"Prairie serves as habitat for hundreds of species".......... "Its milkweed feeds monarch butterflies, which make an epic migration through the United States from Mexico to Canada every year"................. "Monarch populations have dropped dramatically because of insecticides and loss of habitat"..................."Not only does prairie, with its deep-rooted plants, soak up farm wastewater that pollutes rivers, it also enriches soil"..................... “The reason why we have the best soil, making it possible to have the world’s best food production, is prairie,” said Lisa Schulte Moore, an Iowa State professor known around the state as the prairie guru. “And we’re killing it"..................."Soil is eroding at an alarming rate"........................... "Topsoil was an average of 14 inches deep statewide in the mid-1800s; now it’s about six, Iowa State researcher Rick Cruse estimated in studies"........................... “Can we keep going this way for another 150 years? I don’t think so".................. "Iowa farmers lose about $40 per acre to soil erosion in a state where more than 85 percent of the land is covered by crops".................... “If you look at those figures and the amount of corn acres in Iowa, you quickly surpass a billion dollars of annual lost revenue".............. "Nearly a third of topsoil is lost in ephemeral gullies, swaths carved into farms by heavy rain"............ "Since most prairie plants are perennial, they physically stabilize the soil most of the year"

Midwestern prairie

Iowa 

farmers 

ripped out 

prairie; now 

some hope it can

 save themI

Black-eyed Susans

 intertwine

 with soybean plants.

 Most farmers say the

 Midwestern prairie 

chokes 

crops. But, according

 to Iowa 

State University

 researchers, the wild 

thicket 

protects soil from

 erosion. (Andrew

 Dickinson 

for 

The Washington Post)

Re-planted Prairie adjacent to crops

How will prairie strips improve
 farmland’s health? 
Prairie strips keep
 vital soil resources in crop fi elds.
 Planting just 10% of a row-cropped 
watershed in native prairie, strategically
 located on the contours and foot slope, 
reduces sediment transport by 95%
 compared to cropland without prairie
 strips.

 Deep-rooted prairie plants
 increase soil organic matter and
 improve infiltration, while their 
stiff, upright stems slow surface runoff 
and help hold soil in place during rain
 events. Prairie strips protect water quality,
 reducing overland fl ow by 60% and
 nitrogen and phosphorus transport by 
90%. They have no impact on crop yield
 other than the land taken out of production
. Healthy soil and clean water provide
 environmental benefi ts that protect
 the future of Iowa agriculture.

How do prairie strips increase biodiversity? 
Small prairie strips increase the diversity of
 plants, insects, songbirds and wildlife in the 
watershed. Researchers documented a 380% 
increase in native plant species in cropland 
planted with prairie strips compared to entirely
 cropped watersheds. Prairie plants provide
 year-round habitat and food for beneficial
 insects, which provide pollination services 
and prey upon crop pests.

 Insect diversity in cropland with prairie 
strips equals that of nearby prairie 
restorations. Prairie strips also offer 
habitat to songbirds and wildlife, 
increasing the land’s economic potential
 as a site for hunting and birdwatching. 
Greater numbers and species of birds 
are consistently found in agricultural
fields with small patches of prairie, 
including some species of statewide 
conservation concern, such as the field 
sparrow, dickcissel and eastern meadowlark.
 Studies have found that even small patches
of grassland habitat within row-cropped
 landscapes, especially if several patches
 are present, can play a big role in 
maintaining these species.