Download or read book Mechanisms Driving Woody Encroachment in the Tallgrass Prairie written by Paul D. Killian and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Woody encroachment has altered the vegetative structure of grasslands worldwide and represents a potentially irreversible shift in grassland dynamics and biodiversity. Clonal woody species appear to be one of the greatest contributors to the shift from graminoid to woody dominance in the tallgrass prairie. Part of the high success rate of clonal species may be attributed to an ability to circumvent recruitment filters through the integration of environmental heterogeneity and acropetal translocation of resources from mother to daughter ramets. The clonal shrub Cornus drummondii persists in a tension zone of the graminoid-dominated tallgrass prairie, where the dominance structure is primarily maintained through the direct and indirect effects of fire. The competitive displacement of native herbaceous vegetation associated with the establishment and expansion of C. drummondii causes a major alteration in the fuel dynamics responsible for the propagation and sustainment of fire, potentially contributing to biofeedback mechanisms that facilitate shrub expansion. The goal of this research was to quantify fire behavior parameters (temperature, intensity, rate of spread, and heat flux) in relation to C. drummondii invasions and to test physiological integration as a mechanism driving encroachment, using manipulation experiments at the Konza Prairie Biological Station. We observed a significant decrease in fireline intensity associated with the encroachment of C. drummondii, which was amplified by the effects of stem density and shrub island area. This alteration in fire behavior also led to reduced heat flux at stems within shrub islands, reducing the likelihood of tissue necrosis and top-kill. With additional fuel, temperatures and fire intensities were higher, similar to open grasslands. In severing rhizomes, and effectively severing the integration of clonal ramets, we observed a higher risk of mortality of daughter ramets. These rhizome severed ramets were more water stressed, had lower photosynthetic rates, and lower woody and foliar biomass production. These results indicate that C. drummondii significantly alters fire behavior, releasing ramets from the fire trap of successive top-killing, while the integration of intraclonal ramets allows daughter ramets to survive mid-summer drought and increases the likelihood of successful establishment and further clonal reproduction.
Download or read book Drivers Mechanisms and Thresholds of Woody Encroachment in Mesic Grasslands written by Rory Charles O'Connor and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past 130 years in the North American tallgrass prairie, dramatic changes in grassland extent, structure and function have resulted from cessation of fire, extirpation of native herbivores (grazers and browsers), and the fragmentation of the landscape. One consequence of these changes is woody encroachment, the increased cover and abundance of woody species in grasslands. Woody encroachment is a worldwide phenomenon, resulting from global drivers (increased CO2 concentrations [CO2], changes in climate) and local drivers (i.e. land-use history, habitat fragmentation, changes in herbivore diversity, and land management practices). In this dissertation, I investigated the role of fire and browsing (local drivers) on woody plant ecophysiology (Chapter 2 & 3). I then addressed how elevated [CO2], and drought (global drivers) impact the growth and physiology of woody plant seedlings (Chapter 4). Chapter 5 reports on breakpoint models to identify temporal and spatial thresholds in ecosystems to help improve adaptive management. In Chapter 2, I observed that fire and repeated browsing significantly decreased Cornus drummondii canopy cover, ramet density, and root nonstructural carbohydrates. These results suggest the significance of both fire and browsing on reducing C. drummondii dominance in the tallgrass prairie. In Chapter 3, I tested the limited leaf homeothermy hypothesis (LLHH) which posits that leaves can thermoregulate during periods of high temperatures to maximize carbon gain. I used C. drummondii shrub islands to test LLHH. Tleaf was lower during the hottest parts of the day, had minimal spatial variability within the shrub islands, and had little to no variation between browsed and unbrowsed shrub islands. This regulation of Tleaf by C. drummondii suggests support for the LLHH via high rates of transpiration and low water-use efficiency. In Chapter 4, I investigated how increased [CO2] and water stress impacted the growth and physiology of four woody encroaching species (C. drummondii, Rhus glabra, Gleditsia tricanthos, Juniperus osteosperma). I found that elevated [CO2] ameliorated the conditions of drought for all species through tight regulation of stomatal conductance. Starch concentrations within leaf and stem tissues had variable responses to treatments based on the species. However, I did not observe any increases in total biomass in response to increased [CO2]. These results demonstrate that these seedlings were resilient to water stress in conjunction with elevated [CO2]. In Chapter 5, I developed a method to quantitatively estimate temporal and spatial thresholds using Bayesian breakpoint models. Both models estimated breakpoints and corresponding uncertainties. Breakpoints and the latent spatial interpolation of breakpoints were mapped. Mapping of spatial breakpoints will allow managers to track where thresholds were crossed to help allocate resources. Overall, the results from my dissertation highlight the key roles of local and global drivers on woody plant ecophysiology, and the mechanisms contributing to their ability to maximize carbon gain in fluctuating environmental conditions. My work also provided a framework for linking the knowledge of drivers and mechanisms to create quantitative models that can inform when and where thresholds occur for adaptive management of grassland ecosystems.
