Download or read book Grasses and Grassland Ecology written by David J. Gibson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Field Guide to Grasses of California written by James P. Smith and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2014-09-12 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This alphabetical guide covers common native and naturalized grasses of California and features over 180 color illustrations to aid identification.
Download or read book Manual of Grasses for North America written by Mary E. Barkworth and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2007-09-15 with total page 1552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grasses are the world’s most important plants. They are the dominant species over large parts of the earth’s land surface, a fact that is reflected in the many different words that exist for grasslands, words such as prairie, veldt, palouse, and pampas to mention just a few. As a group, grasses are of major ecological importance, as soil binders and providers of shelter and food for wild animals, both large and small. Some grasses, such as wheat, rice, corn, barley, rye, tef, and sugar cane are major sources of calories for humans and their livestock; others, primarily bamboos, are used for construction, tools, paper, and fabric. More recently, the seed catalogs that tantalize gardeners each winter have borne witness to an increasing appreciation of the aesthetic value of grasses. The Manual of Grasses for North America is designed as a successor to the classic volume by Hitchcock and Chase. It reflects current taxonomic thought and includes keys, illustrations, and distribution maps for the nearly 900 native and 400 introduced species that have been found in North America north of Mexico. In addition, it presents keys and illustrations for several species that are known only in cultivation or are of major agricultural significance, either as progenitors of bread wheat and corn or as a major threat to North American agriculture because of their ability to hybridize with crop species. The Manual of Grasses for North America is a major reference work for grasses that will retain its value for many years.
Download or read book Grass written by Joe C. Truett and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2009-11-03 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Part autobiography, part philosophical rumination, this evocative conservation odyssey explores the deep affinities between humans and our original habitat: grasslands. In a richly drawn, anecdotally driven narrative, Joe C. Truett, a grasslands ecologist who writes with a flair for language, traces the evolutionary, historical, and cultural forces that have reshaped North American rangelands over the past two centuries. He introduces an intriguing cast of characters—wildlife and grasslands biologists, archaeologists, ranchers, and petroleum geologists—to illuminate a wide range of related topics: our love affair with turf and how it manifests in lawns and sports, the ecological and economic dimensions of ranching, the glory of cowboy culture, grasslands and restoration ecology, and more. His book ultimately provides the background against which we can envision a new paradigm for restoring rangeland ecosystems—and a new paradigm for envisioning a more sustainable future.
Download or read book Population Biology of Grasses written by G. P. Cheplick and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998-03-28 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dynamics.
Download or read book Tertiary Prairie Grasses and Other Herbs from the High Plains written by Maxim Konradovich Elias and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Grass written by Charles Walters and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the most important plant in the world? In terms of nutritive content, function within the ecosystem, and even medicinal properties, the answer to this question may very well be grass. In this wide-ranging survey of grass forages and pastureland, Charles Walters makes the case that grass is not just for cows and horses - that in fact it is the most nutritious food produced by nature, as well as the ultimate soil conditioner. You will learn from traditional graziers who draw on centuries of wisdom to create beautiful, lush, sustainable pastures, as well as cutting-edge innovators who are using such methods as biodynamics and sea-solids fertilization to create some of the healthiest grasslands in the world. Leading agronomists not only explain the importance of grasses in our environment, they also share practical knowledge such as when to look for peak levels of nutrition within the growing cycle and how to use grass to restore soil to optimum health. A must-read for anyone interested in sustainable, bio-correct agriculture, this information-packed volume is a comprehensive look at an essential family of plants.
Download or read book Forgotten Grasslands of the South written by Reed F. Noss and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2012-12-03 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forgotten Grasslands of the South is the study of one of the biologically richest and most endangered ecosystems in North America. In a seamless blend of science and personal observation, renowned ecologist Reed Noss explains the natural history of southern grasslands, their origin and history, and the physical determinants of grassland distribution, including ecology, soils, landform, and hydrology. In addition to offering fascinating new information about these little-studied ecosystems, Noss demonstrates how natural history is central to the practice of conservation. Although theory and experimentation have recently dominated the field of ecology, ecologists are coming to realize how these distinct approaches are not divergent but complementary, and that pursuing them together can bring greater knowledge and understanding of how the natural world works and how we can best conserve it. This long-awaited work sets a new standard for scientific literature and is essential reading for those who study and work to conserve the grasslands of the South as well as for everyone who is fascinated by the natural world.
Download or read book California Grasslands written by Mark R. Stromberg and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2007-12-03 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "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
Download or read book Designing with Grasses written by Neil Lucas and published by Timber Press. This book was released on 2011-01-12 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grasses Offer so Much More than the flat, green lawns beneath our feet. In the garden, spikelets of Briza media flutter in the slightest breeze, tall-stemmed Stipa gigantea makes a beguiling divider, and pennisetums glow like fireworks with the sun at their backs. When chosen wisely and used with care, grasses can endow the garden with showstopping appeal---requiring remarkably little work in return. Neil Lucas explains how to bring the magic of grasses to even the smallest of gardens. Inspired by the great American prairies, African savannah and other wild spaces, he shows how to perfect the balance between grasses and other plants, choose sustainable lawn alternatives that virtually care for themselves, and showcase the elegant lines and intriguing textures of grasses to glorious effect. Planting grasses in the right place is critical, and Lucas lists top performers for drought, waterside, containers, shade and more. Along the way, he explains how grasses contribute to a greener world through their use in rain gardens, green roofs and for erosion control. With an extensive directory profiling more than 450 gardenworthy grasses, rushes and sedges, this lavishly illustrated volume offers gardeners a world of possibilities.
