Prairies and Pastures of the Dissected Loess Plains of Central Nebraska
نویسندگان
چکیده
INTRODUCTION Lvni-north of the great southward bend o[ the Platte River in central Nebraska but southeast of the sandhills, there are several thousand square miles of rugged uplands known as loess bluffs. They are quite unlike the sandhills with their typical cover, largely of postelimax tall grasses. They also differ widely from the Nebraska plain eastward and south-eastward where mid-grass or true prairie clothes the level or slightly undulating land. The vegetation of the sandhills has been studied only recently, by modern methods, in its relation to soils and climate (Tol-stead 1942). The mixed prairie southward has undergone extended examination throughout a complete But the excellent cover of grasses and forbs of the mixed prairie, which clothes and protects the highly erosive loess bluffs and furnishes sustenance for thousands of cattle, has thus far not attracted the attention of an ecologist. This preliminary survey is concerned with soil and aerial environment of the abundant undisturbed native vegetation, and its composition and behavior in the extensive range lands. It also includes a 3-year study of grazing types, of grazing patterns throughout the season, and of forage yield and forage con-sumli)tionl ill experimental pastures.
منابع مشابه
High-resolution proxy record of Holocene climate from a loess section in Southwestern Nebraska, USA
Multi-proxy analysis was used to produce a high-resolution paleoclimatic record from an exceptionally thick section of the Holocene Bignell Loess near Wauneta, Southwestern Nebraska, in the central Great Plains. The Wauneta section has excellent age control, based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating, and records multiple episodes of rapid loess deposition alternati...
متن کاملQuantitative Study of Degeneration of Mixed Prairie
Introduction The vegetation of great areas of Mixed Prairie has been destroyed by plowing. But even larger ones, still intact , have degenerated far from a climax condition. The almost universal cause for such deterioration, aside from drought, is grazing. The objective of this study has been to ascertain the changes in vegetation that have resulted from 60-70 years of different intensities of ...
متن کاملViewpoint: Forage and Range Research Needs in the Central Great Plains
In the central Great Plains, pastures and rangelands often are not economically competitive with grain crops. This has led to increases in acreages of row crops at the expense of rangelands, pastures, and hay crops on marginal lands resulting in severe erosion problems. The productivity of forages, pastures, and rangelands needs to be increased to levels that would make them economically compet...
متن کاملBreeding Bird Communities Associated With Tallgrass Prairies in Southeast Nebraska
39 Introduction Within Nebraska, the Tallgrass Prairie Ecoregion occupies the approximate eastern one–third of the state and was historically characterized by extensive grassland habitats with scattered areas of upland deciduous forests and savannas, and lowland prairie or deciduous forests along riparian drainages (Kaul et al. 2011, Schneider et al. 2011). A nearly complete conversion of tallg...
متن کامل