America’s vast prairies are a sight that has inspired songs, stories, and art for generations. Today, these native grasses have taken on a more scientific role: helping restore the country’s rapidly depleting aquifers.
At one point, tallgrass prairies covered 170 million acres in North America, according to the National Park Service. Just 4 percent of it currently remains. Mixed prairie grasslands once spanned an additional 140 million acres, of which 30 million acres still exist.
Researchers say restoring America’s native grasslands will play a vital role in groundwater recharge. This could prove critical amid longer periods of drought and decreasing rainfall across much of the United States.
Drought conditions in the American West drained major reservoirs in 2022 to their lowest levels on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Last year, the struggle continued as overly arid conditions from excessive heat and a lack of rain affected nearly a third of the country, NOAA data show. This has prompted concern that less water from the sky and more usage of groundwater from expanding urban and agricultural projects are putting America’s aquifers in danger.
Groundwater accounts for 40 percent of total U.S. water usage for farming and domestic needs, according to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, a federal government project. With extended periods of drought, less water is returned to the soil and critical underground aquifers.
A study undertaken by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2017 found that the rate of agricultural withdrawal from the High Plains Aquifer is nearly 10 times the rate of natural recharge. The High Plains aquifer, the study notes, sits in the middle of the United States and underlies about 175,000 square miles in parts of eight states—Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming.
Experts say planting prairie grass is a step toward coaxing more water to stay in the ground.
Grassroots Effort
“Grasslands help to hold more moisture buffered at the surface, and it prevents erosion. It helps infiltration so that the water that lands doesn’t just run off, but works its way into the soil and is held by the soil,” David Wedin, director of the Center for Grassland Studies at the University of Nebraska, told The Epoch Times.
In the heart of America’s corn belt, Mr. Wedin studies different grassland ecosystems, particularly Nebraska’s expansive sand hills, which comprise one-third of the state’s terrain. And while many plants and trees can helpboost groundwater recharge, native grasses have an advantage.
“Grasslands use water, as all plants do, [but] they use less water as a rule than trees and forests. Where we’ve had people that planted forests in the sand hills or trees that have encroached on their own, we start to see that groundwater recharge disappear,” Mr. Wedin said.
In his observations, the more deeply-rooted trees require more water to survive. Consequently, the amount of water returned to subsurface aquifers is less. “That’s why we’re a fan ... when possible, to keep your grasslands as grasslands and don’t plant trees or forests,” Mr. Wedin said.
When the early settlers first arrived in the Great Plains region, the tall swaying grasses were removed to make way for agriculture. The snowballing rate at which American farmingexpanded, coupled with the removal of most of the prairie grass in a short period, ushered in the Dust Bowl years (1930–1940). The introduction of more sophisticated machinery in agriculture further expedited the vanishing grasslands. However, it was these same grasslands that created the rich topsoil in the region.
“That high fertility in the soil is a consequence of thousands of years of prairie grass growth ... Under modern agriculture, the soil wasn’t being rebuilt, it had been under prairies. So we kind of fought back on that with better agricultural practices,” M. Wedin said.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated a new “Dust Bowl Priority Zone” alongside its Conservation Reserve Program for grasslands, which focuses on working with producers to “continue grazing and haying practices while protecting grasslands.”
University researchers and farmers are alsoworking together to replant native grasses. In addition to returning more water to the ground, Mr. Wedin also says it improves water quality. USDA data supports this, showing an “overall improvement in water quality” when prairie vegetation is restored to areas formerly planted with corn and soybeans.
“Not only would you have higher water quality, less runoff at the surface, [but] penetration deep into the soil profile of nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen in healthy grasslands,” Mr. Wedin said.
Many varieties of native grasses are drought tolerant and require less water to thrive than other vegetation. “Because grasslands are not as deeply rooted as trees and shrubs, they allow some of the water that percolates deep to go to groundwater,” Mr. Wedin said.
The Lake Mead reservoir during extended drought conditions from above the Hoover Dam in December, 2023. (Autumn Spredemann/The Epoch Times)
Patrick Keyser, director of the Center for Native Grassland Management at the University of Tennessee, agrees. “They [prairie grasses] are very thrifty with water use, so more water can remain in the soil column and eventually move into the water table,” he told The Epoch Times.
There’s also the potential carbon capture benefits of planting prairie grass, which Mr. Keyser is researching. “We just started a five-year, $30 million project with USDA here, in the southeast ... trying to assess that specific role. Our working hypothesis is that they [prairie grasses] would be an excellent tool: low water demand, very heat tolerant, drought tolerant, huge and deep root systems, so more carbon in the ground,” he said.
For the moment, it’s a theory, but one with a potentially big payoff. Wealthy advocates of the climate change agenda, such as Bill Gates, are pouring money into projects that aim to kill more plants and trees in a wildcard attempt to sequester carbon. Yet researchers like Mr. Keyser and Mr. Wedin say replanted native grasslands deserve a place in the discussion surrounding carbon reduction.
“Any cropland you will find out in the Midwest and the Great Plains is going to have less carbon in it than if there is a remnant of native prairies that was never plowed sitting next to it,” Mr. Wedin said.
Mr. Keyser said he’s expecting to find in his research, “a lot of these [carbon reduction] benefits, but then again, maybe not. That is why we do research.”
Creating Urban Prairies
Improving water quality and conservation through the restored native grasslands isn’t limited to the sprawling plains of America’s farming belt. Planting urban prairies at home and in public spaces is also proving beneficial.
“Putting prairie grass beds in places like large suburban lawns can significantly boost groundwater refills. This approach makes more space for rainwater to soak in rather than run off,” James Mayfield, CEO of Mayfield Environmental Engineering, told The Epoch Times.
A stormwater manager performs water quality testing and erosion monitoring at a contaminated brownfield in California. ( Courtesy of Mayfield Environmental Engineering)
Mr. Mayfield says native grassland restoration is “crucially important” for replenishing depleted aquifers.
“During my career, I’ve overseen projects where we reintroduced native bunch grasses and recorded substantial increases in groundwater levels within three to five years as the deep root systems enhanced infiltration,” he said.
He noted the long roots of native bunch grasses—like the kind found on America’s prairies—absorb large amounts of water like a sponge, trapping it in the ground. “One job we did in a dry area, in places we planted grasses saw bigger improvements in groundwater levels,” he said.
Mr. Mayfield is also an advocate of incorporating prairie grass at home. “Putting prairie grass beds in places like large suburban lawns can significantly boost groundwater refills. This approach makes more space for rainwater to soak in rather than run off.”
He recalled one neighborhood project he'd worked on showed notable decreases in stormwater runoff and improved local aquifer refilling after native grasses were planted.
Additional benefits of planting prairie grass at home include less water usage, improved biodiversity, soil quality, and a lower maintenance solution for homes than traditional lawns. One analysis in Denver found maintaining prairie grasses—like blue grama or buffalo—requires 78 percent less water than conventional turf grass.
Mr. Wedin echoed this sentiment. “The other thing about native grasses is they are hardy. I think native gasses could be an important tool for managing the water cycle, both the quality and quantity of a city or town,” he said.
But Mr. Keyser pointed out some native grass species are better suited for public projects than home lawns and gardens. “For our tall growing species, these may not be too welcome in lawns, reaching heights of six to 10 feet. But near drainages, waterways ... they could make sense.”
Calling it a “multi-purpose” solution, Mr. Mayfield is an avid supporter of restoring America’s lost prairie grasslands.
“From my experience, I can say confidently that putting these grasses in both rural and urban areas has huge potential to help with some of the biggest environmental problems we face today.”
