the past, tallgrass prairies covered a large portion of the American Midwest, just east of the Great Plains, and portions of the Canadian Prairies....
, Konza contains forest
Forest

File:Stara planina suma.jpgA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on various criteria....
, claypan
Claypan

In geology, a claypan is a dense, compact, slowly permeable layer in the subsoil having a much higher clay content than the overlying material, from which it is separated by a sharply defined boundary....
, shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
 and riparian communities. Limestone
Limestone

File:Limestone Formation In Waitomo.jpgLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geology record....
 outcrops are found throughout the landscape.

The Konza is the largest remaining area of unplowed tallgrass prairie in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
. It supports a diverse mix of species including 576 vascular plants, 31 mammals, 208 bird species, 34 types of reptiles and amphibians, 20 kinds of fish, and over 700 types of invertebrates. A herd of approximately 300 bison
Bison

Bison is a taxonomic group containing six species of large even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Only two of these species still exist: the American bison and the European bison, or wisent , each with two subspecies....
 is maintained on the Konza, and native White-tailed Deer
White-tailed Deer

File:Wtdfishwild.jpgThe white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer, or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to all but five states in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and northern portions of South America as far south as Peru....
 and Wild Turkey
Wild Turkey

The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is one of two species of turkey , the other being the Ocellated Turkey, found in Central America....
 are often present in large numbers.

The public is allowed onto portions of the Konza Prairie through three loop hiking trails (approximately 3, 5, and 7 miles). The rest of the preserve is opened up for educational tours and for the Biennial Visitors' Day. The last Visitors' Day was held on September 27, 2008.

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