•  
  •  
 

Keywords

Sociology, Great Plains Studies, Geography, Geology

Abstract

The tallgrass prairie has persisted in the Flint Hills of east-central Kansas for both biophysical and socioeconomic reasons, and has been one of the key elements in the development of the region. A population boom in the latter part of the 19th century and the subsequent increase in cattle in the 1860s-1870s were key factors in the transition of this landscape into a major cattle grazing region by the turn of the 20th century. At various points in the past 150 years, this social ecosystem has exhibited remarkable resilience in episodes of both drought and over-grazing. The resilience of the bluestem pastures had implications for stability in the rural economy. Yet, the land use regimes have undergone change since Euro-American arrival, thus the human signature on the land is by no means static. We approach the human-environment relationship as an ecological dialogue that includes both biophysical and social elements mutually shaping each other, and driven by human interests as much as biophysical factors. Current threats to the tallgrass prairie, including fragmentation and invasive species are discussed.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

References

1. Knapp, A. K. and T. R. Seastedt. 1998. “Introduction: Grasslands, Konza Prairie, and Long-Term Ecological Research. Grassland Dynamics: Long-Term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie.” In Alan K. Knapp, John M. Briggs, David C. Hartnett, and Scott L. Collins (eds.), Grassland Dynamics: Long-Term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie. New York: Oxford, 3-15.

2. Bell, Michael. 2004. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge.

3. Worster, Donald. 2003. “The Dirty Thirties: A Study in Agricultural Capitalism.” In Rita Napier (ed.), Kansas and the West: New Perspectives. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 318-333.

4. Cronon, William. 1983. Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England. New York: Hill and Wang.

5. Norgaard, Richard B. 1994. Development Betrayed: The End of Progress and a Coevolutionary Revisioning of the Future. London: Routledge.

6. Malin, James C. 1984. History and Ecology: Studies of the Grassland. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

7. Wibking, Robert Kenton. 1963. “Geography of the Cattle Industry in the Flint Hills of Kansas.” Ph.D. Diss., University of Nebraska.

8. Wood, Charles L. 1980. The Kansas Beef Industry. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas.

9. Malin, James C. 1984. History and Ecology: Studies of the Grassland. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

10. Wibking, Robert Kenton. 1963. “Geography of the Cattle Industry in the Flint Hills of Kansas.” Ph.D. Diss., University of Nebraska.

11. Wood, Charles L. 1980. The Kansas Beef Industry. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas.

12. Kollmorgen, Walter M. 1969. “The Woodsman’s Assaults on the Domain of the Cattleman.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 59(2): 215-239.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8306.1969.tb00667.x

13. Worster, Donald. 2003. “The Dirty Thirties: A Study in Agricultural Capitalism.” In Rita Napier (ed.), Kansas and the West: New Perspectives. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 318-333.

14. Sherow, James E. 1992. “Workings of Geodialectics: High Plains Indians and Their Horses in the Region of the Arkansas Valley, 1800-1870.” Environmental History Review 16: 61-84.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3984929

15. Hoch, G. 2000. “Patterns and Mechanisms of Eastern Red Cedar Expansion into Tallgrass Prairie in the Flint Hills, KS.” Master’s Thesis, Kansas State University.

16. Briggs, John M., Greg A. Hoch and Loretta C. Johnson. 2002. “Assessing the Rate, Mechanisms, and Consequences of the Conversion of Tallgrass Prairie to Juniperus virginiana Forest.” Ecosystems 5:578–586.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10021-002-0187-4

17. Knapp, A. K. and T. R. Seastedt. 1998. “Introduction: Grasslands, Konza Prairie, and Long-Term Ecological Research. Grassland Dynamics: Long-Term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie.” In Alan K. Knapp, John M. Briggs, David C. Hartnett, and Scott L. Collins (eds.), Grassland Dynamics: Long-Term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie. New York: Oxford, 3-15.

18. Oviatt, Charles G. (Jack). 1998. “Geomorphology of Konza Prairie.” In Alan K. Knapp, John M. Briggs, David C. Hartnett, and Scott L. Collins (eds.), Grassland Dynamics: Long-Term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie. New York: Oxford, 35-47.

19. Reichman, O. J. 1987. Konza Prairie: A Tallgrass Natural History. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

20. Reichman, O. J. 1987. Konza Prairie: A Tallgrass Natural History. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

21. Borchert, John R. 1950. “The Climate of the Central North American Grassland.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 40(1): 1-39.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00045605009352020

22. Borchert, John R. 1950. “The Climate of the Central North American Grassland.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 40(1): 1-39.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00045605009352020

23. Ohlenbusch, P.D. and Hartnett, D.C. 2001. “Prescribed Burning as a Management Practice” Kansas State University Agriculture Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension, Publication L-815.

