Conservation of Great Plains Ecosystems: Current Science, Future Options

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvii

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2. Defining and Valuing Ecosystems of the Great Plains

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. History, Environment, and the Future of the Great Plains

      • Dan Flores

      Pages 3-9

   3. Ecosystems of the Great Plains: Scales, Kinds, and Distributions

      • W. A. Reiners

      Pages 11-32

   4. Valuing Ecosystems and Biodiversity

      • Jason F. Shogren, Thomas D. Crocker

      Pages 33-46

3. Community and Economic Resources

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 47-47

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   2. Population Dynamics and Their Implications for the Ecosystems of the Great Plains

      • Richard Rathge

      Pages 49-62

   3. Economic Prospects for the Great Plains

      • Mark Drabenstott

      Pages 63-81

   4. Sustaining the Great Plains Ecosystem: Integrating People, Economics, and the Landscape

      • Robert D. Sopuck

      Pages 83-95

   5. Sustainable Rural Economic Development in the Great Plains

      • Margaret G. Thomas

      Pages 97-106

   6. Public Infrastructure: Highways

      • Bruce Cannon

      Pages 107-118

4. Climate and Biological Resources

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 119-119

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   2. Conserving the Biotic Integrity of the Great Plains

      • Fritz L. Knopf, Fred B. Samson

      Pages 121-133

   3. Climate and Vegetation in Central North America: Natural Patterns and Human Alterations

      • John A. Harrington Jr., Jay R. Harman

      Pages 135-148

   4. Great Plains Climates and Biota: Past, Present, and Future

      • Dexter Hinckley

      Pages 149-159

   5. Air Quality, Climate Change, and Their Possible Impacts on the Terrestrial Ecosystems of the North American Great Plains

      • Sagar V. Krupa, Allan H. Legge

      Pages 161-182

5. Land Resources

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 183-183

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   2. Conservation, Restoration, and Management of Great Plains Landscapes

      • Brent J. Danielson, Erwin E. Klaas

      Pages 185-198

   3. Rangeland Ecosystems in the Great Plains: Status and Management

      • M. M. Kothmann

      Pages 199-209

   4. Conservation Forestry for Sustainable Great Plains Ecosystems

      • Gerald F. Bratton, Peter R. Schaefer, James R. Brandle

      Pages 211-227

A multidisciplinary and multifaceted approach is employed to identify principal ecosystems and natural resources in the U.S. Great Plains that are at risk and that should receive priority for protection. The authors are drawn from a variety of disciplines and approaches, their ideas being presented as a pooling or harvest, rather than as a consensus. The 25 chapters provide background and in-depth discussion of multiple issues/problems related to Great Plains stewardship for future generations. The status and trends of major resources of the Great Plains within an historical, ecological and management framework are categorized according to common goals across the disciplines and can be used to make recommendations for public policy, research and development, and institutions. The challenge for residents of the Great Plains is to merge multiple ecosystem concepts to improve the environment and to improve economic vitality.

• Conservation
• Environmental Management
• Water Resources
• development
• ecosystem
• ecosystem concept
• ecosystems
• environment

• Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University, Ames, USA

  S. R. Johnson

• World Bank, USA

  Aziz Bouzaher

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