G3+Prairie+Dogs

media type="file" key="mikaelag3Grasslands.wmv"

__ PRAIRIE DOGS __

By: India H., Angelica A., Mikaela S.   __ Grasslands Ecosystem __ The first thing you think of when someone says grassland, is grass. Well, this is a true fact. There are different kinds, lengths, and colors of grass in the grasslands. They have what you could call oceans of grass. The grasslands receive at least 25-39 inches of rain annually. They have big open spaces where the sun beats down at least 90% of the year. There are not many trees with the exception of the ones by streams and rivers. Because soil is so rich, grasslands are a great place for farming, and much of the grasslands are being destroyed for human purposes. The area of the grasslands are decreasing because of our many needs such as more space, increase in human population, and farming.

__BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC FACTORS__

__ Abiotic __ · Rain Fall · Temperature · Oxygen · Rocks · Dirt/Soil · Weather · Prairie · Sunlight · Population · Climate · Land · Water · Clouds · Air

​ __Biotic__ · Grass · Deer · Insects · Birds · Hawks · Flowers · Grains · Trees · Western Box Turtle · Grass hoppers · Worms · Prairie dogs · Switch Grass __ Food Web: __ Attributions for Food Web: Coyote: Original image: '[|Know yourself.]' [] by: d hutcheson Owl: Original image: '[|"Do I LOOK like I care that you got a new lens?"]' http://www.flickr.com/photos/23084352@N00/465137858 by: Kenny P. Snake: Original image: '[|Basilisken- Klapperschlange / Rattlesnake]' http://www.flickr.com/photos/23498592@N03/3662739503 by: Winfried Ferret: Original image: '[|Tibu.]' http://www.flickr.com/photos/12503422@N07/3611342275 by: Beatriz Martín Bison: Original image: '[|big guy]' http://www.flickr.com/photos/22691745@N00/1048488752 by: Scott Jones Prairie Dog:Original image: '[|I don't eat as much as you might think!]' http://www.flickr.com/photos/48394718@N00/61696820 by: Randen Pederson Grasshopper: Original image: '[|SaltaMonte]' http://www.flickr.com/photos/13492637@N07/2420661776 by: Hernan Vargas Field Mouse:Original image: ' [|Table is set - Tischlein deck dich] ' http://www.flickr.com/photos/27126314@N03/4344909025 by: Margrit Plant: Original image: ' [|West Texas Prairie Grass] ' http://www.flickr.com/photos/66606673@N00/283148400 by: cobalt

__Grasslands Threats __ There are many threats to the grasslands ecosystem. The main threat is humans. Because the grasslands ecosystem has such good soil, much of it is being destroyed and used as farmland and pastures. Humans also cause pollution which can contaminate water sources used by animals and often kill the animals. The last threat caused by humans is construction and the need for more space. Because of the increasing human population, more buildings and space is needed, which causes the grasslands ecosystems to decline. Another threat to the ecosystem is wildfires and flooding. Wildfires are a threat because they burn many plants and wipe out numerous animals such as prairie dogs, ferrets, and snakes. Flooding is a threat for the same reasons as wildfires except that the fast flowing water drowns and uproots plants, it doesn’t burn them. Large herds of bison are also a threat to grasslands ecosystems because the bison consume and trample all of the grass. These are the many threats to the grasslands ecosystem.

__Importance of Ecosystem __ The grasslands ecosystem is very important. One reason why it is important is because it supports a variety of animals. For example, the grasslands support bison and prairie dogs. The grasslands is just a great ocean of grass (**grass**lands!), so plant-eating creatures have a great abundance of food. The plant-eating creatures are then eaten by raptors and other predators. Grasslands is a part of keeping everything in balance on Earth because they keep all the animal populations from increasing or decreasing too rapidly by having producers and consumers and also predators and prey. The grasslands is also important because it has excellent soil for plants to grow. Humans use this soil for farming and pastures, and the grass that’s eaten by prairie dogs, bison, and other creatures flourishes here also. The grasslands is an amazing ecosystem and needs to be kept on Earth! .

__ Conservation Plan __ We believe the grasslands are an essential part of our world. In fact, it’s so important that it’s being used up for our own purposes. The grasslands are decreasing because of our need of more space, and farmlands and pastures. We believe that there should be an organization taking action to help the ecosystem where prairie dogs live. Once in a while, there are wildfires that occur and destroy parts of the grasslands. One way to conserve the grassland is to limit wildfires by having small, controlled fires so that there would be no more natural fire that can emerge and destroy large parts of ecosystems. The grasslands are decreasing because of our need of space. We need more space because our population is growing so rapidly. That’s why we should have a regulation which implies to having limited children in the U.S. Less kids means less space because there are less people. Another thing we could do is to make a few miles of grasslands ecosystem like a zoo where you can’t build anything and humans aren’t allowed. The grasslands have more to it than just patches of grass in an open field; they contain many living things such as the prairie dogs that need to exist in the future.

__Bibliography __ __ Websites __ __ Prairie Dog Management __ [] __ Biotic and Abiotic Factors __ http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/biomes/grassland.html#links __ Books __ __ Life in a Grassland __ __ Ecosystem __ __ Picture Source __ __ Flickrcc __ -Pictures