Prairie

Thorough, detailed, and scientifically up-to-datePrairies: A Natural History provides a comprehensive nontechnical guide to the biology and ecology of the prairies, or the Great Plains grasslands of North America, offering a view of the past, a vision for the future, and a clear focus on the present. With a total area of more than 3.5 million square kilometers (500,000 in Canada and the remainder in the United States), the prairies occupy the heartland of the continent, a vast, windswept plain that flows from Alberta south to Texas and from the Rockies east to the Mississippi River. This is big sky country—the largest ecosystem in North America and, until recently, one of the richest and most magnificent natural grasslands in the world. Today, however, the North American prairies are among the most altered environments on Earth.

Thorough, detailed, and scientifically up-to-datePrairies: A Natural History provides a comprehensive nontechnical guide to the biology and ecology of the prairies, or the Great Plains grasslands of North America, offering a view of the past, a vision for the future, and a clear focus on the present. With a total area of more than 3.5 million square kilometers (500,000 in Canada and the remainder in the United States), the prairies occupy the heartland of the continent, a vast, windswept plain that flows from Alberta south to Texas and from the Rockies east to the Mississippi River. This is big sky country—the largest ecosystem in North America and, until recently, one of the richest and most magnificent natural grasslands in the world. Today, however, the North American prairies are among the most altered environments on Earth.

Preface

Chapter 1: Where Is Here?
A tour of the Great Plains of North America—where they are, what ecoregions they include, and how they have changed over the last few hundred years.

Chapter 2: Digging for the Past
A look beneath the surface of the earth at the geological upheavals of the last 3.5 billion years, which have culminated in the landscape of the Great Plains today.

Chapter 3: The Geography of Grass
An exploration of the heart and soul of the prairies—the native grasses—whose success lies in their ability to conserve water and thrive in a dry climate.

Chapter 4: Secrets of the Soil
An examination of the unique characteristics of prairie soils and the creatures that make their home there.

Chapter 5: Home on the Range
How the introduction of cattle has changed areas of the Great Plains and how other species have adapted to this altered habitat—the rangelands.

Chapter 6: Water of Life
A look at the aquatic habitats of the Great Plains and at the diverse forms of life they support.

Chapter 7: Prairie Woodlands
How the expanding woodlands have affected the species that live there.

Chapter 8: The Nature of Farming
A description of the many organisms, especially insects, that thrive in the croplands of the prairie.

Chapter 9: Long-Range Forecast
An assessment of the conservation status of the Great Plains and of the strides that have been made in protecting and restoring the prairie.

For More Information

Appendices
Scientific Names of Species of the Great Plains
Endemic Vertebrates of the Great Plains

Index