DNA barcoding tallgrass prairie plants

Globally, grasslands are one of the most threatened ecosystems due to their high rate of loss but low levels of protection. Being able to rapidly and accurately identify species is essential for the long-term management of ecosystems. We examined the utility of DNA barcodes to successfully identify tallgrass prairie plant species in the Northern Great Plains of the U.S., an alternative method of identification when morphology based methods are not feasible.