ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
in
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
physiographic
Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere ...
area.
Description
The prairie is a narrow strip across the state from the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
. It is only across at its widest, and generally wide. It runs in a diagonal line from near Jackson in the northwest, through
Bienville National Forest
Bienville National Forest is a United States National Forest in central Mississippi, named for Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. In descending order of land area, it lies in parts of Scott, Smith, Jasper, and Newton counties and has an area ...
and southeast to the Alabama border.
The contrast between the
alkali
In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a ...
ne
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...
of the prairies and the
acid
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a se ...
ic soil of the forests causes the sharp delineation in plant types in each region. In the western portion of the prairie, the
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...
is a brown
loess
Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits.
Loess is a periglacial or aeoli ...
loam
Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand ( particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...
over
calcareous
Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.
In zoology
''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...
. In hilly areas, the clay is covered by red and yellow
sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...
from the
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58depend on periodic outbreaks of fire to keep the forest from overgrowing the prairie.
Flora and fauna
The prairie used to support quantities of bobwhite quail (''Colinus virginianus''), eastern wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo silvestris''), and a variety of
songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5000 ...
species.
Conservation
Because of the soil and climate, this ecoregion is ideally suited for farming, leading to most of the prairie being converted into farmland and crop agriculture. There are a few remaining sections in the
Bienville National Forest
Bienville National Forest is a United States National Forest in central Mississippi, named for Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. In descending order of land area, it lies in parts of Scott, Smith, Jasper, and Newton counties and has an area ...
, including the largest remaining undisturbed portion at the
Harrell Prairie Botanical Area
Harrell Prairie Botanical Area or Harrell Prairie Hill is a tallgrass prairie nature preserve located within Bienville National Forest near Forest, Mississippi. It is a rare remaining example of the Jackson Prairie Belt in Mississippi. It was d ...
Harrell Prairie Botanical Area
Harrell Prairie Botanical Area or Harrell Prairie Hill is a tallgrass prairie nature preserve located within Bienville National Forest near Forest, Mississippi. It is a rare remaining example of the Jackson Prairie Belt in Mississippi. It was d ...