The health and well-being of prairies go far beyond what most of us think of them. Every living creature depends on the ecosystem’s critical benefits like the organisms, soil, water, and nutrients. The ecosystem is the process by which the environment produces resources such as clean water, forage for range animals, habitat for wildlife, and pollination for our fruits and vegetables. Our prairies are often simply taken for granted and we don’t see all the benefits.
Society needs to seriously add an ecosystem balance sheet for both businesses and personally. Our critical contributions by corporations and individuals that have decision-making powers can make a difference to human well-being.
Don’t think for a minute you can’t make a difference, you can! It may be easier than you think. There are many government programs and incentives. Prairie Grass Sod can be nearly instantly beneficial by giving you a jump start of decades to an ecological solution.
At Prairie Grass Sod, we feel very strongly that prairies are worth our time and effort not only for conservation – but also to encourage a rebirth of the bountiful benefits of prairies by sharing our virgin prairie grass while harvesting in a proven sustainable manner.
We can list off all kinds of ecological and financial reasons that prairies are important. Prairies amend/protect our soil, capture carbon, trap sediment, support wildlife and reap the benefits of insects. Aesthetically, prairies also provide us with bountiful wildflowers, butterflies, and wildlife.
If current conservation and future proliferation of prairies are going to succeed, we all need to understand and articulate the deeper reasons that we feel prairies are important.
Why does all this matter? It matters because we need to introduce people to what it can do for our global and local environment. Below are just a few of the many environmental benefits prairie grass brings to our community and our world.
The health of our soils depends greatly on plant root structure and nutrient cycling provided by prairie grasses. The root system of most grasses is a thick mat with deep roots reaching 6’ – 12’ deep, while the fine root fibers spread and help loosen soil and maintain erosion control. The loss of topsoil happens with fast downpours or moving water, but also by the wind in drought conditions. Nutrients are returned to the soil when the plant material of native grasses dies back during the winter and begins the decaying process offering soil coverage and then organic matter.
Microbial diversity of soil in prairie ecosystems can be used to guide and monitor prairie reconstruction efforts. Soil health assessment is important for restoring a healthy ecosystem of sustainable nutrient cycling, which reduces the need for toxic chemicals, improves soil structure, and increases soil carbon sequestration, all of which are strongly controlled by soil microbial communities.
Much of our wildlife population is diminishing, which is why we are trying so hard to encourage other “like” climates to consider establishing prairies. Wildlife in an area may have come to rely on a species of plant for food, nesting, or cover. A vigorous prairie ecosystem supports not just native grasses but an array of forbs, flowering plants that bees and other pollinators feed on.
Grassland birds that depend heavily on the short grass prairies are the Cassin’s sparrow, loggerhead shrike, sandhill crane, scaled quail, burrowing owl, mountain plover, and quail.
Cattle, pronghorn, and white-tailed deer are the most abundant mammals on the short grass prairie today. Cattle were placed in the prairie and have replaced a lot of the native species that used to live in the short grass prairie such as bison and elk..
Prairie dogs thrive in the short grass prairies which include the South Dakota prairies. Some of the other animals that reside in the short grass prairie, including the fox, hawks, white tail deers, and the burrowing.
Roots of our grasses can be from 5′ – 12′ deep which is extremely significant because their roots remain throughout the seasons, acting as a sponge for water filtering down after heavy rain or spring thaws, and is extremely efficient at absorbing runoff losing topsoil causing erosion. Some stats indicate a mature prairie plant can keep as much as 6″ to 8″ of rainfall.
Without those native plants and their deep roots, heavy rain quickly turns to run-off resulting in rapid rises in creeks, streams, and rivers. Deep roots of native prairie grasses also help to filter chemical impurities that would otherwise flow into our drinking water tables and rivers.
Because prairie grasses have such fibrous roots they are perfect for holding soil in place in areas that are prone to erosion. This helps build organic matter in the earth and increase water infiltration. They are a low maintenance option and don’t need additional water or fertilizer.
Native grasses have evolved to grow in soils that are drought-prone, low-nutrient soils, or seasonally flooded, which makes them perfect for tough sites in urban areas. Drought-tolerant grasses, such as blue grama and side-oats grama, do well in heat-stricken areas near roadsides and parking lots.
Insects play a fascinating and extremely beneficial role by helping pollinate plants or eat harmful aphids, mites, or other pests. Of course, which are beneficial and which are pests depends on who you are. We all need pollinators. There is a lot of information about pollinators and other beneficial insects on the internet. Even small insects are still very significant.
For example, pollination is a service for which there is no technological substitute. Prairies provide habitat for thousands of species of pollinators. We need them and they need the native plants from our prairies.
The financial and ecosystem benefits can be huge depending on a lot of variables. From the financial side, there can be tax credits, carbon credits, environmental incentives, government grants and so much more. Don’t forget about recurring savings on maintenance labor, water, pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides and other harmful chemicals.
If a business encounters soil contamination or other pollution issues, prairie grass sod is a natural restorative process that has proven to be successful.
Because every situation is different including the year policies are effective. We suggest starting your research from both national, state, and local agencies.
