Assessment of grassland ecosystem conditions in the Southwestern United States. Vol. 1

Abstract

This report is volume 1 of a two-volume ecological assessment of grassland ecosystems in the Southwestern United States. Broadscale assessments are syntheses of current scientific knowledge, including a description of uncertainties and assumptions, to provide a characterization and comprehensive description of ecological, social, and economic components within an assessment area. Volume 1 of this assessment focuses on the ecology, types, conditions, and management practices of Southwestern grasslands. The second volume, due to be published in 2005, describes wildlife and fish species, their habitat requirements, and species-specific management concerns, in Southwestern grasslands. This assessment is regional in scale and pertains primarily to lands administered by the Southwestern Region of the USDA Forest Service (Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas, and western Oklahoma). A primary purpose of volume 1 is to provide information to employees of the National Forest System for managing grassland ecosystems and landscapes, both at the Forest Plan level for Plan amendments and revisions, and at the project level to place site-specific activities within the larger framework. This volume should also be useful to State, municipal, and other Federal agencies, and to private landowners who manage grasslands in the Southwestern United States.

Titles contained within Assessment of grassland ecosystem conditions in the Southwestern United States. Vol. 1

• Purpose and Need for a Grassland Assessment
• Grassland Assessment Categories and Extent
• Southwestern Grassland Ecology
• Biodiversity, functional processes, and the ecological consequences of fragmentation in Southwestern grasslands
• Historic and Contemporary Land Use in Southwestern Grassland Ecosystems
• Historic and Current Conditions of Southwestern Grasslands
• Grassland Sustainability
• Tools for Management for Grassland Ecosystem Sustainability: Thinking "Outside the Box"

Citation

Finch, Deborah M. 2004. Assessment of grassland ecosystem conditions in the Southwestern United States. Vol. 1. Assessment of grassland ecosystem conditions in the Southwestern United States. Volume 1. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-135-vol. 1. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 167 p.