PHOTOS: The South's disappearing grasslands
A variety of plants grow in an open grassland area at the May Prairie State Natural Area on Aug. 20, 2020, in Manchester, Tenn. Grasslands come in various forms — wetland bogs, rocky barrens, lush prairies, even woodlands — anywhere the tree cover is sparse enough to allow grasses, flowers and other small plants to flourish. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)Mark Humphrey/AP
Grasses grow under a grove of trees at the May Prairie State Natural Area on Aug. 20, 2020, in Manchester, Tenn. Grasslands come in various forms — wetland bogs, rocky barrens, lush prairies, even woodlands — anywhere the tree cover is sparse enough to allow grasses, flowers and other small plants to flourish. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)Mark Humphrey/AP
Vegetation covers the ground in a wooded area of the May Prairie State Natural Area on Aug. 20, 2020, in Manchester, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)Mark Humphrey/AP
Stonecrop grows in a small limestone glade embedded within a bur oak savanna at Stones River Bend Regional Park in Nashville, Tenn., on June 2, 2020. These glades provide refuge for species that can't grow in deep soil. The area was originally part of vast patchwork of Southern grasslands that hang on today only in tiny remnants. (AP Photo/Travis Loller)Travis Loller/AP
Southern Grasslands Initiative Director Dwayne Estes collects specimens of a possible new species of the sunflower family from a bur oak savanna at Stones River Bend Regional Park in Nashville, Tenn., on June 2, 2020. Estes says the plant has been found only at two locations in Nashville and nowhere else to date. The area where it is growing was originally part of vast patchwork of Southern grasslands that hang on today only in tiny remnants. (AP Photo/Travis Loller)Travis Loller/AP
A bee collects nectar from a flower at the May Prairie State Natural Area on Aug. 20, 2020, in Manchester, Tenn. Famed naturalist E.O. Wilson has written that the southern grassland biome is “probably the richest terrestrial biome in all of North America.” (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)Mark Humphrey/AP
Sunlight filters through trees at the May Prairie State Natural Area on Aug. 20, 2020, in Manchester, Tenn. Despite their diminished range, Southern grasslands are still home to an incredible diversity of plants and animals -- greater than the surrounding forests, which are often a top priority for conservation. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)Mark Humphrey/AP
A fallen tree lies in a section of the Stones River Bend Regional Park where the Southern Grasslands Initiative is preparing to restore native grasslands in Nashville, Tenn., on June 2, 2020. The area was originally part of vast patchwork of Southern grasslands that hang on today only in tiny remnants. (AP Photo/Travis Loller)Travis Loller/AP
A black-eyed Susan flower grows among a variety of plants in an open grassland area at the May Prairie State Natural Area on Aug. 20, 2020, in Manchester, Tenn. Across much of the South, at least 90% of the native grasslands have been lost, the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative estimates. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)Mark Humphrey/AP