10/04 1

Central Kansas Prairie Grasslands

Definition- An area, such as a prairie or meadow, of grass or grass like vegetation. It has

little or no trees.

10/04 2

11 =Research

Site 1110 = Research

site 108 = Research

site 87 = Research

site 7

Pond = pond owls Outdoor Wild

Life Site sign

Pond

10

11 7

8

OWLS

The Perimeter of the OWL site is

2,478 square ft.

Key to GHS Outdoor Wild Life Site

10/04 3

The Role of Cycles in the Ecosystem

An ecosystem is made up of living and non-living things. Cycles are very important in the ecosystem. All of the living things in the environment work together in a cycle. If one organism doesn’t need one thing to survive, then they get rid of it. Usually another organism needs that thing to survive, so they take it. Then they get rid of the thing that the first organism needs and then that organism takes it. Therefore the two organisms depend on each other to survive.

10/04 4

The nitrogen cycle is a chemical cycle in which the element

nitrogen is circulated in various forms through the ecosphere. The

biggest area with nitrogen is in the atmosphere. Nitrogen is used by

living organisms. It is an important part of nutrient cycles.

Water Cycle

The First step of the water cycle is evaporation.

The Second step is condensation.

The Third step is precipitation.

The Fourth step is collection.

The earth has a limited amount of water. That water

keeps going around and around in what we call the “Water Cycle”

10/04 6

Body of

Water:

a lake,

pond, river,

ect.

Evaporation:

the change of a substance

from a liquid to a gas

Transpiration:

the process of plants

releasing

water into vapor

Precipitation:

when clouds release the

vapor that it has collected

like into rain

10/04 7

Food Cycle

In the ecosystems there is a

process called the food chain.

The sun provides light and

warmth for the plants

(photosynthesis). Bugs and other

animals depend on these plants

for survival and food. Bigger

animals depend on the bugs and

smaller animals as a food source.

When plants and animals die the

decomposers break down the

dead plants and animals and

transfer the inorganic nutrients

to the producers. The cycle keeps

repeating itself.

10/04 8

The Mineral Cycle

Plants provide food. Organisms eat the food. The organism releases waste products. Decomposers decompose the waste into minerals either in the air or in the ground. The minerals in the ground go to new plants so they can grow more food. The cycle continues indefinitely.

Animals

Animals Turn O2 into CO2

The Oxygen Cycle

Plants

Plants turn CO2 to O2

The Oxygen Cycle

10/04 11

Photosynthesis is the process in which plants create food and oxygen. The plants take in light energy, carbon dioxide, and water. This creates their food and oxygen.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

10/04 12

Carbon dioxide + Water + Sun light

6CO2 + 6H2O + Sun lightGlucose + Oxygen

C6H12O6 + 6O2

Raw materials needed Produced from for photosynthesis = photosynthesis

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

10/04 13

Respiration

Animal ( Respiration)

Plant + O2 ~> Energy + Carbon Dioxide + Water + Minerals

The definition of respiration is the oxidation of food by organisms that releases usable energy, carbon dioxide, and water. In photosynthesis, a plant takes in carbon dioxide, water, minerals and sunlight to make or produce sugar in plant cells and oxygen. In respiration, an animal eats the plant and breathes the oxygen to make or produce energy, carbon dioxide, water, and minerals.

10/04 14

Types of grasses

* There are many different types of grasses. One type is Indian Grass. The scientific term for this type is sorghastrum nutans; it grows to be 3-6’ tall. It has long stems with fuzzy endings.

* Another type of grass is Big Blue stem. Its scientific name is andropogow gerard. It also grows to be 3-6’ tall. It has a short root structure. The buds at the end of the stem are fuzzy much like the Indian Grass.

10/04 15

Switch Grass: Panicum Virgatum

- is a tall grass

- is throughout the United States

- grows in clumps

10/04 16

Grassland Animals

The scientific name for the N. American grasshopper is Dissosteira carolina (linnaeus).

Grasshoppers lay their eggs in the ground and cover them with a sticky fluid.

Grasshoppers eat plant materials.

They are eaten by birds, hedgehogs, and badgers.

10/04 17

Grassland Animals

Admirable grasshopper

Syrbula admirabilis

1-1 1/2 in. long.

Males-brown, females-green.

Field cricket

Gryllus Sp.

7/8 in. long. Carnivorous

10/04 18

Scientific name for spider is Araneae.

A common grassland spider is the Grass Spider. These spiders make their webs dense and flat with a center funnel leading to one edge.

They have two dark bands on the thorax and long spinnerets.

Grassland Animals

10/04 19

• The Great Black Wasp

• A very common insect

• The scientific name is

Sphex Pennsylvanicus

Grassland Animals

10/04 20

The Stiff Sunflower lives in a dry, upland, tall grass, mixed prairies, and road sides. It’s blooming period is from July-September. It can grow to be six feet tall. The Stiff Sunflower has sessile heart-shaped leaves, white- woolly hairs, and yellow disk florets.

10/04 21

The Missouri Goldenrod’s blooming period is from July-October. Its habitat is nearly all prairie types and roadsides. They can grow to be 1-3 feet tall.

10/04 22

Grassland Monocultures

A monoculture is land that consists of one grass, plant, or crop etc...

10/04 23

Monoculture

Agriculture Milo/Maize

Corn fields

Wheat

Memorial Garden• Mowed Grass

• Businesses

• Homes

Summary: Monoculture is a cultivation of one plant

species ( such as wheat or corn) over a large area. The

plants in the monoculture are the members of the same

species. This community undergoes a lot of development

and changes, and finally has its own climax community of

plants and animals.

10/04 24

Monoculture in Grassland

Farmers work hard to keep bugs and insects out.

They have to use fertilizer to survive.

Mono Culture in OWLS

Mono Culture in Field

Mono Cultures happen

around places were

people live and work.

Diversity is important in all ecosystems in order for many

plants and animals to survive in one place or ecosystem.

10/04 25

Plant and Animal Adaptations

The thistle

This plant has sharp thorns on its long,slender stalk that protect its soft, cotton-like seeds from being eaten.

10/04 26

Slide 2 ADAPTATIONS

This wasp was found crawling on the ground towards some sheltering plants because his wings were damaged. This shows this insect’s ability to adapt to circumstance.

10/04 27

Succession

1. In 1997 OWLS

started with bare earth

2. Weeds took

over the soil

3. Short grass has

taken over the weeds

4. The tall ‘grandfather’ grasses are

starting to take over in the final

stage of the climax

community

The replacement of one community by another.

10/04 28

Instructor’s Slide

Where do you find wildlife? Wildlife is best found in the wilderness. Why?

Mankind has constructed many kinds of things for thousands of years. Some of these have been for the betterment of the human race but others have been directed at its destruction. The more advanced and powerful the organism, the more its destructive potential tends to be.

For example, humans are a very advanced organism and they have eliminated entire forests and prairie grass ecosystems. They have also caused the extinction of different organisms. In the savannah of Africa, the lion might be a significant limiting factor.

In the wilderness, all factors move towards balance, and stability is achieved by interdependence. On the other hand, humans can control their environments to some degree, and they are modifying the ecosystem’s rules that nature has had (ex.-weather modification). Human civilizations are no longer located in isolated agriculturally productive biomes but have expanded to all regions of the globe between the polar circles.

Wildlife rarely coexists with civilization because they require factors limited to the wilderness. Our wildernesses have never experienced anything quite like our expanding global civilizations ever before. What one wave of people have left, the next wave consumed; what the second wave left this generation is using up; what this generation leaves other generations will devastate. Wake up and lament for the sweet nectar of nature is being snatched away.