Download or read book Rangeland Systems written by David D. Briske and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-04-12 with total page 664 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license. This book provides an unprecedented synthesis of the current status of scientific and management knowledge regarding global rangelands and the major challenges that confront them. It has been organized around three major themes. The first summarizes the conceptual advances that have occurred in the rangeland profession. The second addresses the implications of these conceptual advances to management and policy. The third assesses several major challenges confronting global rangelands in the 21st century. This book will compliment applied range management textbooks by describing the conceptual foundation on which the rangeland profession is based. It has been written to be accessible to a broad audience, including ecosystem managers, educators, students and policy makers. The content is founded on the collective experience, knowledge and commitment of 80 authors who have worked in rangelands throughout the world. Their collective contributions indicate that a more comprehensive framework is necessary to address the complex challenges confronting global rangelands. Rangelands represent adaptive social-ecological systems, in which societal values, organizations and capacities are of equal importance to, and interact with, those of ecological processes. A more comprehensive framework for rangeland systems may enable management agencies, and educational, research and policy making organizations to more effectively assess complex problems and develop appropriate solutions.
Download or read book Current Insights in Drylands written by Niall Patrick Hanan and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2024-04-05 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We are now entering the third decade of the 21st century, and recent drylands-focused research has led to major advances in our understanding of the coupled roles of climatic, edaphic, biotic, and anthropogenic processes in dryland ecosystem function, degradation, and sustainable management. Frontiers has organized a series of Research Topics to highlight the latest advancements in science in order to be at the forefront of science in different fields of research. This editorial initiative, led by Professor Niall Hanan, Specialty Chief Editor of the Drylands section, together with Dr. Lindsay Hutley, is focused on new insights, novel developments, current challenges, latest discoveries, recent advances, and future perspectives in the drylands field.
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 Remote Sensing Monitoring and Evaluation of Degraded Grassland in China written by Wei Zhou and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-09-17 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on grassland ecosystem evaluation including vegetation coverage, net primary productivity, carbon sink accounting, and grassland degradation evaluation based on mutual data resource, ecosystem model simulation, remote sensing monitoring and driving mechanism exploration. It aims to provide a guide seeking to understand the overall situation of grassland in China in the context of global climate change and build a scenario for the driving force quantitative evaluation. It will be an essential reference to the terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycle and degraded grassland ecological restoration engineer implementation. Chapters are carefully developed to cover (1) situation of grassland in China; (2) spatial-temporal of grassland coverage in China;(3) net primary productivity evaluation; (4) carbon sink/source accounting and its carbon-hydrology effect;(5) grassland landscape pattern; (6) grassland degradation evaluation based on remote sensing;(7) Grassland degradation restoration and constructing green ecological protective screen. The new scenario and driving mechanism evaluation model make this book a valuable read for researcher of land ecosystem carbon cycle, ecosytem degradation remote sensing evaluation as well as organizations engaged in eco-restoration practices.
Download or read book Rangeland Ecology Management written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 644 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book PRAIRIEMAP a GIS Database for Prairie Grassland Management in Western North America written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 6 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The PRAIRIEMAP web site (http://prairiemap.wr.usgs.gov) contains links to partners, documentation of the data, and a directory of GIS data that can be downloaded.
Download or read book Climate Actions written by Brenda Groskinsky and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2022-03-16 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a diverse set of solid concerted strategies in the development and implementation of specific "climate actions," in natural and built places where we all live. The book also serves as a conduit of knowledge for those who are unsure on how they can make a difference for their families, their communities, and the natural places that surround them. Through many actionable examples of mitigation efforts for the ever-present effects of climate change, especially for those who may not understand the wide range of climate action opportunities that are available. Scientists, academics, and community leaders, will find concrete examples on how they too, can develop and implement climate action solutions.
