Shortgrass Prairie Ecosystem

Dry seedheads stand tall in a meadow of grasses.

NPS Photo/ J. Stegmann

The High Plains sit in the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains. As westward winds hit the mountains, they rise, cool, and release most of their moisture over the high peaks, leaving the land to the east much drier. Fortunately, air masses from the southeast and the Gulf of Mexico help bring occasional moisture to the prairies of the Texas Panhandle.

 

A Complex Ecosystem

The Canadian River cuts a wide canyon across the dry, windswept High Plains. Due to low rainfall, abundant sunshine and winds that dry out the land, the short grass prairie ecosystem of the Texas Panhandle provides a glimpse for modern visitors of what this area was like before fences and roads divided the region.

There are several key species of grasses that make up the shortgrass prairie community. Around Lake Meredith, Buffalograss, Little Bluestem, Switchgrass and Sideoats Gramma are easily identified. You can read more about these abundant prairie grasses.

 

Key to the survival of the prairie ecosystems is disturbance. Drought, wildfire, and grazing by large herds of mammals caused patterns of natural disturbance which kept woody plants (trees and shrubs) from succeeding and replacing the grasslands with forests.