Konza Environmental Education Program
Schoolyard Long-term Ecological Research
Schoolyard LTER Activity Descriptions
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Konza Environmental Education Program Schoolyard Long-term Ecological Research Schoolyard LTER Activity Descriptions |
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Correlation of Konza Prairie SLTER Activities with National and Kansas State Science Education Standards |
| Fall |
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Grasshopper inventory (grades 5-12): Grasshoppers remove the greatest amount of aboveground biomass among plant feeders on Konza Prairie, with the exception of bison. More than 60 species of grasshoppers are known to occur in the Flint Hills. Students use a sweep net and kill jar to collect insects on a transect. In the lab, the grasshoppers are counted, identified to life stages and type, properly pinned, and labeled with the students' names, school and the date of collection. |
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Plant inventory (high school botany or ecology): Students identify plant species, count the number of stems, and record the height of each stem. Representative samples are taken on native prairie upland and restored lowland prairie for comparison. |
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| Plant biomass (grades 6-12): The purpose of this activity is to assess the total aboveground biomass per unit area in plots of burned and unburned native prairie in late September after peak primary production has occurred. Students clip all biomass at ground level, carefully bag it in the field, and air or oven dry their samples. Total aboveground biomass/unit area (dry weight) is assessed, and annual production graphs for burned and unburned prairie are plotted from averages of at least ten samples. |
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| Goldenrod gall insect populations (grades 3-12): Gall insect populations are studied because they represent important consumers of plant tissue. Insects that are parasites on Canada Goldenrod cause the plant to form a gall or swelling of the plant tissue. Researchers on Konza Prairie want to know what effect fire has on these insects. Students sample 100 Canada Goldenrod plants, recording whether each stem has round, elliptical or no galls. |
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| Spring |
| Effect of fire on plant diversity (grades 5-12): What is the effect of frequency of fire on plant diversity of the tallgrass prairie community? Students compare the effects of a yearly burn, four-year burn, and no burning by recording the number of grass, forb, and woody stems. Students take data in the Hulbert Fire Demonstration Plots, which illustrate the effect of burn treatments on the large watershed units of Konza Prairie in general. |
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| Any season |
| Stream macro-invertebrates (grades 4-12): Kings Creek offers an interesting look at the diversity of organisms found in tallgrass prairie streams. This creek is a pristine "benchmark" with its headwaters enclosed within the boundaries of Konza Prairie. Students use a Surber bottom sampling net to collect stream invertebrates, and in the lab identify and inventory their sample. |
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| Phenology of prairie plants and animals (all ages): Phenology is the study of observations of first biological events. Observations taken each year at the same place over a long period of time are valuable for showing trends. Students participate in the study of phenology through periodic observation of familiar species within the schoolyard, their backyard, a local park or prairie site. |
| Plant collection and identification (grades 3-12): Through the use of a simplified key, students learn about the color, shape and parts of a flower. Also, students are introduced to our herbarium and mount a small plant specimen that can be taken home. |
| Other activities at Konza Prairie Biological Station |
| Fire reversal study (grades 6-12): Students learn about the effects of fire on shrub encroachment by using digital photography to monitor two adjacent watersheds, one burned annually and one burned every twenty years. In 2001, the fire treatments were reversed after twenty years of observation by LTER researchers. Students monitor several shrub "islands" with potential for change in each of the watersheds by recording the number and height of stems and measuring the islands' diameters and circumferences. Researchers are interested in whether fire can effectively eradicate shrub encroachment. |
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| Stream geomorphology (grades 6-12): Students monitor stream habitat and geomorphology (erosion and deposition of the stream channel) over time in Kings Creek. Digital photographs have been posted on the KEEP website since 1999. Students also take a closer look at Kings Creek by surveying a cross-section and longitudinal profile, measuring water velocity and creating a graph of the creek's sinuosity. |
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