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