Table of Contents

1: W. K. Lauenroth, I. C. Burke, and J. A. Morgan: The Shortgrass Steppe: The Region and Research Sites 2: R. A. Pielke, Sr. and N. J. Doesken: Climate of the Shortgrass Steppe 3: E. F. Kelly, C. M. Yonker, S. W. Blecker, C. G. Olson: Soil Development and Distribution in the Shortgrass Steppe Ecosystem 4: R. H. Hart: Land Use History on the Shortgrass Steppe 5: W. K. Lauenroth: Vegetation of the Shortgrass Steppe 6: D. P. C. Peters, W. K. Lauenroth, and I. C. Burke: The role of disturbances in shortgrass steppe community and ecosystem dynamics 7: D. P. C. Peters and W. K. Lauenroth: Simulation of Disturbances and Recovery in Shortgrass Steppe Plant Communities 8: P. Stapp, B. Van Horne, and M. D. Lindquist: Ecology of mammals of shortgrass steppe 9: J. A. Wiens and N. E. McIntyre: Birds of the Shortgrass Steppe 10: T. O. Crist: Insect Populations, Community Interactions, and Ecosystem Processes in Shortgrass Steppe 11: 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 Steppe 12: W. K. Lauenroth, D. G. Milchunas, O. E. Sala, I. C. Burke, and J. A. Morgan: Net Primary Production in the Shortgrass Steppe 13: 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 Ecosystems 14: 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 Steppe 15: W .J. Parton, S. J. Del Grosso, I. C. Burke, and D. S. Ojima: The Shortgrass Steppe and Ecosystem Modeling 16: D. G. Milchunas, W. K. Lauenroth, I. C. Burke, and J. K. Detling: Effects of Grazing on Vegetation 17: R. H. Hart and J. D. Derner: Cattle Grazing on the Shortgrass Steppe 18: D. G. Milchunas and W. K. Lauenroth: Effects of Grazing on Abundance and Distribution of Shortgrass Steppe Consumers 19: 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

About the Author

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.

Reviews

"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
"A "must-have" operating guide for understanding this ecosystem and should be required reading for any social scientist trying to describe or explain the region's history, depopulation, land use changes, and other human responses backdropped by the unique shortgrass steppe."--Great Plains Research
"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