Root Systems of Prairie Plants Diagram
Heidi Natura, 1995 ©
(original hand drawing ink on mylar, dimensions 36” x 42”)
Heidi Natura created her Root Systems of Prairie Plants diagram in 1995 to more broadly share the wonder and potential of what we cannot see in our prairie ecosystems. Her larger vision is that the diagram is an accessible work to be used by not-for-profit organizations to educate and promote native ecosystem preservation, restoration and re-creation. To request authorization to use the artwork, or purchase a physical copy of the artwork, please download the order form below and submit your request as indicated on the form.
To create the root diagram, Heidi began by researching what was known about the roots systems of our prairie flora. What was really required to confidently draw these unseen organic structures was physical documentation of the roots. Prairie plant research conducted in Nebraska by John E. Weaver (1884-1966) has been published widely, including Prairie Plants and Their Environment: A Fifty-Year Study in the Midwest, University of Nebraska Press, 1968. Referencing Weaver’s detailed scientific investigations, Heidi artistically interpreted Weaver’s findings in a hand rendered diagrammatic assemblage of representative prairie species that conveys the morphological diversity of unseen herbaceous root systems and related ecological lessons.
Below the earth’s surface lay a storehouse for carbon in the air, water from the skies, and nutrients and microbes needed by plants and other creatures. The uniquely deep and extensive roots of prairie plants play a large role in these beneficial functions. Carbon is fixed in plants and subsequently stored as they die and decay becoming a part of the soil. Water is translocated down the channels the roots make and is directly absorbed by root surfaces in staggering volumes. In healthy prairie ecosystems, rainfall generated by large storm events infiltrates, reducing or eliminating surface runoff. In doing so, downstream impacts are greatly reduced, and flooding is mitigated. With their own death and renewal, the roots create very rich soils and support a vibrancy of soil biology that benefits the health of plants.
This knitted network of prairie root structures also serves to anchor fine particles of soil, securing them against the pressures of wind and water erosion. The resulting reduction in erosion not only maintains the soil for the benefit of future generations as part of our landscape, it also serves as protection against damage to our nation’s estuaries found at the bottom of our watersheds where many eroded soils end up. Each variation of root structure serves different functions for the plants, in the ecosystem, and in modern landscape applications hoping to reap the benefits of incorporating these native plants into our surroundings. As landscape architects we find opportunities to use native plants like those represented on the root diagram. If we care for them properly, we can benefit from their beauty, environmental value, and functional performance indefinitely.
