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Flint Hills Tall Grassland (WWF ecoregion NA0807)


Flint Hills near Salina, Kansas (c) 2004 Maurice J. Kaufmann

Source of bioregions data: Olson, D. M. and E. Dinerstein. The Global 200: Priority ecoregions for global conservation. (PDF file) Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 89:125-126.

Distinctiveness (1=highest,4=lowest): 1 (globally outstanding)
Although less diverse than the Central Tall Grasslands, due to its shallow soil it is the only unplowed remnant of the tallgrass prairie.*

Conservation Status (1=most endangered, 5=most intact): 3 (vulnerable)
Although heavily grazed, it is largely intact.  Some rangeland has been converted to non-native grass.*

Characteristic species*

(left of image) Sorghastrum nutans (Indian grass), (right of image) Andropogon gerardii (big bluestem) (c) 2004 Maurice J. Kaufmann  hires

 

Panicum virgatum (switchgrass)

Some views from the ecoregion

roadside, Geary Co., Kansas (c) 2005 Carol J. Baskauf  hires

road cut showing shallow soil underlain by limestone, Kansas (c) 2005 Carol J. Baskauf  hires

* Ricketts, T.H., E. Dinerstein, D.M. Olson, C.J. Loucks, et al.  (1999) Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: A Conservation Assessment.  World Wildlife Fund - United States and Canada.  Island Press, Washington, D.C. pp. 190-191.

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