Abstract
The temperate-grassland biome occupies a large portion of the planet. Temperate grasslands represent the potential natural vegetation of an area of 49 × 106km2, which is equivalent to 36% of the earth’s surface (Shantz 1954). This estimate of the area occupied by grasslands excludes savannas, but it does include grass and shrub deserts. The area covered exclusively by grasslands is 15 × 106km2, which accounts for 11% of the earth’s surface. The grassland biome occurs in almost all continents (Singh et al. 1983) from the Americas to Asia and from Europe to Australia (Fig. 7.1). In North America, most of the Great Plains is dominated by grasslands from the boundary with subtropical biomes in the south of the United States to the boundary with the Canadian temperate forest in the north. In South America, the pampas and large expanses of Patagonia are covered by grasslands. In Asia, vast areas are occupied by grasslands from Ukraine to China.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alcamo J (1994) Image 2: Integrated Modeling of Global Climate Change. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Arnolds E (1991) Decline of ectomycorrhizal fungi in Europe. Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment 35:209–244.
Bailey RG (1998) Ecoregions: The Ecosystem Geography of the Oceans and Continents. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Berendse F, Elberse WT (1990) Competition and nutrient availability in heathland and grassland ecosystems. In: Grace JB, Tilman D (eds) Perspectives on Plant Competition, pp. 93–116. Academic Press, San Diego.
Cabrera A (1970) Flora de la Provincia de Buenos Aires: Gramíneas. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Buenos Aires.
Cavagnaro JB (1988) Distribution of C3 and C4 grasses at different altitudes in a temperate arid region of Argentina. Oecologia 76:273–277.
Chapin FS, Lubchenco J, Reynolds HL (1995) Biodiversity effects on patterns and processes of communities and ecosystems. In: Mooney HA, Lubchenco J, Dirzo R, Sala OE (eds) Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Basic Principles, pp. 289–300. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Christensen M, Scarborough AM (1969) Soil microfaunal investigations, Pawnee site. Rep. 23, U.S. IBP Grassland Biome, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
Coughenour MB (1985) Graminoid responses to grazing by large herbivores: adaptations, exaptations, and interacting processes. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 72:852–863.
Field C, Chapin F, Chiariello N, Holland E, Mooney H (1995) The Jasper Ridge CO2 experiment: design and motivation. In: Koch G, Mooney H (eds) Carbon Dioxide and Terrestrial Ecosystems, pp. 121–145. Academic Press, New York.
Freckman DW, Whitford WG, Steiberger Y (1987) Effect of irrigation on nematode population dynamics and activity in desert soils. Biology and Fertility of Soils 3:3–10.
Freeman CC (1998) The flora of Konza prairie. A historical review and contemporary patterns. In: Knapp A, Briggs J, Hartnett D, Collins S (eds) Grassland Dynamics: Long-Term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie, pp. 69–80. Oxford University Press, New York.
Fung IY, Tucker CJ, Prentice KC (1987) Application of advanced very high resolution radiometer vegetation index to study atmosphere-biosphere exchange of CO2. Journal of Geophysical Research 92D:2999–3015.
Golluscio RA, Sala OE (1993) Plant functional types and ecological strategies in Patagonian forbs. Journal of Vegetation Science 4:839–846.
Groombridge B (ed) (1992) Global Biodiversity: Status of the Earth’s Living Resources. Chapman and Hall, London.
Headrick DR (1990) Technological change. In: Turner BL, Clark WC, Kates RW, Richards JF, Mathews JT, Meyer WB (eds) Earth as transformed by human action, pp. 55–67. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Holland EA, Dentener FJ, Braswell BH, Sulzman JM (1999) Contemporary and preindustrial global reactive nitrogen budgets. Biogeochemistry 46:7–43.
Huenneke LF, Hamburg SP, Koide R, Mooney HA, Vitousek PM (1990) Effects of soil resources on plant invasion and community structure in California serpentine grassland. Ecology 71:478–491.
Jackson RB, Sala OE, Field CB, Mooney HA (1994) CO2 alters water use, carbon gain, and yield for the dominant species in a natural grassland. Oecologia 98:257–262.
Jackson RB, Canadell J, Ehleringer JR, Mooney HA, Sala OE, Schulze ED (1996) A global analysis of root distributions for terrestrial biomes. Oecologia 108:389–411.
Jackson RB, Sala OE, Paruelo JM, Mooney HA (1998) Ecosystem water fluxes for two grasslands in elevated CO2: a modeling analysis. Oecologia 113:537–546.
Jobbágy E, Sala O (2000) Controls of grass and shrub aboveground production in the Patagonian steppe. Ecological Applications 10:541–549.
Kattenberg A, Giorgi F, Grassl H, Meehl GA, Mitchell JFB, Stouffer RJ, et al. (1996) Climate Models—Projections of future climate. In: Climate Change: The IPCC Scientific Assessment, pp. 285–358. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Kauffman DW, Fay PA, Kaufman G, Zimmerman JL (1998) Diversity of terrestrial macrofauna. In: Knapp A, Briggs J, Hartnett D, Collins S (eds) Grassland dynamics: Long-term ecological research in tallgrass prairie, pp. 101–112. Oxford University Press, New York.
Knapp A, Briggs J, Blair J, Turner C (1998) Patterns and controls of aboveground net primary production in tallgrass prairie. In: Knapp A, Briggs J, Hartnett D, Collins S (eds) Grassland Dynamics: Long-Term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie, pp. 193–221. Oxford University Press, New York.
