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When early French explorers first encountered the vast native grasslands of central North America in the late 1600s they called them "prairies", a French word meaning meadow. The English explorers adopted the word prairie, having no other name for this unique natural ecosystem.

Prairies are different from a meadow or field that you might find growing on a farm or park or vacant lot. To experience a prairie is to encounter a special world unlike any other. Tall grasses reach for the sky, colorful wildflowers wave in the breeze, and animals of all description find refuge there.

The Ohio Prairie Ecosystem

Most people are surprised to learn that prairies are a native ecosystem to Ohio. The thought that prairies grow only out west has probably been promoted by novels, movies and television programs. Ohio's prairies are referred to as tallgrass prairies. Plenty of moisture in Ohio allows several kinds of grasses, such as big bluestem and Indian grass, to grow up to 9 feet tall. Prairies are an exciting part of the original landscape of Ohio.

When the first settlers from the east moved into Ohio in the late 1700s they encountered over 300 prairies that ranged in size from several acres to many square miles. Most of these prairie islands were located in the western part of the state and were surrounded by a vast forest. It is thought that nearly 1,500 square miles of tallgrass prairies once existed in Ohio. (Ohio is about 40,000 square miles)

Fire On The Prairie

Fire is very important to the prairie ecosystem. Fire can help keep a prairie a prairie! Without fire to kill invading woody trees and shrubs, a prairie can turn into a forest through a process called succession. The deep roots of many prairie plants help to protect them from being killed by fire.

Soon after a fire an exciting rebirth occurs in a prairie. The ash-blackened earth absorbs heat from the sun. This helps the germination (sprouting) of certain seeds. Important nutrients from the charred plants are released back into the soil and help to fertilize the growing prairie plants. Soon the prairie will be green and lush with little evidence that a fire has occurred.

Some Prairie Flora (Plants)	You can find more complete lists of Aullwood flora and fauna here
Most prairie plants are perennial. This means that they will not die at the end of one growing season, but continue to grow for many years. Trees are good examples of perennial plants that live in a forest. Grasses are one of the most common perennial plants that grow in a prairie. Grasses are very distinctive plants. They have round, hollow, jointed stems; narrow leaves; flowers borne on spikes; and hard, grain-like seeds. Grasses have flowers, but their flowers do not have petals like most plants. Grasses use the wind to pollinate their flowers. No bees or other insects are needed. The other flowering plants in a prairie are called forbs. Forbs have showy petals that help the plant to attract insects for pollination. Many prairie forbs, like prairie dock, compass plant, hairy sunflower, tall sunflower, goldenrod and others, are members of the sunflower family. Beginning in mid-summer, forbs add a beautiful splash of color to the prairie.  Big Bluestem - Another common name for this beautiful plant, turkey-foot grass, comes from the shape of the flower heads which form in late summer. The flower stalks grow over 6 feet tall and sometimes reach up to 9 feet. Native Americans once used this plant for the treatment of digestive problems.
Indian Grass - The flowers of this beautiful prairie grass begin to appear in late July and early August. Beautiful plume-like flower heads produce slightly fuzzy seed heads with twisted bristles at the tips.
Prairie Dock - The thick, leathery leaves of this plant feel like sandpaper. The rough stalk grows up to 8 feet tall. At the top of the stalk is a cluster of yellow flowers. The fragrant sap from this plant was sometimes chewed as gum by the early settlers. The huge, rough leaves often remain standing in prairie areas over winter and into the next spring.
Common Milkweed - This plant is named for the milky liquid that comes out when a leaf or stem is broken. In the fall, ripe milkweed seed pods split open. After drying, many seeds float away in the air hanging from silky threads. This fine silk was used during World War II as a filler in life jackets.
Stiff Goldenrod - Stiff goldenrod has stiff, fuzzy leaves and stems which help prevent the loss of moisture. Many people believe that pollen from goldenrods causes them to start sneezing in late summer. Actually this beautiful plant should not be blamed. Goldenrod pollens are spread by insects such as bees and butterflies, and not by the wind.
Butterfly Weed - The name for this plant comes from its brilliant orange flowers which attract many butterflies. It is related to the milkweeds but it has a clear sap instead of milky.
Purple Coneflower - Brightly colored orange flowers which form a cone shape are surrounded by up to 20 reddish purple drooping petals. The sweet nectar of this plant attracts many butterflies. This wildflower is considered by some to have more medicinal uses than any other native Ohio plant. Research continues to determine whether echinacea (the scientific name of purple coneflower is Echinacea pupurea) is really a useful source of medicines.

