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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.