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The shortgrass prairie ecosystem
Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical factors of the environment....
 of the North American Great Plains
Great Plains

The Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada....
 is a prairie
Prairie

Prairie refers to temperate grasslands of North America. These are areas of low topographic relief that historically supported grasses and herbs, with few or no trees, having a generally mesic habitat climate....
 that formerly encompassed lands from the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometre from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States....
 east to Nebraska
Nebraska

Nebraska is a U.S. state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and Western United States.Nebraska probably gets its name from the archaic Chiwere language words ?? Br?sge or the Omaha-Ponca language N? Bth?ska meaning "flat water," after the Platte River that flows through the state....
, including rangeland
Rangeland

this is not realRangeland refers to expansive, mostly unimproved lands on which a significant proportion of the natural vegetation is native grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, and shrubs....
s in Colorado
Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
 and 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"....
, and extending to the south through the high plains
High Plains (United States)

The High Plains are a subregion of the Great Plains in the central United States, generally encompassing the western part of the Great Plains before the region reaches the Rocky Mountains....
 of Oklahoma
Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a U.S. state and a sovereignty located in the South Central United States and Southern United States of the United States of America ....
, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
, and New Mexico
New Mexico

New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
.

These rangelands were formerly maintained by grazing pressure of American bison
American Bison

The American Bison is a bovinae mammal, also commonly known as the American buffalo. "Buffalo" is somewhat of a misnomer for this animal, as it is only distantly related to either of the two "true buffaloes", the Wild Asian Water Buffalo and the African buffalo....
, the keystone species
Keystone species

A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionate effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance. Such species affect many other organisms in an ecosystem and help to determine the types and numbers of various others species in a community....
; the dominant grasses are grama grass
Blue grama

Blue grama is a long-lived, warm season, C4 carbon fixation Perennial plant grass native to North America. It is most commonly found from Alberta east to Manitoba and south across the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and Midwest states to Mexico....
 and buffalo grass. The semi-arid
Semi-arid

A Semi-arid climate or steppe climate generally describes climate regions that receive low annual rainfall . A more precise definition is given by the K?ppen climate classification that treats steppe climates as intermediates between the desert climates and humid climates in ecological characteristics and agricultural potential....
 continental climate
Continental climate

Continental climate is a climate that is characterized by winter temperatures cold enough to support a fixed period of snow cover each year, and relatively moderate precipitation occurring mostly in summer, although east coast areas may show an even distribution of precipitation....
 receives on average less rainfall than that which supports the 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....
 formerly to the east.








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Encyclopedia


The shortgrass prairie ecosystem
Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical factors of the environment....
 of the North American Great Plains
Great Plains

The Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada....
 is a prairie
Prairie

Prairie refers to temperate grasslands of North America. These are areas of low topographic relief that historically supported grasses and herbs, with few or no trees, having a generally mesic habitat climate....
 that formerly encompassed lands from the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometre from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States....
 east to Nebraska
Nebraska

Nebraska is a U.S. state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and Western United States.Nebraska probably gets its name from the archaic Chiwere language words ?? Br?sge or the Omaha-Ponca language N? Bth?ska meaning "flat water," after the Platte River that flows through the state....
, including rangeland
Rangeland

this is not realRangeland refers to expansive, mostly unimproved lands on which a significant proportion of the natural vegetation is native grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, and shrubs....
s in Colorado
Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
 and 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"....
, and extending to the south through the high plains
High Plains (United States)

The High Plains are a subregion of the Great Plains in the central United States, generally encompassing the western part of the Great Plains before the region reaches the Rocky Mountains....
 of Oklahoma
Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a U.S. state and a sovereignty located in the South Central United States and Southern United States of the United States of America ....
, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
, and New Mexico
New Mexico

New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
.

These rangelands were formerly maintained by grazing pressure of American bison
American Bison

The American Bison is a bovinae mammal, also commonly known as the American buffalo. "Buffalo" is somewhat of a misnomer for this animal, as it is only distantly related to either of the two "true buffaloes", the Wild Asian Water Buffalo and the African buffalo....
, the keystone species
Keystone species

A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionate effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance. Such species affect many other organisms in an ecosystem and help to determine the types and numbers of various others species in a community....
; the dominant grasses are grama grass
Blue grama

Blue grama is a long-lived, warm season, C4 carbon fixation Perennial plant grass native to North America. It is most commonly found from Alberta east to Manitoba and south across the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and Midwest states to Mexico....
 and buffalo grass. The semi-arid
Semi-arid

A Semi-arid climate or steppe climate generally describes climate regions that receive low annual rainfall . A more precise definition is given by the K?ppen climate classification that treats steppe climates as intermediates between the desert climates and humid climates in ecological characteristics and agricultural potential....
 continental climate
Continental climate

Continental climate is a climate that is characterized by winter temperatures cold enough to support a fixed period of snow cover each year, and relatively moderate precipitation occurring mostly in summer, although east coast areas may show an even distribution of precipitation....
 receives on average less rainfall than that which supports the 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....
 formerly to the east.

See also

  • 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....
  • Buffalo commons
    Buffalo Commons

    The Buffalo Commons is a conceptual proposal to create a vast nature preserve by returning of the drier portion of the Great Plains to native prairie, and by reintroducing the American Bison that once grazed the shortgrass prairie....
  • High Plains (United States)
    High Plains (United States)

    The High Plains are a subregion of the Great Plains in the central United States, generally encompassing the western part of the Great Plains before the region reaches the Rocky Mountains....
  • Steppe
    Steppe

    In physical geography, a steppe , pronounced , is a grassland plain without trees . The prairie can be considered a steppe. It may be semi-desert, or covered with Poaceae or shrubs or both, depending on the season and latitude....


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