Ecosystems We Study: Grasslands Active
America’s grasslands are in the middle of the country where there is insufficient rain to support forests but too much to be a desert.
America’s grasslands are in the middle of the country where there is insufficient rain to support forests but too much to be a desert. The eastern portion of these grasslands receives the most rain and is known as the prairie pothole region. Each year, almost half of America’s breeding waterfowl raise their broods across flooded potholes, and millions of migrating songbirds stop here to rest and refuel. The grasslands from the Mississippi River west to the Rocky Mountains known as the Great Plains historically supported not only millions of bison, pronghorn, and elk but smaller unique grassland mammals (e.g., swift fox, Great Plains wolf, black footed ferret, Franklin’s ground squirrel), songbirds (e.g., Henslow’s sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, bobolink, short-eared owl), and reptiles (Eastern Massasauga, ornate box turtle).
Since European settlement, approximately half of all grasslands have been converted to cultivated cropland or other uses leading to extinctions of several sub-species (Badlands Bighorn sheep, Great Plains wolf) and the imperilment of many species (birds, Swift fox, Eastern Massasauga, Black-foot ferret).
Grasslands Research
Recent data (2020-2022) related to USGS grasslands research is listed below. A complete listing of USGS grasslands data is available from the button below.
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS grasslands research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS grasslands publications is available from the button below.
Energy development and production in the Great Plains: Implications and restoration opportunities
Managing invasive plants on Great Plains grasslands: A discussion of current challenges
Modeling the supporting ecosystem services of depressional wetlands
Cooperatively improving tallgrass prairie with adaptive management
Study design and methods for a wetland condition assessment on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fee-title lands in the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana, USA
Interactions of microhabitat and time control grassland bacterial and fungal composition
- Overview
America’s grasslands are in the middle of the country where there is insufficient rain to support forests but too much to be a desert.
America’s grasslands are in the middle of the country where there is insufficient rain to support forests but too much to be a desert. The eastern portion of these grasslands receives the most rain and is known as the prairie pothole region. Each year, almost half of America’s breeding waterfowl raise their broods across flooded potholes, and millions of migrating songbirds stop here to rest and refuel. The grasslands from the Mississippi River west to the Rocky Mountains known as the Great Plains historically supported not only millions of bison, pronghorn, and elk but smaller unique grassland mammals (e.g., swift fox, Great Plains wolf, black footed ferret, Franklin’s ground squirrel), songbirds (e.g., Henslow’s sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, bobolink, short-eared owl), and reptiles (Eastern Massasauga, ornate box turtle).
Since European settlement, approximately half of all grasslands have been converted to cultivated cropland or other uses leading to extinctions of several sub-species (Badlands Bighorn sheep, Great Plains wolf) and the imperilment of many species (birds, Swift fox, Eastern Massasauga, Black-foot ferret).
Grasslands ResearchFilter Total Items: 24No results found. - Data
Recent data (2020-2022) related to USGS grasslands research is listed below. A complete listing of USGS grasslands data is available from the button below.
- Publications
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS grasslands research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS grasslands publications is available from the button below.
Filter Total Items: 30Energy development and production in the Great Plains: Implications and restoration opportunities
Energy is an integral part of society. The major US energy sources of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas); biofuels (ethanol); and wind are concentrated in grassland ecosystems of the Great Plains. As energy demand continues to increase, mounting pressures will be placed on North American grassland systems. In this review, we present the ecological effects of energy development and production onAuthorsJacqueline P. Ott, Brice B. Hanberry, Mona Khalil, Mark W. Paschke, Max Post van der Burg, Anthony J. PrenniManaging invasive plants on Great Plains grasslands: A discussion of current challenges
The Great Plains of North America encompass approximately 1,300,000 km2 of land from Texas to Saskatchewan. The integrity of these lands is under continual assault by long-established and newly-arrived invasive plant species, which can threaten native species and diminish land values and ecological goods and services by degrading desired grassland resources. The Great Plains are a mixture of privaAuthorsJohn F. Gaskin, Erin Espeland, Casey D. Johnson, Diane L. Larson, Jane M. Mangold, Rachel A. McGee, Chuck Milner, Shishir Paudel, Dean E. Pearson, Lora B. Perkins, Chadley W. Prosser, Justin B. Runyon, Sharlene E. Sing, Zachary A. Sylvain, Amy Symstad, Daniel R. TekielaModeling the supporting ecosystem services of depressional wetlands
We explored how a geographic information system modeling approach could be used to quantify supporting ecosystem services related to the type, abundance, and distribution of landscape components. Specifically, we use the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs model to quantify habitats that support amphibians and birds, floral resources that support pollinators, native-plant commAuthorsDavid M. Mushet, Cali L. RothCooperatively improving tallgrass prairie with adaptive management
Adaptive management (AM) is widely recommended as an approach for learning to improve resource management, but successful AM projects remain relatively uncommon, with few documented examples applied by natural resource management agencies. We used AM to make recommendations for the management of native tallgrass prairie plant communities in western Minnesota and eastern North and South Dakota, USAAuthorsMarissa Ahlering, Daren Carlson, Sara Vacek, Sarah Jacobi, Vicky Hunt, Jessica C. Stanton, Melinda G. Knutson, Eric V. LonsdorfStudy design and methods for a wetland condition assessment on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fee-title lands in the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana, USA
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) manages wetlands and grasslands for wildlife habitat throughout the central North American Prairie Pothole Region (PPR). PPR wetlands, or potholes, are widely recognized as critical habitats for North American migratory waterfowl, waterbirds, and other wildlife. Potholes also provide other ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, flood mitigation, fAuthorsBrian Tangen, Sheel Bansal, Rachel R. Fern, Edward S. DeKeyser, Christina L. M. Hargiss, David M. Mushet, Cami S. DixonInteractions of microhabitat and time control grassland bacterial and fungal composition
Dryland grasslands are vast and globally important and, as in all terrestrial ecosystems, soil microbial communities play fundamental roles in regulating dryland ecosystem function. A typical characteristic of drylands is the spatial mosaic of vascular plant cover surrounded by interspace soils, where biological soil crusts (biocrusts)—a complex community of organisms including bacteria, fungi, alAuthorsMichaeline BN Albright, Rebecca C. Mueller, La Verne Gallegos-Graves, Jayne Belnap, Sasha C. Reed, Cheryl R. Kuske