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Prairie Plants Save Water

All plants need water to survive! Plants may have a difficult time conserving water in prairies. Hot, direct sunlight can cause prairie plants to lose valuable moisture from their leaves. Drying winds sweeping across a prairie can also speed up the loss of moisture from prairie plants. Prairie plants have developed special adaptations (ways to survive) which help them live in an environment where saving water can sometimes be hard to do.

Special ways that prairie plants conserve water include. . .

• Long, thin leaves (especially in grasses) help to reduce the loss of moisture from tiny openings in the leaves.
• Compound leaves, leaves with smaller parts or leaflets, move air around the leaf to lower air temperatures on leaf surfaces and decrease loss of water to the air.
• Fuzzy or hairy leaves reflect intense sunlight to lower air temperatures on leaf surfaces which decrease evaporation.
• The leaves of some prairie plants roll up to reduce their exposure to the hot sun and save moisture.

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Grasses Are Food For People

Did you have a bowl of your favorite grass for breakfast this morning? It sounds funny but just think how important grasses are as a source of food for people all around the world. Wheat, rice, oats, corn and other grains (grass seeds) are an important and healthy part of the foods that people eat every day. Cereals such as corn flakes, mini-wheats and puffed rice, are all made from grass seed. Bread, the staff of life is made from wheat and other grains which come from grass. Most meat (pork, beef, chicken, mutton) comes from animals which eat grass or special feeds made from grass.

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The Prairie Underground

There is more to a prairie than meets the eye. If you could explore the tallgrass prairie underground this is what you might find. . .

• About 1/3 of a prairie plant (stems, leaves and flowers) grows above ground and 2/3 (roots and underground stems called rhizomes) grows underground.
• Prairie grasses form root-like structures called rhizomes (underground stems) that spread through the soil just beneath the surface. The rhizomes store nutrients (food) and send up new grass shoots each year.
• The top few inches of prairie soil is filled with a tangle of plant roots, rhizomes and other underground plant parts which make a layer of thick fibers that hold the earth tightly together.
• Prairies are often found in dry climates. Some prairie plants must send their roots deep into the soil to get enough moisture to survive.
• Prairie wildflowers usually don't compete with prairie grasses for moisture because they often send their roots much deeper into the ground. Wildflower roots may go down ten feet or more, and some reach down to over twenty feet deep!
• Prairie soils provide food for America and many other countries. Crops of corn and wheat grow in parts of our country where tallgrass prairies once covered the land.

Some Prairie Fauna (Animals)

You can find more complete lists of Aullwood flora and fauna here

Along with plants, animals are an important part of the living prairie community. They are vital to the prairie nutrient cycle. Plant eating animals (herbivores) such as butterflies, grasshoppers, sparrows and mice help to convert prairie grasses and forbs into animal tissue. Meat eating animals (carnivores) such as snakes, hawks, falcons, badgers and coyotes continue the prairie food chain by eating the herbivores. When animals die, decomposers such as bacteria help to return nutrients back to the soil for plants to use, completing the prairie nutrient cycle.

