PRAIRIE STRIP
Cause for Conservation
Prairie strips may look odd or unimportant in the middle of a farm field, but they actually play a key role in the overall health and function of the surrounding land. For decades, prairie strips have been helping farmers manage erosion, runoff, and providing habitat. Generally consisting of a few dozen native prairie species, they have shown to to be an affordable and low-maintenance agricultural conservation practice across plains states.
One of the top goals prairie strips are used to manage is helping mitigate soil erosion. As fields are tilled, the loose, unprotected soil can rapidly erode in spring rains. Prairie strips stabilize soil with their roots, provide a physical filter for moving water to keep soil in place, and slow the movement of water through capture within the strip itself and deep percolation through the undisturbed soil.
Agriculture and horticulture both depend on fertilizer and pesticides to feed our world and make it beautiful. Prairie strips down slope and down stream for areas using these inputs have proven effective at absorbing and storing fertilizers while also filtering out pesticide runoff from storm water. This helps keep pollution from entering surrounding habitat while also protecting our drinking water!
With less than 0.1% of prairie remaining in Iowa, any available habitat is a refuge for wildlife. Prairie strips provide shelter, food, and a place to reproduce for many of our native insects, birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Even just contributing a few acres in the vast expanse of fields can create little island of habitat between larger expanses of prairie remnants and restorations.
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