Grassland Dynamics

Grassland Dynamics
Author: Alan K. Knapp
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
Total Pages: 364
Release: 1998
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780195114867

Download Grassland Dynamics Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

This is the first volume in the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network Series. Established in 1980, the LTER program is exploring a wide variety of biomes characteristic of the United States and developing a baseline for ecosystem dynamics over long time periods and broad spatial scales. The volumes in this series will include both comprehensive reviews of research from particular sites and topical overviews which use data from many sites to examine important questions in ecology. This volume, which focuses on the Konza Prairie in northeastern Kansas, is a synthesis of over 15 years of research in pristine tallgrass prairie. It gives a comprehensive site description and summarizes the key long-term studies that form the basis for the Konza Prairie Long-Term Ecological Research Program. It then presents a synthesis of the many research areas involved and develops a foundation for future ecological studies in tallgrass prairie. With over 150 figures and tables, chapters that encompass microbial through landscape scales, and an emphasis on lessons learned from long-term studies, this volume provides a unique and comprehensive perspective on the structural and functional ecology of the grassland ecosystem that once covered most of central North America.

Grassland Dynamics

Grassland Dynamics
Author: J. H. M. Thornley
Publisher: Cabi
Total Pages: 264
Release: 1998
Genre: Computers
ISBN:

Download Grassland Dynamics Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The development of computer simulation models is an important growth area in both pure and applied ecology. The opportunity that mathematical models provide to integrate the components of an ecosystem, results in the ability to make quantitative predictions about the future behavior of that system, or of elements within it. This means that they are powerful tools with wide applications and enormous potential for increasing our understanding of natural systems and our ability to use them in a sustainable way. This book is, almost uniquely, a complete account of one such model, the Hurley Pasture Model, a dynamic, deterministic, mechanistic simulation model for grassland, which has been developed by the author over some 20 years, in collaboration with scientists at several centers. Firstly, the rationale and theoretical elements of this type of model are described. An overview of the Hurley grassland simulator and the derivation and construction of its plant, animal, soil and litter, water, and environment and management components is then given. Next, the model is evaluated by a series of long and short-term dynamic simulations and steady state responses, which demonstrate how predictions can be made about the effects of, for example, climate change or particular regimes of fertilizer application, grazing or cutting. This book will be of great value to grassland agronomists and modellers, crop physiologists and plant ecologists, and to students of ecology as a case study of a plant ecosystem model. It will also be of interest to other ecologists and environmentalists and those in the field of computer modelling and its applications.

Dynamics of the Global Savanna and Grassland Biomes

Dynamics of the Global Savanna and Grassland Biomes
Author: Hannah Victoria Herrero
Publisher: MDPI
Total Pages: 102
Release: 2021-03-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 303650348X

Download Dynamics of the Global Savanna and Grassland Biomes Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Savanna and grassland biomes cover more of the earth's surface than any other biome type, and yet they are still largely understudied. In recent decades, global savanna and grassland ecosystems have become more prominent in the literature focused on global change dynamics. Savanna and grasslands represent unique biomes with their own challenges, both in terms of their study and in terms of their complexity, leading to many contradictory and often controversial findings. The global threats to these systems are potentially significant, from climate change impacts to human management challenges, from possible degradation to complete desertification, which vary across disturbance regime shifts. This Special Issue of Applied Sciences, “Dynamics of Global Savanna and Grassland Biomes”, is intended for a wide and interdisciplinary audience, and covers recent advances in: - drivers of vegetation dynamics - further understanding carbon interactions in these critical landscapes - advances in modeling both current and future system states - tipping points in savanna systems - human-environment interactions and challenges for management - biodiversity and ecosystem services

Grassland-Invertebrate Interactions: Plant Productivity, Resilience and Community Dynamics

Grassland-Invertebrate Interactions: Plant Productivity, Resilience and Community Dynamics
Author: Ivan Hiltpold
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2017-10-13
Genre:
ISBN: 2889452905

Download Grassland-Invertebrate Interactions: Plant Productivity, Resilience and Community Dynamics Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Natural and anthropogenic grasslands such as prairies, meadows, rangelands, and pastures cover more than 40% of the planet’s surface and provide a wealth of ecological services. Grasslands alone store one third of the global carbon stocks and grass roots, through their specific architectures, ensure water cycling and prevent the erosion of fertile topsoil. In addition, grasslands are of vital importance for human food production as vast areas of rangelands and pastures provide feed for livestock. Pastoral legumes mobilize atmospheric nitrogen and improve fertility of arable soils. Not least, grasslands are an essential genetic resource. The three major crop species that feed half of the global population have been bred from wild grasses. Ancestors of our contemporary turf cultivars, common components of urban landscapes and recreation spaces, originated from wild grasslands. Although natural and managed grasslands represent pivotal ecosystems, many aspects of how they function are poorly understood. To date, most attention has focused on grassland primary producers (i.e. forage plants) and mammalian grazers but invertebrates are likely to play an equally, if not more important role in grassland ecosystem functioning. In Australian pastures, for example, the biomass of root-feeding scarab beetles can often exceed that of sheep and plant damage caused by invertebrates is sometimes equivalent to an average dairy cow’s grass consumption. Indeed, grasslands are one of the most densely populated ecosystems with invertebrates being probably the most important engineers that shape both plant communities and the grassland as a whole. In a rapidly changing world with increasing anthropogenic pressure on grasslands, this Research Topic focuses on: 1. How grassland habitats shape invertebrate biodiversity 2. Impacts of climate change on grassland-invertebrate interactions 3. Plant and invertebrate pest monitoring and management 4. Plant-mediated multitrophic interactions and biological control in grasslands 5. Land use and grassland invertebrates 6. Plant resistance to invertebrate pests Given the increasing demand for food and land for human habitation, unprecedented threats to grasslands are anticipated. Resilient to some extent, these key ecosystems need to be better comprehended to guarantee their sustainable management and ecosystem services.

