Problems+&+Threats+to+Ecosystem


 * 6th Period**
 * Invasive Species Include...**
 * Bastard cabbage - Rapistrum rugosum [[image:https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Yiqt8mytECI-ONIdkiHb743eT1CiwC_NspL3Vs_bV0fcf2t8J5kpvekl9G1BOlC335CR6_vuke5tkUPcwDrqdTWoNt7EeAPvXHR_VVj5AmZ0BHVDCMo align="right"]]
 * Giant reed - Arundo donax
 * Johnson grass - Sorghum halepense
 * Chinese tallow tree - Triadica sebifera
 * King Ranch bluestem - Bothriochloa ischaemum var. songarica
 * Field bindweed - Convolvulus arvensis
 * Bermudagrass - Cynodon dactylon
 * Chinaberry tree - Melia azedarach
 * Redtip photinia - Photinia x fraseri
 * Heavenly bamboo - Nandina domestica
 * Pincushions - Scabiosa atropurpurea
 * Chinese privet - Ligustrum sinense [[image:https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/QmKcaFgarNU-6tLoP7qTEbCkYq7Od4jxug_fGs8EeN9SsHV4tZYm82WyLm6FKfBL193gSwMt5XaAO7gLTybWEPl9GfxRrv1uQRiAfIwaP9wUxOl8nhE width="293" height="245" align="right"]]

//Texas Invasives//. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. .


 * Endangered Species:**
 * black-capped vireo
 * golden-cheeked warbler
 * Texas poppy mallow
 * Texas horned lizard
 * Texas kangaroo rat

"TPWD: Endangered Species." //Texas Parks & Wildlife Department//. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. [].

Golden-Cheeked Warbler Texas Poppy Mallow

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The Blackland Prairie is home to 327 species of bird. However, 7 reptile and 15 bird species are endangered. ======
 * Consequences of Losing Prairies:**
 * less biodiversity
 * birds and plants and animals risk being endangered.
 * we lose even more of the natural lands
 * more and more animals lose their homes
 * urbanization takes over the planet

Name, Ecoregion. //Land Cover Trends//. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. [].

**Consequences of Losing the Prairie:**
 * ** Protect water quality and quantity: ** Native Grasslands protect the watershed, increase water infiltration, increase water yield, increase water supply, and increase water quality
 * **Conserving Texas cultural and natural heritage and Texas history:** The prairie is the most endangered ecosystem in North America. The current generation may be the last with the opportunity to preserve even small remnants of the once extensive natural ecosystem. Unless action is taken, these areas will be lost.
 * **Protecting declining grasslands birds, native pollinators, and other wildlife by protecting and restoring their habitat:** Grassland birds are experiencing the greatest declines of all bird groups, and to save the grassland birds, we need to protect and restore their habitat. The blackland prairie is the most important habitat for migrant song birds and wintering raptors. Game wildlife species that depend on the native prairies and grasslands as habitat will also benefit from prairie conservation. To save the grassland birds and other prairie wildlife, we need to protect existing and restore additional grassland bird and the tallgrass prairie.
 * **Protecting beautiful native Teas prairie plants and critically imperiled native plant communities:** The main plant communities of Texas' tallgrass prairies are highly threatened. They are at high to very high risk of extinction due to few populations, steep declines, or other factors.The highly diverse set of native plants that once dominated the Texas tallgrass prairies in these native plant communities are now rare, this leaves our state poorer in both beauty and natural diversity.
 * **Reducing global warming via carbon sequestration and increasing energy independence via prairie biofuels:** Studies have found diverse native prairie plantings sequester large amounts of carbon while also being the highest energy and the lowest input cellulosic biofuel source. These are attributes that could lead to financial incentives for landowners in the effort to mitigate climate change while also benegiting conservation of native wildlife and plant communities. Protecting local Texas ecotypes of native prairie plant seed sources are needed to create these diverse native prairie plantings.
 * **Acting as local seed sources and models for prairie restoration and biofuel native prairie plantings:** The location and protection of prairie remnants is needed for restoration of land to return it to prairie so the amount of prairie habitat can be increased. Local ecotype native plant seed sources are needed for successful prairie restorations. Local examples of prairies are needed to serve as models of the local plant communities as a target for restoration. Protection of prairie remnants is needed to meet this goal, and location of prairie remnants is the first important step.
 * **Providing educational opportunities, open space, and natural exposure for all Texans:** The protection of tallgrass prairie remnants will provide the public and students examples of what the natural world should look like where they live in the tallgrass prairie. The prairie is high quality open space and efficiently provide both open space and conservation benefits simultaneously
 * Summary:** Protection of existing tallgrass prairie remnants, restoration of tallgrass prairie, education and advocacy for tallgrass prairie conservation and restoration, and prairie landowner outreach and assistace are vital to water quality and the native plant communities, grassland birds, and other wildlife within the prairie regions of Texas