Microscopic Organisms - Soil is not dead - it's alive! Prairie soils contain a whole world of life so small that you need a microscope to be able to see it. Huge populations of bacteria live in the soil. Many kinds of bacteria are important decomposers of dead plants and animals.
Earthworm - Earthworms love to eat dead leaves and grasses in a prairie. The waste products that they leave behind after a meal help to fertilize the soil. A single earthworm can process more than a half pound of soil a year.
Monarch Butterfly - The larva or caterpillar of this beautiful orange and black butterfly feeds almost exclusively on the leaves of milkweed and related plants. Toxic chemicals obtained from these plants make the adult butterfly taste bad to predators. Monarchs which emerge in Ohio in August fly to the mountains of Mexico to spend the winter.
Silver-Spotted Skipper - Skippers are named for their rapid darting or skipping flight pattern. The Silver-spotted Skipper is one of the most widespread and conspicuous butterflies. When a skipper is at rest or feeding on a flower, look closely for the distinctive silver-white patches on the hind wings. It can frequently be seen in Ohio's prairies during the summer months.
Grasshoppers - Grasshoppers are well adapted to live among prairie grasses. Their jaws are shaped for chewing off leaves and grinding them up. Long hind legs help grasshoppers jump far away from danger.
Eastern Plains Garter Snake - This beautiful snake, listed as an endangered species in Ohio because of loss of habitat, prefers to live in wet prairie areas. Similar in appearance to the common garter snake, it will spend much of its time in crayfish holes. This snake eats a variety of food including insects and small frogs.
American Kestrel - This small falcon, once called sparrow hawk, will often hover in mid-air as it searches the ground for food. Sharp eyes help to spot movement in the grass. The kestrel swoops down to snatch up large insects, small rodents and even an occasional sparrow.
Horned Lark - Small black feather tufts or "horns" on the top of its head are a distinctive feature of this grassland bird. Male horned larks perform a high circular song-flight of up to 800 feet and then drop to the ground to strut and display before the female. The horned lark's diet consists of mainly grass and forb seeds, spiders and insects.
Grasshopper Sparrow - The name for this bird comes from its song which is much like the buzzing of an insect, particularly a grasshopper. In the summer this bird feeds mostly on insects, including grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, ants, true bugs, and many others.
Bobolink - Bobolinks are long distance travelers. Each spring they migrate from Argentina in South America to prairies as far north as Canada, a distance of several thousand miles. If you put words to their song, bobolinks sound like they are singing: bob-o-link, bob-o-link, spink, spank, spink.
Northern Short-Tailed Shrew - Shrews are the smallest mammals living in Ohio. Very secretive, shrews prefer to remain hidden from predators by traveling in shallow tunnels through the grass. The northern short-tailed shrew has a big appetite which includes earthworms, snails, slugs, centipedes, spiders, insects, small snakes and mice. This terror of small prey is only about ten centimeters long.
Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel - This squirrel has a wonderful adaptation for living in dry prairie areas. Scientists have found that thirteen-lined ground squirrels seldom drink water. Instead they get the moisture they need from the foods they eat. The thirteen-lined ground squirrel is a true hibernator.
Meadow Vole - Meadow voles prefer to live in moist, grassy fields or prairies. They make a remarkable system of runways through the grasses where they can find food and remain hidden from predators. Grasses make up a large part of the meadow vole's diet, and they, in turn, are food for many animals including snakes, owls, hawks, shrews, fox and coyote.
Badger - A very strong digger, the badger makes its home under the prairie. Sharp claws on the front legs help the badger to dig a den system nearly three to four feet deep in the ground. Badgers also use their digging abilities to dig for their next meal of rodents, rabbits, or other small mammals
Coyote - The Coyote is a shy and secretive animal that is most active at night. It is considered an opportunist for it will eat just about anything. The Coyote's diet ranges from fruits, berries and other plant material, to some insects, snakes, frogs, fish, birds and eggs, and most small mammals.

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A Tale of Two Prairies

Since the time of early pioneer settlement, Ohio has lost nearly 95% of its native prairies. Farming, livestock grazing, drainage and human developments have all made Ohio prairies one of the rarest ecosystems in the state. Today a few native prairie remnants can still be found growing along roadsides, old railroad rights-of-way, cemeteries and other areas.

The story of two Ohio prairies, one old and one new, shows a renewed interest by people to protect and restore the beauty and wonder of the Ohio prairie ecosystem.

Protecting A Very Important Ohio Prairie.....

In 1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright succeeded in becoming the first individuals in history to fly a heavier than air machine on the wind swept coast at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. But the Wright brothers did not fully learn the secrets of flying until they returned to Dayton, Ohio.

In 1904 the Wright brothers found a wide open prairie area east of Dayton known as Huffman Prairie to be an excellent location to practice and improve their flying skills. During summer flying sessions, beautiful prairie grasses and wildflowers waved in the very same winds that lifted the Wright's airplane into the sky. A part of Huffman Prairie was wet most of the year and was home to the small massasauga rattlesnake.

Today Huffman Prairie is part of the sprawling Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Fairborn, Ohio. Huffman Prairie is the largest remaining stand of native tallgrass prairie in Ohio. Biologists have identified many interesting kinds of plants and animals living in this special prairie, some of them endangered in Ohio. Because of its historic significance and the rarity of native prairies in Ohio, 109 acres of Huffman Prairie was dedicated an Ohio Natural Landmark in 1986. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, with the assistance of the National Park Service, Five Rivers MetroPark and the Ohio Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, has agreed to maintain and protect this special prairie ecosystem.

Planting A Prairie For The Future. . .

Paul E. Knoop Jr. is one of Ohio's best known naturalists (a person who studies nature). For over 35 years Paul worked as a naturalist at the Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm near Dayton, Ohio. Throughout his career at Aullwood, Paul passed along his knowledge, deep love and enthusiasm for the natural world, especially prairies, to people of all ages. He helped many schools across Ohio plant their own prairies. Paul taught each person he met the importance of protecting all life, including that which is found in prairies.

In 1994 when Paul retired, Aullwood honored his many years of wonderful work for the environment by planting a 100 acre tallgrass prairie on old farmland. Once established the Paul E. Knoop Jr. Prairie will become the largest planted prairie in Ohio. Many prairie plants and animals will find a home in Paul's special prairie. Each summer when the prairie grasses grow tall and the wildflowers bloom, all who pass by will be reminded of the excitement and beauty of a tallgrass prairie. Paul couldn't be more happy!

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