Upland Depressions in a Mixed Prairie

Abstract

Several physiographic and ecological papers have recognized the presence of depressions of various sizes in the upland soils of the Great Plains. Some are shallow and nearly circular and have been attributed to the combined action of buff.lo and wind (Darton 191s). Others may be due to chemical solution and settling of unconsolidated materials in areas of faint depression and excess percolation (Frye 1945). Occasional remaining pedestals of soil 1 to 4 inches high stabilized by clumps of grass indicate wind has been at least one of the factors in the formation of those considered in this study. These depressions are sometimes abundant and often have considerable effect upon the vegetation. The purpose of this study was to compare certain characteristics of the soil and vegetation inside and outside local depressed areas (Fig. 1). The data were collected in a grassland of the mixed-prairie association near the Cedar Bluff Reservoir in Trego County, Kansas. The topography is rough with relatively steep hillsides and deep ravines. The upland is level to slightly sloping and dotted with numerous depressions, which have irregular outlines and are not of the common buffalo wallow shape.