[]

> Plants must be disposed afterwards
 * What are the solutions to dealing with these problems? **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Organize a plant picking party, and remove plants by hand. This is labor intensive, but low cost.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Using herbicides as a last resort (Chemical Control)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Remove invasive species and quickly replace them with native or other non-invasive species to keep invasive species from returning
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">prevention is first step of defence against invasive species (be prepared before someone invades)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Make sure species don't return after eradicating them
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Once invasive species are removed, plants and animals can recover. However, natural recovery processes can be overwhelmed by invasive species and restoration is required. Although restoration efforts have common elements, each area is unique. Work must be guided based by site-specific considerations and analysis.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Strategies used to control invasive species:
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">keeping potential invaders out
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">eradicating invaders soon after invasion
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">biological control
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">chemical control
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">mechanical contro

"Invasive Species." //Encyclopedia of Earth//. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. []. "National Invasive Species Council – Control, Management and Restoration." //Welcome to InvasiveSpecies.gov!// Web. 17 Oct. 2011. <http://www.invasivespecies.gov/global/CMR/CMR_index.html>.

=**7th Period**=

=** Problems and Threats to the Ecosystem : **= =** Alitney Diggett **= =<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">**Invasive Species of the Blackland Prairie** = **As 99% of the Blackland Prairie has been destroyed, of the endemic species have been severely affected and imperiled. Furthermore the invasive species have begun to take over the ecosystem driving out the native species...**

==<span style="color: #ff9400; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**//Weeds<span style="color: #ff9400; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super;">1 //** ==
 * **Europe**
 * Little barley
 * Henbit
 * Yellow Sweet Clover
 * Annual Bluegrass
 * Button Clover
 * **Mediterranean**
 * Red Clover
 * **Eurasia**
 * Green Foxtail
 * Goldenpea
 * **Africa**
 * Bermudagras s

//Bastard Cabbage//
 * //<span style="color: #ff9400; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Vegetation<span style="color: #ff9400; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 70%; vertical-align: super;">2 //**
 * Bastard cabbage
 * Giant reed
 * Johnson grass
 * Chinese tallow tree
 * King Ranch bluestem
 * Field bindweed
 * Bermudagrass
 * Chinaberry tree
 * Redtip photinia
 * Heavenly bamboo
 * Pincushions
 * Chinese privet

====//<span style="color: #ff9400; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Imperiled Species ////<span style="color: #ff9400; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">3 //====

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 * Though there are many native species including 327 birds, the following are endangered.
 * 7 reptile and 15 bird species are considered imperiled (ranging from state "watch listed" to federally endangered)2
 * Bison
 * Texas kangaroo rat
 * White tailed deer
 * golden-cheeked warbler
 * Waterfowl
 * Texas poppy mallow
 * Texas horned lizard

= = <span style="color: #909465; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> == //Waterfowl, Golden Cheek Warbeler, White Tailed Deer//

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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">__Consequences of Losing Prairie__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The Black land Prairie is a major land resource of Texas, representing one of the nation’s grassland resources. It has a form of a vegetation diverse plant formation composed of seven distinctive community types. The destruction of native plants have a number of consequences. The most basic one is the loss of habitat for native species, not just plants, but animals and other species as well. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Bison, black bears, gray wolves, ocelots, pronghorn antelope and other animals live in this habitat. When habitats are lost, the animals disappear with them. When native plants disappear, many **native animals disappear** with them. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- With native species disappearing, a shift in the plants change when rain is absorbed. The deep roots of the native perennial grasses cause water to travel deep into the ground, but the shallow roots do not. The more the soil is not receiving water, the more the **fertility of the remaining soil is reduced**. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- The loss of prairies also result in **less forage for cattle**. The tall grasses are rare or gone from most ranches. In many cases they have been replaced by non-native grasses or by plants that cattle will not eat. When this situation occurs, it becomes difficult for ranchers to make a profit. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- **Less water is available for plants and streams**. Prairies normaling held rainwater when it fell. Tall grass prairie on flat ground could hold six inches of water before any ran off. This groundwater was then slowly released to streams, thereby keeping streams flowing most or all the time. With the prairie plants gone, the rainwater runs off much more rapidly. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- The running water causes **soil erosion**. The tall grasses have thick deep roots, but many of their replacements are annual grasses with very short roots. The roots of annual grasses are less effective at holding the soil, so when water runs over the ground soil erodes away. As the prairies have disappeared, water has washed the soil into rivers and streams, and then to reservoirs or to the Gulf of Mexico.

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====<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://images.library.wisc.edu/EcoNatRes/EFacs/NAPC/NAPC04/reference/econatres.napc04.driskind.pdf__] ====

====<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__5) http://www.austincollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ENVS_curriculum.pdf__] ====