CHAPTER IV: WILDLIFE HABITATS FOR MISSISSIPPI’S SGCN,
THREATS AND CONSERVATION ACTIONS^1012. AGRICULTURE FIELDS, HAY AND PASTURE
LANDS, OLD FIELDS, PRAIRIES, CEDAR GLADES
AND PINE PLANTATIONS
his habitat category includes naturally occurring prairies and the artificial constructs of agriculture T
and forestry (cropland, pasture, pine and hardwood plantations, young hardwoods and old clearcuts).
These subtypes occupy a wide range of landforms, soils and moisture conditions.
This type includes six subtypes: 2.1 Northeast Prairie/Cedar Glades, 2.2 Jackson Prairie, 2.3 Hay
and Pasture Lands, 2.4 Pine Plantations, 2.5 Old Fields and Young Hardwoods (Shrublands) and
2.6 Agriculture Fields.
GENERAL CONDITION:
There are no accurate records of historical acreage for the Northeast Prairie of Mississippi; however,
estimates suggest that approximately 100,000 acres once existed in northeast Mississippi, some of which
included Indian old fields. Jackson Prairie is small in size and extent covering less than 1,000 acres,
possibly five to ten percent of the prairie that once existed in the region. These remnant prairies range
from a few acres to over 100 acres in size. The largest prairie is known as Harrell Prairie Hill Botanical
Area, USDA Forest Service, near the city of Forest. Osborn Prairie northeast of Starkville is one of the
best remaining remnants of the Blackbelt prairie community in the state.
Historically, the prairies were converted to agriculture uses by the early settlers. A majority of the
Blackbelt and Jackson prairies remain under cultivation for cropland and pasturage, or have degraded
into cedar glades or grassy fields or have converted to woodland. Some areas exhibit erosion scars,
chalk outcrops and weedy aspects. Some gullied lands are being re-graded and converted to fescue
pastures. Prairie vegetation is still found on many of the eroded sites, although much is in poor
condition. The prairies that exist today occur on forest edges, in pastures, utility corridor rights-of-way
and road ditches that are maintained in grass by mowing.
A large percentage of the land surface area of Mississippi is in various stages of regeneration following
logging, cropping, or natural disasters, such as catastrophic fires or windstorms. Recent land use/land
cover classification studies based on satellite imagery indicate that from 34 to 49 percent of Mississippi
is non-forested and is dominated by shrubs, small trees, or herbs. The land use/land cover estimates
indicate that there are over four million acres of scrub-shrub habitat and nearly seven million acres of
pasture/grassland. Mississippi has more than five million acres of cropland, of which less than 500,000
acres are fallow. The amount of non-cultivated land has increased since 1982; conversely the acreage of