Glossary

=Glossary=

prairie: A prairie is a grassland ecosystem that has a high diversity (200 + species per acre) of native grasses and forbes (wildflowers). Trees and shrubs would only occur along waterways.
Types of prairies in Texas before pre-settlement times: Tallgrass, Mixed grass, and shortgrass. The Kolter Pocket Prairie is a Tallgrass Prairie Restoration project. There are many prairie remnants or restoration projects in the greater Houston area. Go to www.coastalprairiepartnership.org to see locations of prairies you could easily visit.


 * **species:** There are many opinions on the definition of species, however a simple definition for us could be: like organisms that can reproduce their same kind. Example: Black-tailed Prairie Dogs
 * **population:** A population is a specific group of a single species living in a certain location at a specified time. Example: The population of Rattlesnake Masters (plants) on the Kolter Pocket Prairie in November 2011 is two plants.
 * **community:** A community is all species living in a certain ecosystem.
 * **ecosystem:** An ecosystem is all living (biotic factors) and non-living things (abiotic factors) in a specific environment and their interactive relationships (functioning as a system). Examples: prairies, pond, forests, deserts, freshwaters, saltwaters, etc