Ecology of the Shortgrass Steppe

A Long-Term Perspective

W. K. Lauenroth and I. C. Burke

Long-Term Ecological Research Network Series

The semiarid shortgrass steppe is the warmest, driest, and lowest in primary production of grasslands in central North America. This book is an enormously rich source of data and insight into the structure and function of semiarid grassland.

Ecology of the Shortgrass Steppe

A Long-Term Perspective

W. K. Lauenroth and I. C. Burke

Long-Term Ecological Research Network Series

Description

Ecology of the Shortgrass Steppe: A Long-Term Perspective summarizes and synthesizes more than sixty years of research that has been conducted throughout the shortgrass region in North America. The shortgrass steppe was an important focus of the International Biological Program's Grassland Biome project, which ran from the late 1960s until the mid-1970s. The work conducted by the Grassland Biome project was preceded by almost forty years of research by U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers-primarily from the Agricultural Research Service-and was followed by the Shortgrass Steppe Long-Term Ecological Research project. This volume is an enormously rich source of data and insight into the structure and function of a semiarid grassland.

Ecology of the Shortgrass Steppe

A Long-Term Perspective

W. K. Lauenroth and I. C. Burke

Long-Term Ecological Research Network Series

1. The Shortgrass Steppe: The Region and Research Sites, W. K. Lauenroth, I. C. Burke, and J. A. Morgan
2. Climate of the Shortgrass Steppe, R. A. Pielke, Sr. and N. J. Doesken
3. Soil Development and Distribution in the Shortgrass Steppe Ecosystem, E. F. Kelly, C. M. Yonker, S. W. Blecker, C. G. Olson
4. Land Use History on the Shortgrass Steppe, R. H. Hart
5. Vegetation of the Shortgrass Steppe, W. K. Lauenroth
6. The role of disturbances in shortgrass steppe community and ecosystem dynamics, D. P. C. Peters, W. K. Lauenroth, and I. C. Burke
7. Simulation of Disturbances and Recovery in Shortgrass Steppe Plant Communities, D. P. C. Peters and W. K. Lauenroth
8. Ecology of mammals of shortgrass steppe, P. Stapp, B. Van Horne, and M. D. Lindquist
9. Birds of the Shortgrass Steppe, J. A. Wiens and N. E. McIntyre
10. Insect Populations, Community Interactions, and Ecosystem Processes in Shortgrass Steppe, T. O. Crist
11. Trophic Structure and Nutrient Dynamics of the Belowground Food Web within the Rhizosphere of the Shortgrass Steppe, J. C. Moore, J. Sipes, A. A. Whittemore-Olson, H. W. Hunt, D. W. Wall, P. C. de Ruiter, and D. C. Coleman
12. Net Primary Production in the Shortgrass Steppe, W. K. Lauenroth, D. G. Milchunas, O. E. Sala, I. C. Burke, and J. A. Morgan
13. Soil Organic Matter and Nutrient Dynamics of Shortgrass Steppe Ecosystems, I. C. Burke, A. R. Mosier, P. B. Hook, D. G. Milchunas, J. E. Barrett, M. A. Vinton, R. L. McCulley, J. P. Kaye, R. A. Gill, H. E. Epstein, R. H. Kelly, W. J. Parton, C. M. Yonker, P. Lowe, and W. K. Lauenroth
14. Soil-Atmosphere Exchange of Trace Gases in the Colorado Shortgrass Steppe, A. R. Mosier, W. J. Parton, R. E. Martin, D. W. Valentine, D. S. Ojima, D. S. Schimel, I. C. Burke, E. C. Adair, and S. J. Del Grosso
15. The Shortgrass Steppe and Ecosystem Modeling, W .J. Parton, S. J. Del Grosso, I. C. Burke, and D. S. Ojima
16. Effects of Grazing on Vegetation, D. G. Milchunas, W. K. Lauenroth, I. C. Burke, and J. K. Detling
17. Cattle Grazing on the Shortgrass Steppe, R. H. Hart and J. D. Derner
18. Effects of Grazing on Abundance and Distribution of Shortgrass Steppe Consumers, D. G. Milchunas and W. K. Lauenroth
19. The Future of the Shortgrass Steppe, I. C. Burke, W. K. Lauenroth, M. F. Antolin, J. D. Derner, D. G. Milchunas, J. A. Morgan, and P. Stapp

Ecology of the Shortgrass Steppe

A Long-Term Perspective

W. K. Lauenroth and I. C. Burke

Long-Term Ecological Research Network Series

Author Information

William Lauenroth is Professor in the department of Forest, Rangeland, and Watershed Stewardship at Colorado State University.

Ingrid Burke is Professor in the department of Forest, Rangeland, and Watershed Stewardship at Colorado State University, as well as the Co-Director of the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology. She received her BS at Middlebury College in 1980, and her PhD in Botany at the University of Wyoming in 1987.

Ecology of the Shortgrass Steppe

A Long-Term Perspective

W. K. Lauenroth and I. C. Burke

Long-Term Ecological Research Network Series

Reviews and Awards

"This book provides a comprehensive overview of short-grass steppe ecology and an excellent overview of the historical and current context against which future changes will be compared."--Journal of Environmental Quality

"Much of what we know about grasslands stems from over 40 years of research at the Shortgrass Steppe Long-Term Ecological Research station, which is complied in this volume by 34 authors. Moving beyond important early chapters that provide descriptive context for the shortgrass steppe, several contributions provide a deep population-level understanding of how the dominant grass, Bouteloua gracilis responds to disturbance and environmental drivers."--The Quarterly Review of Biology