Grasslands and Climate Change

Grasslands and Climate Change
Author: David J. Gibson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 363
Release: 2019-03-21
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1107195268

Download Grasslands and Climate Change Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

A comprehensive assessment of the effects of climate change on global grasslands and the mitigating role that ecologists can play.

Grasses and Grassland Ecology

Grasses and Grassland Ecology
Author: David J. Gibson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2009
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 019852918X

Download Grasses and Grassland Ecology Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

This book is the most up to date and thorough account of the natural history of the plants that comprise the most important food crop on Earth, the grasses and grasslands.

Linking Species & Ecosystems

Linking Species & Ecosystems
Author: Clive G. Jones
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 403
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1461517737

Download Linking Species & Ecosystems Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

I was asked to introduce this volume by examining "why a knowledge of ecosys tem functioning can contribute to understanding species activities, dynamics, and assemblages." I have found it surprisingly difficult to address this topic. On the one hand, the answer is very simple and general: because all species live in ecosystems, they are part of and dependent on ecosystem processes. It is impossible to understand the abundance and distribution of populations and the species diversity and composition of communities without a knowledge of their abiotic and biotic environments and of the fluxes of energy and mat ter through the ecosystems of which they are a part. But everyone knows this. It is what ecology is all about (e.g., Likens, 1992). It is why the discipline has retained its integrity and thrived, despite a sometimes distressing degree of bickering and chauvinism among its various subdisciplines: physiological, be havioral, population, community, and ecosystem ecology.

Grassland structure and function

Grassland structure and function
Author: L.F. Huenneke
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400931131

Download Grassland structure and function Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The chapters in this volume are based on a opportumtles for studying the links between symposium, "California grasslands: structure abiotic and biotic components. and productivity", supported by the National The contributions in this volume illustrate Science Foundation. The primary objective of the links between population-level processes this symposium was to integrate the current and system-level phenomena in a well-studied understanding of controls on ecosystem struc community. Unfortunately, some areas of cur ture and function with the approaches of popu rent research (e.g., nutrient cycling) are under lation biology. The annual grasslands are represented in this volume. For other topics eminently suitable for experimental and manip (particularly the role of invertebrate con sumers), the lack of data from the annual grass ulative studies of ecosystem processes. The short lives and small stature of the component land brought a broader grassland perspective. plant species make experimental work far more Together, however, the contributions illustrate practical than in forests or even in perennial the importance of different ecological ap dominated prairies. The system's small-scale proaches in studying the controls on structure patchiness, and the obvious importance of and function of a complex system. the region's mediterranean climate in the life cycle of the annual vegetation, afford many L.F. Huenneke and H.A. Mooney Huenneke, L.F. and Mooney, H. (eds) Grassland Structure and Function: California Annual Grassland.

California Grasslands

California Grasslands
Author: Mark R. Stromberg
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2007-12-03
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780520252202

Download California Grasslands Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

"This highly synthetic and scholarly work brings together new and important scientific contributions by leading experts on a rich diversity of topics concerning the history, ecology, and conservation of California's endangered grasslands. The editors and authors have succeeded admirably in drawing from a great wealth of recent research to produce a widely accessible and compelling, state-of-the-art treatment of this fascinating subject. Anyone interested in Californian biodiversity or grassland ecosystems in general will find this book to be an invaluable resource and a major inspiration for further research, management, and restoration efforts."—Bruce G. Baldwin, W. L. Jepson Professor and Curator, UC Berkeley "Grasses and grasslands are among the most important elements of the California landscape. This is their book, embodying the kind of integrated view needed for all ecological communities in California. Approaches ranging across an incredibly broad spectrum -- paleontology and human history; basic science and practical management techniques; systematics, community ecology, physiology, and genetics; physical factors such as water, soil nutrients, atmospherics, and fire; biological factors such as competition, symbiosis, and grazing -- are nicely tied together due to careful editorial work. This is an indispensable reference for everyone interested in the California environment."—Brent Mishler, Director of the University & Jepson Herbaria and Professor of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley "The structure and function of California grasslands have intrigued ecologists for decades. The editors of this volume have assembled a comprehensive set of reviews by a group of outstanding authors on the natural history, structure, management, and restoration of this economically and ecologically important ecosystem."—Scott L. Collins, Professor of Biology, University of New Mexico

Vegetation Dynamics

Vegetation Dynamics
Author: Derek Eamus
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages:
Release: 2016-03-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1316666549

Download Vegetation Dynamics Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Understanding ecosystem structure and function requires familiarity with the techniques, knowledge and concepts of the three disciplines of plant physiology, remote sensing and modelling. This is the first textbook to provide the fundamentals of these three domains in a single volume. It then applies cross-disciplinary insights to multiple case studies in vegetation and landscape science. A key feature of these case studies is an examination of relationships among climate, vegetation structure and vegetation function, to address fundamental research questions. This book is for advanced students and researchers who need to understand and apply knowledge from the disciplines of plant physiology, remote sensing and modelling. It allows readers to integrate and synthesise knowledge to produce a holistic understanding of the structure, function and behaviour of forests, woodlands and grasslands.