Ecology of the Shortgrass Steppe A Long-Term Perspective

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.

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.

1. W. K. Lauenroth, I. C. Burke, and J. A. Morgan: The Shortgrass Steppe: The Region and Research Sites2. R. A. Pielke, Sr. and N. J. Doesken: Climate of the Shortgrass Steppe3. E. F. Kelly, C. M. Yonker, S. W. Blecker, C. G. Olson: Soil Development and Distribution in the Shortgrass Steppe Ecosystem4. R. H. Hart: Land Use History on the Shortgrass Steppe5. W. K. Lauenroth: Vegetation of the Shortgrass Steppe6. D. P. C. Peters, W. K. Lauenroth, and I. C. Burke: The role of disturbances in shortgrass steppe community and ecosystem dynamics7. D. P. C. Peters and W. K. Lauenroth: Simulation of Disturbances and Recovery in Shortgrass Steppe Plant Communities8. P. Stapp, B. Van Horne, and M. D. Lindquist: Ecology of mammals of shortgrass steppe9. J. A. Wiens and N. E. McIntyre: Birds of the Shortgrass Steppe10. T. O. Crist: Insect Populations, Community Interactions, and Ecosystem Processes in Shortgrass Steppe11. J. C. Moore, J. Sipes, A. A. Whittemore-Olson, H. W. Hunt, D. W. Wall, P. C. de Ruiter, and D. C. Coleman: Trophic Structure and Nutrient Dynamics of the Belowground Food Web within the Rhizosphere of the Shortgrass Steppe12. W. K. Lauenroth, D. G. Milchunas, O. E. Sala, I. C. Burke, and J. A. Morgan: Net Primary Production in the Shortgrass Steppe13. 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: Soil Organic Matter and Nutrient Dynamics of Shortgrass Steppe Ecosystems14. 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: Soil-Atmosphere Exchange of Trace Gases in the Colorado Shortgrass Steppe15. W .J. Parton, S. J. Del Grosso, I. C. Burke, and D. S. Ojima: The Shortgrass Steppe and Ecosystem Modeling16. D. G. Milchunas, W. K. Lauenroth, I. C. Burke, and J. K. Detling: Effects of Grazing on Vegetation17. R. H. Hart and J. D. Derner: Cattle Grazing on the Shortgrass Steppe18. D. G. Milchunas and W. K. Lauenroth: Effects of Grazing on Abundance and Distribution of Shortgrass Steppe Consumers19. I. C. Burke, W. K. Lauenroth, M. F. Antolin, J. D. Derner, D. G. Milchunas, J. A. Morgan, and P. Stapp: The Future of the Shortgrass Steppe