Konza Prairie: A Tallgrass Natural History

Konza Prairie: A Tallgrass Natural History

Slightly over a century ago, the tallgrass prairie in North America stretched over most of what is now Iowa, Illinois, southern Minnesota, northern Missouri, and the eastern edges of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Today, only a few scattered patchesâ€”less than one percentâ€”remain of the endless, flat, silent land that greeted the pioneers and finally fell to their plows. Konza, an area of over 8,600 acres in the Flint Hills in Kansas, is the largest remaining undisturbed tract of tallgrass prairie in the nation.

Konza Prairie is the extraordinary and often lyrical story of this tallgrass ecosystem. Biologist O.J. Reichman, a compelling writer, vividly portrays this often poorly understood environment as a living laboratory where organismsâ€”from monarch butterflies to the striking big bluestem grass itselfâ€”interact with the physical world of the prairie.

In separate chapters, Reichman provides an absorbing natural-history introduction to such topics as the tallgrass ecosystem; the dynamic geological processes which created the seemingly placid prairie; and the many inhabitants of the prairie, from plants and insects to birds, reptiles, and mammals. Interspersed with this central text are informative sections (set off by italics) about the processes taking place, among them Evolution, the role of photosynthesis; fire; patterns of weather; and competition among organisms. Finally, Reichman describes what is being done to preserve the prairie and provides an extensive listing of the common and scientific names of organisms mentioned in the text.

Beautifully written and illustrated with color photographs, line drawings, and maps, Konza Prairie is an excellent introduction to a little-known ecosystemâ€”and is superb national history.

Country	USA
Author	O. J. Reichman
Binding	Paperback
Brand	Brand: University Press Of Kansas
EAN	9780700604500
Feature	Used Book in Good Condition
ISBN	0700604502
Label	University Press of Kansas
Manufacturer	University Press of Kansas
MPN	18 full colour photographs, 47 pen-and-i
NumberOfItems	1
NumberOfPages	240
PartNumber	18 full colour photographs, 47 pen-and-i
PublicationDate	1988-01-28
Publisher	University Press of Kansas
Studio	University Press of Kansas
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

Konza Prairie: A Tallgrass Natural History

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