东南草原研究所
A Grasslands-Focused Research, Conservation and Education Branch of the College of
Austin Peay州立大学的STEM.
Why is protecting and restoring Southeastern 草原 important?
晚期的E.O. 威尔逊, a world-famous biologist and conservationist, referred to the Southeastern 草原 as “probably the richest terrestrial biome in all of North 美国.” Many of our rarest and fastest declining species of plants, pollinators, 鸟类依赖于草原生态系统. 然而，东南草原生态系统 也在迅速消失. 对于我们的一些草原群落，不到1% of their original size and distribution remain in the entire world. 保护和 restoring our Southeastern 草原 protects and conserves all of the organisms that are found there and ensures that future generations will have access to and be able to enjoy North 美国’s richest terrestrial ecosystems.
Telling the Untold Story of 美国n 历史 and Conservation
你知道吗??
- The Southeastern 草原 are more biologically diverse than the Great Plains and 中西部草原.
- Grassland birds are one of our most imperiled groups of birds with 74% of grassland 鸟类种类减少. Grassland bird populations as a whole have declined by approximately 在过去的50年里有53%.
- Monarch butterflies, rusty-patched bumble bees, 美国n bumblebees, and many other rare or declining pollinator species depend on plants and habitats associated with 草原.
- 并不是所有的草原都没有树木. 有近200种不同类型的东南 草原，其中一些还包括零星的树木. 对于一些草地类型，我们 剩下的少于1%.
- Private landowners can play an important role in grassland conservation because many of our remnant, old-growth Southeastern 草原 are located on private land or 沿着rights-of-ways.
- Cities like Chattanooga, Charlotte, Houston, Knoxville, Lexington, Little Rock, Montgomery, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Roanoke and many others in the Southeast were once home to grassland ecosystems and are as much grassland cities as are many Midwestern cities.
If Southeastern 草原 are so important, then why haven’t I heard about them before?
Our Southeastern 草原 began disappearing from the landscape well before the 内战. By the time the major botanical surveys were done in this region, many of the 草原 had been turned into crop fields or pastures or had become overgrown 有树木. Because the original savanna 草原 had disappeared so long before, 取而代之的新森林被认为是“正常的”.“原始草原 生态系统被完全遗忘了. 科学家和环保主义者才刚刚开始 to realize the importance and former extent of our original Southeastern 草原.
拯救东南草原!
东南草原研究所在做什么?
- Leading and facilitating grassland research, conservation, and education efforts throughout 我们的焦点区域.
- Working directly with private and public land owners and managers to identify, preserve, conserve, and restore 草原 throughout 我们的焦点区域.
- Surveying, mapping, and documenting grassland plants, animals, and communities.
- Researching the role Southeastern 草原 had in shaping 美国n 历史.
- Developing a Southeastern hub for regionally-adapted (local genotype) native seeds that will support national efforts to increase the quality and quantity of native plant materials available for restoring and supporting resilient ecosystems.
- Collecting and preserving seeds of grassland plants for restoration and propagation.
- Purchasing and managing rare, fragile, and hard-to-protect grassland remnants.
- Training the next generation of conservation professionals and resource managers.
- Raising awareness and providing educational opportunities about our Southeastern 草原 以及它们的生态重要性.
你能帮什么忙??
- Tell others about the importance of our Southeastern 草原.
- Determine whether part of your property could be managed for grassland communities.
- Make a donation to help support the 东南草原研究所’s efforts to preserve and restore our Southeastern 草原 while raising awareness about the 这些迅速消失的生态系统的重要性.
SGI执行理事寄语
Our precious Southeastern 草原 are nearly extinct and the species that depend 它们正在迅速褪色. 损失确实是惊人的，大多数类型的 草原 having suffered losses exceeding 90% and some more than 99%. 许多 草原 that managed to persist through the past two centuries of intense change 在过去的四分之一世纪里消失了吗. 随着经济的加速下滑，什么 未来25年会带来什么? 如果我们想扭转草原生物多样性的趋势 loss, our response must be rapid as well as unparalleled in its magnitude. 这是 an immensely complex and ambitious challenge that will take some of the brightest 也是美国环境保护领域最具创造力的问题.
The 东南草原研究所 is proud to be charting a new course for conserving 消失的东南草原. 我们的目标是让草原平等 seat at the conservation table here in the Southeast, along with forests, wetlands, 溪流和沿海生态系统. 我们认识到实现我们的目标需要时间 unparalleled investment in corporate, philanthropic, and government funding, as well as strong grassroots efforts and a dedicated team of volunteers and prairie evangelists. We are grateful to all our partners, funders, supporters, and volunteers. 你会 加入我们?
真诚地,
德维恩埃斯蒂斯
SGI执行董事
