What are the benefits of native species?

Native plants are adapted to the environment they live in, because this is the kind of environment they have always grown in.  Therefore, they will not go extinct when something, such as a prairie fire, threatens them.  They are draught resistant, used to the soil conditions of the area, and resilient to local insects.  Also, native plants are necessary for the native animals to eat and survive on.

Native plants will form self-sufficient communities that will not require maintenance by humans.

from Ion Exchange http://www.ionxchange.com/benefits%20of%20native%20plants.htm

from http://offo2.epa.state.oh.us/images/Natural Resources/grassforb6.JPG and

http://www.cosi.org/visitors/exhibits/big-science-park/prairie/

What are the effects of Invasive species?

Invasive species take over natural areas and overcome and eliminate native species.  Sometimes, they eliminate a natural species that a certain type of animal relies upon to survive, so the animal species can also go extinct.

from http://recparks.columbus.gov/NaturalResources/Invasiveplants.asp

Invasive plants tend to reproduce quickly, often faster than the native organisms, so they crowd out the native species and alter the ecosystem.

http://www.easywildflowers.com/invasive.htm

honeysuckle, lesser celandine, day lily, and multifora rose (above)

from http://www.easywildflowers.com/invasive.htm

European Gypsy moth, from http://www.easywildflowers.com/invasive.htm

How is the ecosystem balanced?

from http://faculty.baruch.cuny.edu/jwahlert/bio1003/food_webs.html

wood frog, white-tailed deer, and prairie dog, from http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/nature/frogs/thumbs/images/wdfrog.jpg, http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/digiscope_gallery/digiscope029.jpg, and http://www.southdacola.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/prairie-dog.jpg

blue stem grass, and mountain winterberry, from http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/digiscope_gallery/digiscope029.jpg, and http://www.naturalnewscapes.com/Quickstart/ImageLib/winterberry-foliage.jpg

Characteristics of the Canada Thistle

(Blooming period is early to mid-summer)

• Canada thistle is a creeping perennial that reproduces from vegetative buds in its root system and from seed.
• It is difficult to control because its extensive root system allows it to recover from control attempts.
• Combining control methods is the best form of Canada thistle management.
• Persistence is imperative so the weed is continually stressed, forcing it to exhaust root nutrient stores and eventually die.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/natres/03108.html

http://www.turf.uiuc.edu/weed_web/canadathistle/canadathistle_leaf3.jpg

Characteristics of the Black Eyed Susan

(Blooming period is from June to October)

A stiff, upright annual or short lived perennial native to the eastern United States, but has become endemic throughout North America. The Black-Eyed Susan is probably the most common of all American wildflowers. The characteristic brown, domed center is surrounded by bright yellow ray florets. Thrives in most soils in full sun. A true sunshine worshiper that forgives neglect.

http://www.daytonnursery.com/images/Wallpaper/Black%20Eyed%20Susan.JPG

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/wildseed/20/20.2.html

What are the native plants?

The native plants of a prairie include:

-Switchgrass
-Wild flowers / forbs
-prairie dock
-sawtooth sunflowers
-Blazing star
-coneflowers
-ohio spider wart
-bluestem
-indian grass

from http://www.ohioprairie.org/id30.htm

Flower 1 source Flower 2 Source

Seasons in the Prairie

As the bare soil is warmed by the ever-higher spring sun, the prairie phoenix begins its marvelous ascent. One warm late April day, amidst the blackened soil, the first small, green prairie leaves erupt. In a week, the blackness is replaced by rapidly growing young grass leaves. By early May the entire landscape is green with dense, low foliage. The prairie year has begun apace. Only the frost of autumn will stop the prairie’s growth.

The first plants to emerge in profusion are the grasses. But scattered among them are first leaves and stems of the wildflowers (properly called forbs). By the end of May, a number of small, short, quick-growing species have exploited the un-shaded spring sunshine, and by June, these species have flowered and are going to seed. As the prairie grows taller, these short, early species decline.

Early Summer. By late May and into June, the prairie is in full growth. The fire-exposed bare ground is no longer visible, now covered with expanding leaves and stems. As the season progresses,  more species of forbs rise above the low grasses to flower and attract pollinators.

By the end of June, the prairie is about two feet tall.

Mid Summer. By July, the tallgrass prairie begins to reveal its name. The grasses begin to get legitimately tall. Until July, the grasses appear to be growing only as long leaves rising from the soil. But in late July or early August, distinct, erupting stems appear. A number of 3- and 4-ft mid-summer forbs bloom in profusion. The prairie is vibrantly alive and growing. Every two or three weeks a new set of beautiful prairie forbs come into bloom. Those that previously bloomed are subsumed and overtaken by the lengthening grasses. Growth is profuse.

Late Summer. In August and September the prairie matures in botanical glory. In August the tall grasses begin to flower (yes, grasses have flowers, although small). The big bluestem flowerhead assumes its turkey-foot shape, and Indiangrass flower-heads create a wonderful golden color. The unique tall prairie forbs rise above even the 6-ft grasses. The 8-ft naked stems of prairie dock begin to flower aside the 6- and 7-ft tall coreopsis. In disturbed areas along the edge some large clumps of sawtooth and giant sunflowers explode in a mass of insect-attracting yellow flowers. The prairie is in a final explosion of color and biomass.

Early Autumn. As the nights cool and the days shorten, photosynthesis is no longer efficient. The prairie begins to prepare for the long cold winter. The summer green is slowly lost as leaf-borne carbohydrates are translocated down to roots and rhizomes. By October the prairie takes on a golden-straw color. Grass and fall flower seeds begin to mature. Birds land on the large flowers of the prairie composites and begin the extract their maturing seeds. The prairie season is coming to an end.

Late Autumn. By November the prairie is dormant. Its life has retreated to roots and rhizomes. Stems are still erect, but the many leaves have shriveled.

Winter. Rains, snow, and ice lay heavily on the dead vegetation, pressing it down. Insects and other arthropods have retreated to plant stems or underground habitats. They, too, are in a state of dormancy. There is little life on the winter prairie."

from http://www.ohioprairie.org/id33.htm