Grantee Research Project Results
A Regional Assessment of Land Use Effects on Ecosystem Structure and Function in the Central Grasslands
EPA Grant Number: R824993Title: A Regional Assessment of Land Use Effects on Ecosystem Structure and Function in the Central Grasslands
Investigators: Burke, Ingrid C. , Pielke, Roger , Parton, William J. , Lauenroth, William K.
Current Investigators: Burke, Ingrid C. , Mosier, Arvin , Pielke, Roger , Parton, William J. , Lauenroth, William K.
Institution: Colorado State University
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: October 1, 1996 through September 30, 1999
Project Amount: $1,590,428
RFA: Global Climate (1996) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , Climate Change
Description:
The Central Grassland region covers a large proportion of the contiguous U.S., and has experienced dramatic alterations through human landuse management. These changes in landuse management have caused significant changes in ecosystem attributes that are important to regional dynamics and sustainability, including plant community structure, net primary productivity, carbon storage, trace gas flux, and atmosphere-biosphere interactions that determine regional climate. Although previous studies have evaluated the effects of landuse at subregional scales (county to state levels), no previous work has assessed all of these factors as an integrated assessment of the impacts of landuse management at the scale of the entire central grassland region and at a resolution that will allow for the important effects of heterogeneity in landuse and soil type to be expressed. This study represents the first integrated regional assessment of landuse for the central grasslands, utilizing a suite of databases, remote sensing, and simulation models. The research will provide estimates of the impact of landuse on regional ecosystem attributes including plant species composition, above-and below ground net primary productivity, trace gas flux, and total system carbon storage.Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 63 publications for this projectJournal Articles:
Journal Articles have been submitted on this project: View all 34 journal articles for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
soil, global climate, grassland, ecological effect, ecosystem, regionalization, terrestrial, integrated assessment, ecology, primary production, land use, carbon storage, central, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Air, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, Ecosystem Protection, climate change, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Atmospheric Sciences, Ecological Risk Assessment, Ecological Indicators, risk assessment, ecological effects, scaling, environmental monitoring, assessment models, climate change impact, ecosystem assessment, Central Grasslands, land use effects, ecological assessment, integrated assessment, regional scale, soil, terrestrial, assessment methods, carbon storage, land use, climate variabilityProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.