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Great Plains Research, Volume 9, Volume 2, Fall 1999

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Contents:

Calls for papers
Conferences

Review Of A Classification Of North American Biotic Communities By David E. Brown, Frank Reichenbacher, Susan E. Franson, Robert B. Kaul

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

This is the latest of many efforts over the past century to classify North America's natural, undisturbed biological communities as they existed in pre-agrarian times and in many places continue to exist today. Its authors' stated objective is to integrate existing works into a hierarchical synthesis that can lead to a standardized system for researchers, land managers, conservation groups, and government agencies. To that end, the authors have modified and expanded David Brown's earlier classification for the Southwest to cover the continent, defined here as the area from the Panama Canal to the Arctic, including Greenland and some of the …

Review Of Grassland Dynamics: Long-Term Ecological Research In Tallgrass Prairie Edited By Alan K. Knapp, John M. Briggs, David C. Hartnett, And Scott L. Collins, Mary Ann Vinton

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

This book summarizes the wealth of new information on tallgrass prairie ecology gleaned from over fifteen years of intensive study of the Konza Prairie Research Natural Area in the Flint Hills of northeastern Kansas. Because the Flint Hills' steep topography and shallow soils made the region unsuitable for plowing, the area contains the largest tracts of native tallgrass prairie anywhere. The 3,427 hectare Konza site has been the focus of research since 1972 and funded since 1981 by the National Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program. LTER also funds research at twenty other sites representing all major North American …

Review Of Reducing Soil Water Evaporation With Tillage And Straw Mulching By S. K. Jalota And S. S. Prihar, Gail A. Wicks

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

The future of rain-fed agriculture depends upon reducing soil water evaporation and improving soil water storage. We must reduce runoff and increase water infiltration. By keeping more crop residue on the soil surface, growers are reducing erosion. Increased water infiltration has led to problems in some areas where fallow was practiced by causing saline seeps. Farmers will adapt to farming methods that conserve more soil water and increase crop production.

Reducing Soil Water Evaporation with Tillage and Straw Mulching presents an excellent review of the literature (over 230 research papers) explaining the process of reducing water evaporation with tillage and …

Review Of A Color Handbook Of Diseases Of Small Grain Cereal Crops By T. D. Murray, D. W. Parry, And N. D. Cattlin, William W. Bockus

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

When I received A Color Handbook of Diseases of Small Grain Cereal Crops, the first thing that came to mind was "Do we really need another one of these books?" I went to my bookshelf and pulled out no fewer than eight volumes and pamphlets depicting wheat or small grain diseases with color photographs as an aid to identification. After reading the Handbook, however, I have concluded that two major features may make it one of my top two references in this area. Foremost is its outstanding gallery of, full-color pictures. Nigel Cattlin may well be our day's premier …

Table Of Contents- Fall 1999

Great Plains Quarterly

Contents

"The Silent Artillery Of Time": Understanding Social Change In The Rural Midwest

Community Dreaming In The Rural Northwest: The Montana Study, 1944-47

Romantic Women And La Lucha: Denise Chavez's Face Of An Angel

Whither Cowboy Poetry?

Book Reviews

Book Notes

From The Editor

Notes And News

Index

Prairie Grasslands: An Undervalued Resource Grass, Cows And Environmental Management On The Canadian Prairies, Jilll S. Vaisey, Peggy Strankman

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Grasslands are integral to the economic health of Canada's rural prairies, making up 30% of the agricultural land base in Canada's three prairie provinces. These grasslands support agriculture, through grazing of livestock, and recreation, such as hunting and ecotourism. These grasslands are also environmentally significant, providing habitat for native plants and animals. The economic and environmental significance of these grasslands should not be undervalued. Economic opportunities and environmental policies and regulations affect the management of these lands. Current issues that may affect how the prairie is used include the: potential species-at-risk legislation, other initiatives for biodiversity enhancement, greenhouse gas regulations …

The Structure And Function Of Ecosystems In The Central North American Grassland Region, W. K. Luaenroth, I .C. Burke, M. P. Gutmann

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

The central grassland region occupies the center of North America in the United States, Canada and Mexico and is a unique resource for the continent. While there are no other areas with comparable features, the largest similar grassland areas occur in Europe and Asia. The uniqueness of the region derives from its size, its relative flatness, and the smoothness of its physical gradients. The smooth gradients in precipitation and temperature are the reasons why most gradients in ecosystem properties are also smooth. The west-east gradient in precipitation and the north-south gradient in temperature result in corresponding gradients in plant community …

Comparative Ecology Of Bison And Cattle On Mixed-Grass Prairie, Allen Steuter, Lori Hidinger

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

We study bison (Bos bison) herds that are managed year-long without protein or energy supplements in large mixed prairie pastures in Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. We also manage cattle (B. taurus) grazing during the growing season in separate, but adjacent pastures. Management reflects the divergent evolution of bison and cattle with their respective human cultures and landscapes. Bison exhibit a stronger preference for the perennial grasses that form the prairie matrix, and they are strongly attracted to open landscapes during the growing season. Cattle include more forbs in their diet, and they use wooded …