24. Hoch, G. 2000. “Patterns and Mechanisms of Eastern Red Cedar Expansion into Tallgrass Prairie in the Flint Hills, KS.” Master’s Thesis, Kansas State University.

25. Reichman, O. J. 1987. Konza Prairie: A Tallgrass Natural History. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

26. Owensby, C.E., Blan, K.R., Eaton, B.J., and Russ, O.G. 1973. “Evaluation of Eastern Redcedar Infestations in the Northern Kansas Flint Hills.” Journal of Range Management, 26(4): 256-260.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3896570

27. Aldous, A.E. 1934. “Effect of Burning on Bluestem Pastures.” Kansas State University. Technical Bulletin #88. November 1934.

28. Pyne, S.J. 1984. Introduction to Wildland Fire: Fire Management in the United States. New York: Wiley-Interscience.

29. Aldous, A.E. 1934. “Effect of Burning on Bluestem Pastures.” Kansas State University. Technical Bulletin #88. November 1934.

30. Pyne, S.J. 1984. Introduction to Wildland Fire: Fire Management in the United States. New York: Wiley-Interscience.

31. Sauer, Carl O. 1975. “Man’s Dominance by Use of Fire.” Geoscience and Man 10:1-13.

32. Unrau, W. 1971. The Kansa Indians: A History of the Wind People, 1673-1873. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

33. Hoy, J. 1989. “Controlled Pasture Burning in the Folklife of the Kansas Flint Hills.” Great Plains Quarterly 9(4): 231-238.

34. Aldous, A.E. 1934. “Effect of Burning on Bluestem Pastures.” Kansas State University. Technical Bulletin #88. November 1934.

35. Ohlenbusch, P.D. and Hartnett, D.C. 2001. “Prescribed Burning as a Management Practice” Kansas State University Agriculture Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension, Publication L-815.

36. Owensby, C.E., Blan, K.R., Eaton, B.J., and Russ, O.G. 1973. “Evaluation of Eastern Redcedar Infestations in the Northern Kansas Flint Hills.” Journal of Range Management, 26(4): 256-260.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3896570

37. Knapp, A.K., Blair, J.M., Briggs, J.M., Collins, S.L., Hartnett, D.C., Johnson, L.C. and Towne, E.G. 1999. “The Keystone Role of Bison in North American Tallgrass Prairie.” Bioscience 49(1): 39-50.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1313492

38. Wibking, Robert Kenton. 1963. “Geography of the Cattle Industry in the Flint Hills of Kansas.” Ph.D. Diss., University of Nebraska.

39. Bryant, K. 1974. History of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe. New York: Macmillan.

40. Unrau, W. 1971. The Kansa Indians: A History of the Wind People, 1673-1873. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

41. Wibking, Robert Kenton. 1963. “Geography of the Cattle Industry in the Flint Hills of Kansas.” Ph.D. Diss., University of Nebraska.

42. Isern, T. 1985. “Farmers, Ranchers, and Stockmen of the Flint Hills.” Western Historical Quarterly 16(3): 253-264.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/969127

43. Paul, R. 1998. The Far West and the Great Plains in Transition: 1859-1900. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

44. Wibking, Robert Kenton. 1963. “Geography of the Cattle Industry in the Flint Hills of Kansas.” Ph.D. Diss., University of Nebraska.

45. Wibking, Robert Kenton. 1963. “Geography of the Cattle Industry in the Flint Hills of Kansas.” Ph.D. Diss., University of Nebraska.

46. Gard, W. 1954. The Chisholm Trail. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

47. Malin, James C. 1942. “An Introduction to the History of the Bluestem-Pasture Region of Kansas.” Kansas Historical Quarterly 11(1): 3-28.

48. Wood, Charles L. 1980. The Kansas Beef Industry. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas.

49. Niles-Beattie, A. 1996. Pioneers of the Flint Hills: From the Earliest Times to 1900. Hillsboro, KS: Hearth Publishing.

50. Hilton, H. F. 1929. “The Bluestem Limestone Pastures of Kansas.” Topeka, KS: Kansas State Board of Agriculture.

51. Wood, Charles L. 1980. The Kansas Beef Industry. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas.

52. Isern, T. 1985. “Farmers, Ranchers, and Stockmen of the Flint Hills.” Western Historical Quarterly 16(3): 253-264.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/969127

53. Malin, James C. 1942. “An Introduction to the History of the Bluestem-Pasture Region of Kansas.” Kansas Historical Quarterly 11(1): 3-28.