Download or read book The Desert Grassland written by Mitchel P. McClaran and published by . This book was released on 1995-11 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Leading experts in geography, biology, botany, zoology, and geoscience present new research on the desert grassland and review a vast amount of earlier work. They reveal that present-day grasses once grew in the ice age forests that existed in these areas before the climate dried and the trees vanished, and how the intensity and frequency of fire can influence the plant and animal species of the grassland.
Download or read book Grasslands and Climate Change written by David J. Gibson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-03-21 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive assessment of the effects of climate change on global grasslands and the mitigating role that ecologists can play.
Download or read book Field Guide to the Common Grasses of Oklahoma Kansas and Nebraska written by Iralee Barnard and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2014-03-24 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Once covered by wild grasses, America's heartland is by nature a grassland, populated with plants whose ecological importance, practical value, and subtle beauty we are only now beginning to comprehend. Of the 3,000 species of wild plants in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, in the heart of the heartland, only two of every ten are grasses, and in some prairies just one or two of these can account for 80 to 90 percent of the ground cover. It is these major wild grasses, the native and the naturalized, that this field guide covers, as well as some not found in such large numbers but nonetheless widespread and easily noticed. From the more familiar (like big bluestem, little bluestem, Indiangrass, switchgrass, buffalograss, sideoats grama, and blue grama) to the less recognized (such as ticklegrass, rice cutgrass, and prairie wedgegrass), from the weedy to the desirable, each of the seventy species profiled in these pages appears in full-color, its fundamental characteristics clearly identifiable by novice and expert alike: flowers and seed heads, leaf details with size comparisons, and whole mature plant pictures. Though of ever broadening interest--to ranchers, gardeners, naturalists, and restorers of prairies and native landscapes--grasses are notoriously tricky to identify. A number of features of this guide make the task considerably easier. A handy system of "finding lists," allows a user to navigate quickly to identification of an unknown grass. Descriptions, written in clear and easily understood terms, focus on the primary characteristics of each species and are accompanied by distribution maps. And an illustrated glossary, leaf comparison section, and table of grass flowering dates provide additional information and opportunities for recognizing and appreciating various species. Putting these plants into ecological and cultural context, botanist and grass specialist Iralee Barnard gives readers, whether curious amateur, passionate naturalist, or professional, a new way of understanding the grasses of America's prairies and plains, including their plant structures and adaptations, their natural history, ecological associations, and cultural importance.
Download or read book Grasses written by Lauren Brown and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 1979 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How to identify 135 of the most common species of North American grasses, sedges, and rushes, with their economic and ecological importance.
Download or read book Grasslands Grown written by Molly Patrick Rozum and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2021-08 with total page 601 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Grasslands Grown Molly P. Rozum explores the two related concepts of regional identity and sense of place by examining a single North American ecological region: the U.S. Great Plains and the Canadian Prairie Provinces. All or parts of modern-day Alberta, Montana, Saskatchewan, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Manitoba form the center of this transnational region. As children, the first postconquest generation of northern grasslands residents worked, played, and traveled with domestic and wild animals, which introduced them to ecology and shaped sense-of-place rhythms. As adults, members of this generation of settler society worked to adapt to the northern grasslands by practicing both agricultural diversification and environmental conservation. Rozum argues that environmental awareness, including its ecological and cultural aspects, is key to forming a sense of place and a regional identity. The two concepts overlap and reinforce each other: place is more local, ecological, and emotional-sensual, and region is more ideational, national, and geographic in tone. This captivating study examines the growth of place and regional identities as they took shape within generations and over the life cycle.
Download or read book Open Ecosystems written by William J. Bond and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2019 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the geography, ecology, and antiquity of 'open ecosystems' which include grasslands, savannas, and shrublands.
Download or read book The Grass Crop written by M. Jones and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-07 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grass is a very important world crop. In some countries, for example the UK, Australia and New Zealand, animal products from grassland make a greater contribution to the value of agricultural production than does any other crop. Yet research being undertaken to further· our understanding of the factors affecting the growth and productivity of grasslands has trailed in the shadow of the determined efforts made to improve our knowledge of cereals and, to a somewhat lesser extent, legumes. However, in spite of its low profile, grassland research has resulted in considerable advances in our knowledge in the last 20 years, and we feel that this book provides a timely opportunity to bring together some of this work in a review of what is primarily the ecophysiology of the temperate grass crop. Unlike other crops grown for their grain or vegatative parts, grass and grassland products are used almost entirely for the feeding of ruminant animals; the interaction of the sward and the animal thus adds an extra dimension to investigations of the productivity of grassland. No one author could adequately encompass the breadth of work covered in the book. Acknowledged experts have therefore been selected as contributors to provide an up-to-date review of their own specialized areas. Whilst multi author texts can cause problems of lack of uniformity of approach, each contributor has been made aware of the contents of the other chapters in an attempt both to provide continuity and to prevent glaring overlaps.
