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The ecology of the state of Iowa has been heavily affected by agricultural production, but remaining natural areas reflect a wide varieties of environmental niches.
Iowa's natural vegetation is tallgrass prairie and savanna in upland areas, with dense forest and wetlands in floodplains and protected river valleys, and pothole wetlands in northern prairie areas.[1] Most of Iowa is used for agriculture, crops cover 60% of the state, grasslands (mostly pasture and hay with some prairie and wetland) cover 30%, and forests cover 7%; urban areas and water cover another 1% each.[2]
In 1840 Isaac Galland noted a large number of fauna in Iowa, including bison, elk, deer (either White-tailed deer or mule deer), raccoon, fox squirrel, mountain lion, lynx, gray wolf, black wolf, coyote (he called them prairie wolves), bear, beaver, otter, muskrat, mink, rabbits (presumably Cottontail rabbit and hare), opossum, skunk, porcupine, groundhog, timber rattlesnake, prairie rattlesnake, bull snake, black snake, water moccasin, garter snake, water snakes, turkey, prairie chicken, quail, swan, geese, brant goose, duck, crane (he called them pelicans), crow, blackbird, bald eagle, "grey eagle" (probably a hawk or falcon), buzzard, raven, morning dove, passenger pigeon, woodpeckers, woodcocks, hummingbird, and the honeybee.[3] Galland also included a list of edible flora readily available in Iowa, including strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, gooseberry, plum, crabapple, hickory nut, black walnut, butternut, hazelnut, pecan, grape, cherry, black haw, red haw, pawpaw, and cranberry.[3]
The first comprehensive listing of bird species in Iowa was compiled by Charles Rollin Keyes in 1889 which listed 262 species.[4] The first comprehensive listing of mammals in Iowa was made by Herbert Osborne in 1890.[5]
There is a dearth of natural areas in Iowa; less than 1% of the tallgrass prairie that once covered most of Iowa remain intact, only about 5% of the state's prairie pothole wetlands remain, and most of the original forest has been lost.[6] Iowa ranks 49th of U.S. states in public land holdings.[7]
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintains lists of threatened and endangered species in Iowa.[8]
List of federally endangered animal species in Iowa:
List of federally threatened animal species in Iowa:
List of extirpated federally endangered species (no longer in Iowa):
-* Note: Wolves occasionally reappear in Iowa, roaming south from home ranges in Minnesota and Wisconsin.[9]
List of federally threatened plant species in Iowa:
List of extinct animal species that historically lived in Iowa:[9]
Despite popular perception, Iowa is generally not flat; most of the state consists of rolling hills. Prior[10] divides Iowa into eight landforms based on glaciation, soils, topography, and river drainage:
Landforms of Iowa, based on Prior (1991)
Topography of Iowa, with counties and major streams
Barringer Slough, part ot the Des Moines lobe
Typical view of the Southern Iowa Drift Plain
Mississippi valley wetland near Ft. Madison
Loess Hills east of Mondamin, Iowa, showing the transition with the Missouri alluvial plain.
Mississippi River alluvial plain from SIDP bluffs north of Kingston.
As in most of the U.S., surface water in Iowa is never safe to drink untreated, contamination by agricultural runoff including nitrates, herbicides, pesticides, and animal waste is common. Municipal water supplies are typically heavily chlorinated, this chlorine, combined with high nitrate levels, often give municipal water a strong smell, and the limestone bedrock in much of the state causes hard water.[11] Some communities, such as Iowa City resort to additional carbon filtration and lime softening coagulation-sedimentation to make the water more palatable.[12] Water treatment can be surprisingly effective; Des Moines' advanced filtration system has led to water quality ranked among the nation's best.[13]
Major flood events occurred in Iowa in 1851, 1892, 1965, 1993, 2008. The Great flood of 1851 hit all of Iowa, and almost destroyed the nascent town of Des Moines. "The Des Moines and Raccoon rivers rose to an unprecedented height, inundating the entire country east of the Des Moines river. Crops were utterly destroyed, houses and fences swept away."[14] After the town of Dudley was destroyed, survivors moved to higher ground and founded Carlisle. The flood of 1851 produced record levels on the Iowa River at Iowa City and the Cedar River at Cedar Rapids that stood until the Iowa flood of 2008.[15] The flash flood of 1892 destroyed much of Sioux City.[16] The Flood of 1965 affected eastern Iowa, from Cedar Rapids to Dubuque, with cities along the Mississippi hardest hit. The 1993 floods were widespread across the upper Midwest, causing extensive damage to Coralville and Iowa City.
The NRCS divides Iowa into 23 soil regions. In general, soils of southern, eastern, and western Iowa are loess-derived, while soils of northern and central Iowa are till-derived. Most level areas of Iowa have soils highly suitable for agriculture, making Iowa one of the most productive farming regions of the world.[17]
The explosion in the number of high-density livestock facilities in Iowa has led to increased risk of rural water contamination and a perceived decline in air quality.[18] Other factors negatively affecting Iowa's environment include the extensive use of older coal-fired power plants,[19] fertilizer and pesticide runoff from crop production,[20] and diminishment of the Jordan Aquifer.[21]
The Jordan Aquifer is the largest source of groundwater, extending from northeast Iowa to south central Iowa, and is ultimately the source of much of Iowa's agricultural and industrial water. In addition to pollution threats, the aquifer is threatened by overuse in well-source irrigation, ethanol production, and the diminishment of resupply caused by extensive field tilling. The aquifer has dropped by as much as 300 feet since the 19th century, resulting in dry wells, the disappearance of natural surface springs, and the diminishment of water quality.[22][23]
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