54. Kollmorgen, W. and D. Simonett 1965. “Grazing Operations in the Flint Hills-Bluestem Pastures of Chase County, Kansas.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 55(2): 260-290.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8306.1965.tb00518.x

55. Wood, Charles L. 1980. The Kansas Beef Industry. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas.

56. Wood, Charles L. 1980. The Kansas Beef Industry. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas.

57. Wood, Charles L. 1980. The Kansas Beef Industry. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas.

58. Wood, Charles L. 1980. The Kansas Beef Industry. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas.

59. Wood, Charles L. 1980. The Kansas Beef Industry. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas.

60. Malin, James C. 1942. “An Introduction to the History of the Bluestem-Pasture Region of Kansas.” Kansas Historical Quarterly 11(1): 3-28.

61. Worster, Donald. 2003. “The Dirty Thirties: A Study in Agricultural Capitalism.” In Rita Napier (ed.), Kansas and the West: New Perspectives. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 318-333.

62. Wood, Charles L. 1980. The Kansas Beef Industry. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas.

63. Aldous, A. E. 1935. “The Kansas Pasture Situation.” The Kansas Stockman 19(16): 3, 14.

64. Anderson, Kling. 1940. “Deferred Grazing of Bluestem Pastures.” October, 1940 Bulletin 291; Agricultural Experiment Station; Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, Manhattan, Kansas.

65. Anderson, Kling. 1940. “Deferred Grazing of Bluestem Pastures.” October, 1940 Bulletin 291; Agricultural Experiment Station; Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, Manhattan, Kansas.

66. Aldous, A.E. 1934. “Effect of Burning on Bluestem Pastures.” Kansas State University. Technical Bulletin #88. November 1934.

67. Aldous, A. E. 1935. “The Kansas Pasture Situation.” The Kansas Stockman 19(16): 3, 14.

68. Anderson, Kling. 1940. “Deferred Grazing of Bluestem Pastures.” October, 1940 Bulletin 291; Agricultural Experiment Station; Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, Manhattan, Kansas.

69. Anderson, Kling. 1946. “Range and Pasture.” Report of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, Soil Conservation in Kansas. Vol. LXV (271): 92-117.

70. Malin, James C. 1942. “An Introduction to the History of the Bluestem-Pasture Region of Kansas.” Kansas Historical Quarterly 11(1): 3-28.

71. Wood, Charles L. 1980. The Kansas Beef Industry. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas.

72. Wood, Charles L. 1980. The Kansas Beef Industry. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas.

73. Wibking, Robert Kenton. 1963. “Geography of the Cattle Industry in the Flint Hills of Kansas.” Ph.D.Diss., University of Nebraska.

74. Fechter, R. 2000. “The Economic Impacts of Control of Sericea Lespedeza in the Kansas Flint Hills.” Master’s Thesis, Kansas State University.

75. Hoch, G. 2000. “Patterns and Mechanisms of Eastern Red Cedar Expansion into Tallgrass Prairie in the Flint Hills, KS.” Master’s Thesis, Kansas State University.

76. Owensby, C.E., Blan, K.R., Eaton, B.J., and Russ, O.G. 1973. “Evaluation of Eastern Redcedar Infestations in the Northern Kansas Flint Hills.” Journal of Range Management, 26(4): 256-260.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3896570

77. Hoch, G. 2000. “Patterns and Mechanisms of Eastern Red Cedar Expansion into Tallgrass Prairie in the Flint Hills, KS.” Master’s Thesis, Kansas State University.

78. Hoch, G. 2000. “Patterns and Mechanisms of Eastern Red Cedar Expansion into Tallgrass Prairie in the Flint Hills, KS.” Master’s Thesis, Kansas State University.

79. Hoch, G. 2000. “Patterns and Mechanisms of Eastern Red Cedar Expansion into Tallgrass Prairie in the Flint Hills, KS.” Master’s Thesis, Kansas State University.

80. Knight, C.L., Briggs, J.M., and Nellis, M.D. 1994. “Expansion of Gallery Forest on Konza Prairie Research Natural Area, Kansas, USA”. Landscape Ecology 9(2): 117-125.

81. Bragg, T. and L.C. Hulbert. 1976. “Woody Plant Invasion of Unburned Kansas Bluestem Prairie.” Journal of Range Management 29(1): 19-24.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3897682

82. Ohlenbusch, P. D. and T. Bidwell. 2001. “Sericea Lespedeza: History, Characteristics, and Identification.” KSU Agriculture Experiment Station, Manhattan, KS.

Share

COinS