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Soil is more than dirt• We covered the biotic part
– food web of a healthy soil
• But what about the abiotic part?– Mineral, rock, clay, sand, loam, loess, humus
“mollisols” prairie soil• C deep grass roots• Black and rich• in warm moist • tall grass prairies
Root system of the prairie grassesRoot system of the prairie grasses
Picture Courtesy of Chicago Wilderness
Midwest rich in mollisols
Nielsen and Hole, 1963
Soil Layers
• Shaped by history and the weather– Glacial loess, river wash– Microbial activity ~ temperature– Microbial activity ~ water– Microbial activity ~ biomass from grass– Microbial activity ~ releases minerals
• Sandy soil, low microbes, – Water available but no holding power
Home on the Range
Chapter 5
Tablelands
Grassland & Savannah Birds
• Migration patterns
• Reproductive cycles
• Habitat preferences
• Food requirements
• Wait for Aaron’s lecture– but have a look and a listen locally
http://www.chicagowilderness.org/pubprod/atlaspdf/chap3.pdf
Extinct Species• Passenger Pigeon
• at one time the population was thought to be in the billions
• flew in enormous flocks
• John Audubon estimated on flock he saw at over one billion
Passenger Pigeon• large flocks would strip all the
foliage
• leaving the area bare
• people declared war on the birds
• killing all they could find
Passenger Pigeon• captured the young and killed
them, shipped them to cities as food
• flocks soon disappeared
• NY, PA and MA passed laws to protect them
Passenger Pigeon• laws were too late
• birds held in captivity would not breed
• last known passenger pigeon died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914
Passenger Pigeon• body of last passenger pigeon
is on display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC
Endangered Birds• there are 124 birds on the
endangered species list.
• The most common are the whooping crane, bald eagle, ivory-billed woodpecker, and prairie chicken.
Prairie Chickens• is a type of grouse• Indian dances imitated their mating
dances• oil drilling and drought dwindled the
population• in 1959 the Prairie Chicken
Foundation was formed to protect them
Endangered Mammals• 133 on the endangered list
distributed by the US Dept. of the Interior
Common endangered• big horn sheep, polar bears,
• key deer, wolves
• mountain lions
• most hunted extensively without considering extinction
Endanger Fish• there are 25 fish on
endangered species list
• 2 species are located in Mammoth Caves and Death Valley (pupfish and blind fish)
Buffalo or Bison? What would each side say?
Scientific Classification
• Bison, often called ‘American bison’; there is also a European bison;
• Binomial, scientific name: Bison bison
• B. bison is distinctive for its horns, humped back and head fur
• Asian water buffalo, Bubalus bubalus bubalis
• Buffalo, several species• African buffalo, Syncerus
caffer is distinctive for its helmet-like horns and ferocity
Hierarchical classification of species B. bison
• Kingdom: Animalia • Phylum: Chordata [spinal chord]• Class: Mammalia [suckle young on milk]• Order: Artiodactyla • Family: Bovidae • Subfamily: Bovinae [related to cows]• Genus: Bison
http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Cetartiodactyla/Bovinae.html
Americanbison
European bison
Jordan Creek Bison Farm
Marta McCormick
Matt Stefani
Lisa Schooley
Jeff White
Quynn Kapfer
Jordon Creek Bison Farm, 1837 Jordan Creek Road, Solon, IA 52333
Strengths, Opportunities, and Threats
• STRENGTHS– Buffalo meat has a large nutritional value.– Buffalo meat is a specialty meat that is now beginning
to break into the market.• Low fat, low cholesterol, high protein red meat • Can be cooked in various ways and available
in different cuts• Extreme health benefits compared to common meats• Richer flavor compared to common meats.
situational analysis
THE INTERAGENCY BISON MANAGEMENT PLAN
FOR YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK AND
MONTANA
The Interagency Bison Management Plan . . .
IBMP
Maintain a wild, free-ranging population of bison.
PURPOSE
Address the risk of brucellosis transmission ... to protect the economic interest and viability of the livestock industry in the state of Montana.
INTERIOR IN WINTER
NORTHERN RANGE IN WINTER
Winter movements of bison on the northern range are most likely to be in a northerly direction (towards lower elevations) in large numbers.
Benefits of prairie grazing• Promotes species diversity• Increases light availability to plants, promoting
photosynthesis and growth• Can change species composition• Decreases woody plant
growth while promoting
grazing-tolerant plants.
Disadvantages of large grazers in the Arboretum
• Interferes with human usage• Difficult to rotate grazing areas• Maintenance cost of large grazers• Cattle are not as effective grazers as bison• Mowing is an easier alternative