What is a Prairie?

What is a Prairie?. . , Our prairie, like much of the Great Plains, is part of a larger community of temperate grasslands. Prairie ecosystems are notable for having mostly grasses, flowering plants, and shrubs instead of large trees as their dominant vegetation. Prairies might have only one single mature tree per acre because of limited rainfall, natural disturbances, and soil properties., At one time, the North American prairies covered about 40% of the United States. Today, less than 1% remains. Many of the native flora and fauna species that depend on these prairies are experiencing population decline due to habitat loss. , , "Hence prairie is much more than land covered with grass. It is a slowly evolved, highly complex organic entity, centuries old. It approaches the eternal. Once destroyed, it can never be replaced by man." - J.E. Weaver, prairie ecologist