Koch G, Mooney H (1995) Responses of terrestrial ecosystems to elevated CO2: a synthesis and summary. In: Koch G, Mooney H (eds) Carbon Dioxide and Terrestrial Ecosystems, pp. 415–429. Academic Press, New York.
Kramer PJ (1969) Plant and Soil Water Relationships: A Modern Synthesis. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York.
Lauenroth WK, Milchunas DG (1992) Short-grass steppe. In: Coupland RT (ed) Natural Grasslands: Introduction and Western Hemisphere, pp. 183–226. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Lauenroth WK, Sala OE (1992) Long-term forage production of North American shortgrass steppe. Ecological Applications 2:397–403.
Lawton J, Bignelli D, Bolton B, Bloemers G, Eggleton P, Hammond P, et al. (1998) Biodiversity inventories, indicator taxa and effects of habitat modification in tropical forest. Nature 391:72–76.
Levine J (2000) Species diversity and biological invasions: relating local process to community pattern. Science 288:852–854.
Lieth H, Whittaker R (1975) Primary productivity of the biosphere. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Lindroth RL (1996) CO2-mediated changes in tree chemistry and tree-lepidoptera interactions. In: Koch GW, Mooney HA (eds) Carbon Dioxide and Terrestrial Ecosystems, pp. 102–120. Academic Press, San Diego.
Mack RN (1989) Temperate grasslands vulnerable to plant invasions: characteristics and consequences. In: Drake JA, Mooney HA, diCastri F, Groves RH, Kruger FJ, Rejmânek M, et al. (eds) Biological Invasions: A Global Perspective, pp. 155–179. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Mack RN, Thompson JN (1982) Evolution in steppe with few large, hooved mammals. The American Naturalist 119:757–773.
Milchunas DG, Lauenroth WK (1993) Quantitative effects of grazing on vegetation and soils over a global range of environments. Ecological Monographs 63:327–366.
Milchunas DG, Sala OE, Lauenroth WK (1988) A generalized model of the effects of grazing by large herbivores on grassland community structure. The American Naturalist 132:87–106.
Mooney HA, Drake BG, Luxmoore RJ, Oechel WC, Pitelka LF (1991) Predicting ecosystem responses to elevated CO2 concentrations. BioScience 41:96–104.
Mooney HA, Lubchenco J, Dirzo R, Sala OE (1995) Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Basic Principles. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Owensby C, Ham J, Knapp A, Rice C, Coyne P, Auen L (1996) Ecosystem-level responses of tallgrass prairie to elevated CO2. In Koch G, Mooney H (eds) Carbon Dioxide and Terrestrial Ecosystems, pp. 147–162. Academic Press, New York.
Paruelo J, Jobbágy E, Sala O, Lauenroth W, Burke I (1998) Functional and structural convergence of temperate grassland and shrubland ecosystems. Ecological Applications 8:194–206.
Ransom MD, Rice CW, Todd TC, Wehmueller WA (1998) Soils and soil biota. In: Knapp A, Briggs J, Hartnett D, Collins S (eds) Grassland Dynamics: Long-Term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie, pp. 48–66. Oxford University Press, New York.
Rejmánek M (1989) Invasibility of plant communities. In: Drake JA, Mooney HA, diCastri F, Groves RH, Kruger FJ, Rejmánek M, et al. (eds) Biological Invasions: A Global Perspective, pp. 155–179. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Rejmánek, M (1996) Species richness and resistance to invasions. In: Orians GH, Dirzo R, Cushman JH (eds) Biodiversity and Ecosystem Processes in Tropical Forests, pp. 153–172. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Sala OE, Austin AT, Vivanco L (2001) Temperate grassland and shrubland Ecosystems. In: Levin S (ed) Encyclopedia of Biodiversity 1, 5:627–635. Academic Press, San Diego.
Sala OE, Lauenroth WK, Golluscio RA (1997) Plant functional types in temperate semi-arid regions. In: Smith TM, Shugart HH, Woodward FI (eds) Plant Functional Types, pp. 217–233. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Schulze ED, Mooney HA, Sala OE, Jobbágy E, Buchmann N, Bauer G, et al. (1996) Rooting depth, water availability, and vegetation cover along an aridity gradient in Patagonia. Oecologia 108:503–511.
Shantz H (1954) The place of grasslands in the earth’s cover of vegetation. Ecology 35:142–145.
Sims PL, Singh JS (1978) The structure and function of ten western North American grasslands. III. Net primary production, turnover and efficiencies of energy capture and water use. Journal of Ecology 66:573–597.
Singh JS, Lauenroth WK, Milchunas DG (1983) Geography of grassland ecosystems. Progress in Physical Geography 7:46–80.
Tilman D (1993) Species richness of experimental productivity gradients: how important is colonization limitation? Ecology 74:2179–2191.
Udvardy M (1975) A classification of the biogeographical provinces of the world. Report 18, IUCN, Morges.
Vrba ES (1993) Mammal evolution in the African Neogene and a new look at the Great American Interchange. In: Goldblatt P (ed) Biological Relationships between Africa and South America, pp. 391–432. Yale University Press, New Haven.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sala, O.E. (2001). Temperate Grasslands. In: Chapin, F.S., Sala, O.E., Huber-Sannwald, E. (eds) Global Biodiversity in a Changing Environment. Ecological Studies, vol 152. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0157-8_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0157-8_7
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-95286-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0157-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive