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Grasslands
Ecology
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How many species in the grass family Poaceae? | over 9,000 species |
| What percentage of grass covers the farmland? | 70% |
| How much do grasses supply of the world's calories? | 50% |
| Why are grasses the most important plant group in the world? | because the major crops we eat are grasses (Rice, corn, wheat, white potato) |
| how do animals use leaves? | as forage |
| What is the grass fruit? | a grain (caryopsis) |
| What are Cereals and how many species make up? | (35 species) are cultivated grasses that yield grain |
| Reserve energy of grasses? | is starch- the energy we get are in the form of carbohydrates |
| 2 examples of Grasslands mentioned? | Rio Blanca, and High planes of Tx |
| Grasses live in a Continental Climate- what is that? | in the center of the continent, severe winter, hot summers with droubt at the end, rainfall between 10-30 inches, high winds, thunderstorms, fires are part of the natural process |
| Grass adaptations to the Continental Climate? | Fibrous roots, Intercalary meristem, vertical leaves, bulliform cells in leaves, non showy flowers that produce much pollen and have net-like stigmas |
| Fibrous Roots? | dreadlike roots allow them to take up the little water they can get, brief shower- grasses very efficient take that up, prevent soil erosion |
| Intercalary Meristem | at the BOTTOM of the stem- when a fire comes, the meristem survive and grows again, same mechanism for grazing animals |
| Vertical leaves | minimal heat buildup on leaf- sun hits leaf vertically, Allow collection of water during drought- in morning when very cool, the moisture in air will condense & form droplets on leaf- then roll down to base of plant |
| Bulliform Cells in leaves | if gets very hot/dry- have thick and thin cell walls on opposite sides, will shrink, and as shrink cause the leaf to curl in- which prevents water loss in grass leaves- seen on hot summer day |
| Non showy flowers | flowers depend on WIND for pollination- high production of pollen grains |
| What is the stigma in flower and role in grasses? | Part of the flower that collects the pollen- in grasses the stigma is very featherly (net-like) |
| What type of fire occurs? | (Prairie Fire) Surface fire- helps maintain the grassland |
| How is the soil in the grasslands? | Very rich, high in organic matter, perfect for growing crops |
| Three Types of Grasslands? | Prairie of NA, Steepes of Eurasia, Pampas of SA |
| Characteristic of these 3 grasslands? | Each different in Taxonomy but similiar in structure and function |
| Russian Grassland | a.k.a Russian Steppes (or Asian)- they are very dry because there is no ocean nearby as a moisture source |
| N.A. Grassland Characteristics | Continental climate, grass adaptations, covers 1.4 million square miles, grasses make up 90% of the biomass, 20% of plant species are grasses, Drought Fire, and Grazing are the driving forces, drought every 30 years, fire ever 1-5 years, 6 different grass |
| Grasses make up how much of the Biomass? | 90% |
| How much of plant species are grasses? | 20% |
| What are the driving forces in N.A | drought, fire, and grazing |
| How often have a drought in N.A | every 30 years |
| How often have a fire in N.A | 1-5 years |
| What are the 6 different grasslands in N.A | Tall grass prairie, mixed grass prairie, short grass prairie, Palouse Prairie, Central valley, Aspen Parkland (Mountain Meadows) |
| What are the top 3 grasses in NA? | Short, Tall, and Mixed |
| Tall Grass Prairie dominant grasses? | Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, Switch Grass |
| Facts of Tall Grass? | only 5% of native tall grass left, highest rainfall of all grasslands in NA, grasses can be 10ft tall |
| Mixed Grass Praire dominant grasses? | Little Bluestem and Buffalo Grass |
| Facts of Mixed grass? | 0.3 to 1.5 meters tall |
| Short grass dominant grasses? | Blue Grama and Buffalo Grass |
| Facts of Short Grass? | Grades into the western deserts, dry climate, about 10 in of precipitation, shallow roots, destroyed mainly by over-grazing, because dust bowl in the 1930's |
| How can one create a Dust Bowl? | if don't manage grassland very well, when severe drought comes through, plants die, soil is exposed and picked up by wind and carried away |
| California Central Valley Prairie dominant grasses? | Purple Needle Grass which was the original vegetation |
| Why did the Brome Grass and Wild Oats replace the Purple Needle Grass? | because of Over-grazing by livestock- plants from other countries, introduction of exotic annual grass species, recurrent drought |
| Palouse Prairie dominant grass? | Originally were Weatgrass and Fescue, but since sensitive to grazing- they were replaced by Cheatgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, and sunflower |
| What happens with over-grazing | abusing prairies leads to the system disappearing and exotic plants coming in. |
| Phragmites | most cosmopolitan of all plants- found everywhere |
| Pucoon | Indians used the seeds for birth control |
| Tumbleweed | (Russian species)- introduced with Flakes and make linen, since the seeds were similar to Flakes got mixed up and introduced to N.A- when dies- detaches- tumbles in wind and seeds bounce out, a dispersal method |
| Indian Blanket | big prairie- State Flower of Oklahoma- a.k.a Firewheel |
Created by:
Jahazania
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