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Abstract
This chapter provides a brief overview, and selected in-depth coverage, of the factors and processes that have formed, and continue to shape, our Southwestern grasslands. In general, this chapter looks at how distributions of grasslands are regulated by soils and climate, and modified by disturbance (natural and/or anthropogenic). The attendant ecological components of grasslands will vary according to climate, soil, and other biotic factors including competition, predation, and mutualism. A shifting equilibrium typically exists between grasslands, deserts, and shrublands in the Southwest, such that changes in the severity or frequency of disturbance events (such as grazing, fire, or drought) can cause a change from one community type to another.Individual papers from this publication
Parent Publication
Citation
Ford, Paulette L.; Potter, Deborah U.; Pendleton, Rosemary; Pendleton, Burton; Robbie, Wayne A.; Gottfried, Gerald J. 2004. Southwestern Grassland Ecology. In: Finch, Deborah M., Editor. 2004. 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. p. 18-48
