The bulldozed prairie
The plants of the great tallgrass prairie of North America evolved closely with one another, forming a dense sod of species. The few remaining prairies are along railroad tracks and near cemeteries. The railroad company that bulldozed this prairie, in return for its efforts, got ragweed and poison ivy, which the prairie sod would have suppressed. Photograph by Stanley A. Rice. Appears in Encyclopedia of Biodiversity (Facts on File).