Maintenance and its recurring expense are unending with traditional lawn property. Each area has different labor prices and property size, trimming, amending problem areas, and grooming extensive landscaping. The breakeven on prairie grass sod and lawn maintenance is usually with the first year or two.
In short, the Carbon Capture Credits program is still being defined for better clarification. The IRS anticipates issuing further guidance in the near future on issues ranging from secure geological storage to utilization to recapture of the credit for those claiming credits for carbon capture.
A carbon credit is a permit that allows the company that holds it to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. One credit permits the emission of a mass equal to one ton of carbon dioxide.
The carbon credit is one-half of a so-called “cap-and-trade” program. Companies that eliminate all their pollutes are awarded credits allowing them to continue to pollute up to a certain limit. That limit is reduced periodically. Meanwhile, the company may sell any unneeded credits to another company that needs them.
Private companies are doubly incentivized to reduce greenhouse emissions. First, they will be fined if they exceed the cap. Second, they can make money by saving and reselling some of their emissions allowances.
The rules and guidelines for Carbon Credits are continuing to evolve and are becoming more and more critical on an international and local level. Carbon credit information can change often – always validate your research.
There are a lot of financial programs for businesses and private citizens, but knowing the circumstances is only the first challenge, there are also laws and regulations that change frequently.
With all the considerations and possible options, there is a list of things to investigate regarding environmental economics including tax credits, carbon credits, environmental incentives, government grants and so much more. You may be surprised by all that is offered.
Here are a few key research opportunities: Financial Assistance can change often – always validate your research.
EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency)
https://search.epa.gov/epasearch/?querytext=grants&areaname=&areacontacts=&areasearchurl=&typeofsearch=epa&result_template=2col.ftl#/
USDA CRP Grasslands: The Conservation Reserve Program is a federally funded voluntary program that contracts with agricultural producers so that environmentally sensitive agricultural land is not farmed or ranched, but instead used for conservation benefits.
https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/conservation-programs/crp-grasslands/index
USDA Conservation Programs: The United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) oversees a number of voluntary conservation-related programs. These programs work to address a large number of farming and ranching-related conservation issues.
https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/conservation-programs/index
Includes some of the following:
USDA Financial Assistance: NRCS offers voluntary programs to eligible landowners and agricultural producers to provide financial and technical assistance to help manage natural resources in a sustainable manner. Through these programs, the agency approves contracts to provide financial assistance to help plan and implement conservation practices that address natural resource concerns or opportunities to help save energy, improve soil, water, plant, air, animal, and related resources on agricultural lands, and non-industrial private forest land.
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/
Environmental Accounting: Environmental accounting incorporating both economic and environmental information to make sound business decisions.
Green Accounting: Green accounting is the accounting type that includes factors in environmental costs in the financial side of a business. Oftentimes environmental variables are invisible to the decision-makers. The purpose of green accounting is to help businesses understand and manage financial and environmental goals. Green accounting is a step toward a business’s sustainable success.
Definitions and reference links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_accounting
Green Economy: Aims at making issues of reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities for sustainable development without harming the environment with a more politically applied focus.
Definitions and reference links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_economy
Similar Terms Worth Searching:
Eco Commerce/Business Development: Eco Commerce is a business, investment, and technology-development model that employs market-based solutions to balancing the global energy needs and environmental integrity
http://www.chamberofecocommerce.com/innovationcenters/ecocommerce.html
While there are many benefits to residential lawns with native grass, some of the immediate financial benefits you will notice are maintenance cost, watering, fertilizing, pesticide, and herbicide use. In particular, all the chemicals you won’t be using are helping our earth and your own environment.
Think about this one, if you’re going to use prairie sod instead of a typical lawn in a residential area, you are saving 50% of the usable drinking water from your community while reducing your water bill.
Some stats indicate a mature prairie plant can keep as much as 6″ to 8″ of rainfall, therefore, storing water during droughts. Without those native plants and their deep roots, heavy rain quickly turns to run-off resulting in rapid rises in creeks, streams, and rivers.
Think about this one, if you’re going to use prairie sod instead of a typical lawn in a residential area, you are saving 50% of the usable drinking water in your community. On average, you will be saving that on your water bill.
Pesticides are not only expensive, they can pose potential risks to food safety, the environment, and all living things. The environmental impact of pesticide usage shows how pesticides transfer from fields to other areas of land, evaporates into our air and contaminates our water sources. Sadly, the effects on human health as well as our environment, creating unfortunate impacts on unintended organisms.
Prairie Grass Sod serves as an instant solution to the harmful use of pesticides. The insects above and below ground play a critical role in the balance of the prairie ecosystem. Prairie Grass Sod works best when simply left alone to do its thing. After all, this virgin prairie grass sod has been doing without pesticides for centuries.
Maintenance and its recurring expense are unending with traditional lawn property. Each area has different labor prices pending the size to be mowed, trimming, amending problem areas, and grooming extensive landscaping. The breakeven on prairie grass sod and lawn maintenance is usually with the first year or two.
All rights reserved 2021 | Developed by Where in Guate
Prairie Grass Sod: 2000 N. North Drive, Sioux Falls, SD 57104 | info@PrairieGrassSod.com | Tel: +(605) 728 2970