Grassland Dynamics

Focuses on over 15 years of research at the Konza Prairie in North Eastern Kansas and provides a unique perspective on the structural and functional ecology of a grassland ecosystem that once covered most of central North America.

I. INTRODUCTION; 1. Grasslands, Konza Prairie and Long-Term Ecological Research; II. PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT; 2. Regional Climate and the Distribution of Tallgrass Prairie; 3. Geomorphology of the Konza Prairie; 4. Soils and Soil Biota; III. TERRESTRIAL POPULATIONS AND COMMUNITIES; 5. The Flora of Konza Prairie: A Historical Review and Contemporary Patterns; 6. Plant Populations: Patterns and Processes; 7. Diversity of Terrestrial Macrofauna; 8. Animal Populations and Communities; 9. Disturbance, Diversity and Species Interactions in Tallgrass Prairie; IV. HYDROLOGY AND AQUATIC ECOLOGY; 10. Hydrology and Aquatic Chemistry; 11. Structure and Dynamics of Aquatic Communities; V. ECOSYSTEM AND LANDSCAPE-LEVEL ANALYSIS; 12. Patterns and Controls of Aboveground Net Primary Production in Tallgrass Prairie; 13. Terrestrial Nutrient Cycling in Tallgrass Prairie; 14. Belowground Biology and Processes; 15. A Landscape Perspective of Patterns and Processes in Tallgrass Prairie; VI. TOWARD THE FUTURE; 16. Climate Change Elevated CO2 and Predictive Modeling: Past and Future Climate Change Scenarios for the Tallgrass Prairie; 17. The Dynamic Tallgrass Prairie: Synthesis and Research Opportunities