Download or read book American Journal of Botany written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 1004 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Savanna Woody Plants and Large Herbivores written by Peter Frank Scogings and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2019-09-30 with total page 794 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Insights on current research and recent developments in understanding global savanna systems Increasingly recognized as synonymous with tropical grassy biomes, savannas are found in tropical and sub-tropical climates as well as warm, temperate regions of North America. Savanna Woody Plants and Large Herbivores examines the interactions between woody plants and browsing mammals in global savannas—focusing primarily on the C4 grassy ecosystems with woody components that constitute the majority of global savannas—and discusses contemporary savanna management models and applications. This much-needed addition to current research examines topics including the varying behavior of browsing mammals, the response to browsing by woody species, and the factors that inhibit forage intake. Contributions from an international team of active researchers and experts compare and contrast different savanna ecosystems, offering a global perspective on savanna functioning, the roles of soil and climate in resource availability and organism interaction, and the possible impacts of climate change across global savannas. Fills a gap in literature on savanna management issues, including biodiversity conservation and animal production Applies concepts developed in other biomes to future savanna research Complements contemporary books on savanna or large herbivore ecology Focuses on the woody component of savanna ecosystems and large herbivore interactions in savannas Compares tree-mammal systems of savannas and other eco-systems of temperate and boreal regions Provides numerous case studies of plant-mammal interactions from various savanna ecosystems Savanna Woody Plants and Large Herbivores is a valuable addition to those in fields such as ecology, wildlife and conservation biology, natural resource management, and environmental science.
Download or read book Wild Rangelands written by Johan T. du Toit and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-11-06 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rangeland ecosystems which include unimproved grasslands,shrublands, savannas and semi-deserts, support half of theworld’s livestock, while also providing habitats for some ofthe most charismatic of wildlife species. This book examines thepressures on rangeland ecosystems worldwide from human land use,over-hunting, and subsistence and commercial farming of livestockand crops. Leading experts have pooled their experiences from allcontinents to cover the ecological, sociological, political,veterinary, and economic aspects of rangeland management today. This book provides practitioners and students ofrangeland management and wildland conservation with a diversity ofperspectives on a central question: can rangelands be wildlands? The first book to examine rangelands from a conservationperspective Emphasizes the balance between the needs of people andlivestock, and wildlife Written by an international team of experts covering allgeographical regions Examines ecological, sociological, political, veterinary, andeconomic aspects of rangeland management and wildland conservation,providing a diversity of perspectives not seen before in a singlevolume
Download or read book Comparative Plant Succession Among Terrestrial Biomes of the World written by Karel Prach and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-14 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a comparative approach to plant succession among all terrestrial biomes and disturbances, helping to reveal generalizable patterns.
Download or read book Global Biodiversity in a Changing Environment written by Osvaldo E. Sala and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2001-08-24 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climatic change, conservation biology
Download or read book Fire and Plants written by William J. Bond and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Large regions of the world are regularly burnt either deliberately or naturally. However, despite the widespread occurrence of such fire-prone ecosystems, and considerable body of research on plant population biology in relation to fire, until now there have only been limited attempts at a coherent conceptual synthesis of the field for use by students or researchers.
Download or read book Only in Africa written by Norman Owen-Smith and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-10-07 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Demonstrates how Africa's physical features, savannas and abundant grazers enabled frugivorous apes to become savanna-living hunters.
Download or read book Selected Research on Woody Encroachment Glacial Cross valley Profiles and Mass movement Disturbance Regime Landscapes written by Brandon Jeffery Weihs and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation is a series of stand-alone journal articles and reports produced during my tenure as a Ph.D. student. All of these articles are peer-reviewed outside the Kansas State University system, and one of them is published in Papers in Applied Physical Geography, a peer-reviewed journal. The following dissertation is itemized by chapters that include these pieces; Woody encroachment of a riparian corridor in a tallgrass prairie: dendrochronological evidence from Kansas, USA; Slope Failures and Cross-valley Profiles, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming; Mass-movement Disturbance Regime Landscapes, Hazards, and Water Implications: Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
