The grasslands of North American are called as prairies; they cover about 1.4 million square miles or 15% of the continent.

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The grasslands of North American are called as prairies; they cover about 1.4 million square miles or 15% of the continent. They are widely scattered for about one thousand miles in the very center of North America, from the Rocky Mountains to Indiana. Accordingly to the amount of rainfall and temperature there are three types of prairies grasslands: tall grass prairie in the east, mixed grass prairie in middle part and short glass prairie in the west. Grasslands are growing in areas of limited precipitation with moderate temperatures changing from -20 to 100 F, precipitation varies in range of 15-100 cm, the amount of rainfall decreases from east to west. The soil of the grasslands varies from a few centimeters in the west to two meters deep in the east of prairies; it is deep and black, with fertile upper layers. As to organic content, soils are changing from a brown to a dark brown to black (chernozyoms). Taller-grass prairies have brown soils, which are richer in humus. Native vegetation advantaged high quality of the soils, but due to developing agriculture large soil erosions occurred affecting the fertility of soils.

The frost-free season in prairie averages 100 - 300 days a year.

Climate of the eastern part of tall grass zone is gentle, summers are humid and cool, and winters are relatively warm, that is favorable for smooth development of the plants.  In the middle and west parts climate is dry and tough, winters are very cold and summers are backing-hot. Besides, drastic changes of daily temperature in this territory of grasslands causes droughts, winds, hails, hurricanes and other natural cataclysms. In spring, when the grasses are green and the forbs are in bloom, and midsummer, when brown, seeding, and dying plants predominate.

Prairies are famous for their beautiful flowers and grasses that bloom in the springtime.  In Autumn the prairie takes on a different kind of beauty. Leaves of the tall grasses turn beautiful shades of yellow, orange, and tan.

There are no natural barriers, like trees, so there is a constant wind. Grasses with deep root systems keep the soil from blowing away. Most animals have adapted to the open, treeless prairie by digging burrows. Even owls, like the Burrowing Owl, use the holes dug by prairie dogs as nesting sites.

Despite this American grasslands annual crops average about $150 billion. About 70% of the harvested crops are classified as grasses, including wheat, corn, rice, barley, millet, sorghum, and sugar cane.

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The dominant plants of grasslands are, no surprise, grasses. Most grasslands are composed of several genera and numerous species so that the associations are defined not by species composition (as in the association of the temperate deciduous forest in eastern North America), but the nature of the grasses as a unit. Thus, the Great Plains are divided into short, mid and tall grass prairies based on the height of the grasses and the nature of individual plants rather than the presence of individual species or genera of grasses.

Fire is an essential factor of the grassland biome. Localized ...

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