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Just as grasslands co-evolved with fire, they grew to be dependent on the grazing patterns of bison, which diversified native vegetation, maintained habitats for birds and cleared out invasive ...
The near extinction of the species during the 19th century unraveled fundamental ties between bison, grassland ecosystems, and indigenous peoples’ cultures and livelihoods. English speakers used the word buffalo for this animal when they arrived. [1] Bison was used as the scientific term to distinguish them from the true buffalo.
The exact frequency of fires is unknown but estimated to have occurred at intervals of 5 to 10 years. Herds of bison, and to a lesser extent pronghorn and deer, grazed on the grasses and trampled and fertilized the soil, stimulating the growth of the tallgrass ecosystem. Bison were extirpated from the area by the 1850s. [9] [6]
The ecosystem was maintained by a pattern of disturbance caused by natural wildfire and grazing by bison, a pattern which is called pyric herbivory. [ 3 ] Before the 1800s, bison were a keystone species for the native shortgrass prairie habitat as their grazing pressure altered the food web and landscapes in ways that improve biodiversity . [ 4 ]
Once home to free-roaming herds of bison and leaping pronghorn, the Great Plains is now a shadow of its former self, embodying the story of disappearing wilderness in North American grasslands.
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Grasslands occur where there is insufficient rain to support trees, thus only grasses and a few shrubs can survive. There are three kinds of grasslands on the great plains, short grass prairie, mixed grass, and long grass prairie. In each of these, grass species serve all the keystone roles.
The destruction of the bison had serious consequences for the ecosystems of the great bison belt. The resilient short grasses were dominated by the less stable but aggressive tall grasses. Cattle soon replaced the bison as the primary consumers of the grasslands. By 1900, about 30 million livestock subsisted on the bison belt. [18]