Review Of Valley Of Grass: Tallgrass Prairie And Parkland Of The Red River Valley Region By Kim Alan Chapman, Adelheid Fischer, And Mary Kinsella Ziegenhagen, Tom Domek

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

A great deal has been made of the dire circumstances facing imperiled tallgrass ecosystems in the future-and with good reason. With more than 98 percent of all tallgrass and tallgrass savanna already converted to cultivated farmland and other nearly irreversible land uses, tallgrass ecosystems now teeter on the brink of total collapse. Into this bleak condition leap the authors of Valley of Grass: Tallgrass Prairie and Parkland of the Red River Valley Region. Remarkably, they strike a refreshingly non-confrontational, almost optimistic posture. Their thesis? That the restoration and rehabilitation of the tallgrass prairie and the continued use of its …

Review Of The Evolving Science Of Grassland Improvement By L. R. Humphreys, William K. Lauenroth

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

The Great Plains consisted of several million square kilometers of native perennial grasslands in the middle of the nineteenth century. Most is still grassland, but on more than half the area native perennials have been replaced by single species annuals harvested for grain. For many of us who live and work in the region, the term grassland is reserved for native perennial grasslands, one of the elements of the current mosaic of land cover types that comprise the contemporary Great Plains. This is a narrow definition of grassland and only a small part of what L. R. Humphreys is referring …

Review Of Agronomy Of Grassland Systems, Second Edition By C. J. Pearson And R. L. Ison, David Bade

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Agronomy of Grassland Systems is an excellent reference, textbook, or guide for the forage professional, the best I have read promoting looking at forages in a systematic manner. It challenges researchers, extension specialists, consultants, and producers to think of their work as it fits into forage systems on a local or global basis. Using research from around the world, the book offers a unique global perspective; at the same time local producers will find it a practical reference for agronomic principles.

Review Of Under The Blade: The Conversion Of Agricultural Landscapes Edited By Richard K. Olson And Thomas A. Lyson, Gordon Scholz

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Loss of agricultural land to other land uses is an issue of growing concern in the United States. A number of studies in recent years have drawn attention to the extent of agricultural land loss and have stimulated considerable discussion about the impacts of changing land use patterns. The 1992 National Resources Inventory by the US Department of Agriculture indicated that conversion of agricultural and forest lands to non-agricultural uses is occurring at an average rate of at least 1.4 million acres per year.

Because conversion of farmland to other uses is practically irreversible, even over a fairly long timespan, …

Review Of Ecosystem Management: Applications For Sustainable Forest And Wildlife Resources Edited By Mark S. Boyce And Alan Haney, Roger Suffling

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

The papers in this volume, gathered from a March 1994 symposium at the University of Wisconsin, survey the field of ecosystem management, are avowedly oriented toward the US, and concentrate on forest systems, though readers from abroad and those interested in aquatic systems and grasslands will also find matters of interest here. The editors have organized the book into five sections. "Ecological Framework" embraces ecosystem management, landscape ecology, keystone ecosystems, maintenance of rare species, and the role of mineral cycling. The "Disturbance" chapters cover riparian habitats and forested wetlands. "Techniques and Classification" includes classification of ecological landscape units, GIS and …

Recent Biodiversity Patterns In The Great Plains: Implications For Restoration And Management, Carolyn Hull Sieg, Curtis H. Flather, Stephan Mccanny

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Ecosystem, species and genetic dimensions of biodiversity have eroded since widespread settlement of the Great Plains. Conversion of native vegetation in the region followed the precipitation gradient, with the greatest conversion in the eastern tallgrass prairie and eastern mixed-grass types. Areas now dominated by intensive land uses are "hot spots" for exotic birds. However, species of all taxa listed as threatened or endangered are well-distributed across the Great Plains. These species are often associated with special landscape features, such as wetlands, rivers, caves, sandhills and prairie dog towns. In the long run, sustaining biodiversity in the Great Plains, and the …

Response Of Buffalograss (Buchloe Dactyloides) And Blue Grama (Bouteloua Gracilis) To Fire, Paulette Ford

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

I analyzed primary literature, spanning 42 years (1948-1990) that addressed buffalograss and blue grama's response to fire; no relevant literature has been published since 1990. The results suggest that fire in shortgrass steppe need not be negative. Plant response to fire depends mainly on levels of precipitation, though some studies indicated that the season during which fire occurs may also affect recovery of buffalograss and blue grama.

Background And Synopsis: Symposium On The Great Plains Grasslands At The Millennium, J. E. Mitchell, Svata M. Louda, B. Gillam

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Research on biodiversity, landscape ecology, grazing management, greenhouse gas effects, control of invasive species, riparian ecology, sustainable development, and related fields is forging a new and broader understanding of the Great Plains and its grassland ecosystems. This research documents dramatic changes that are taking place across the Great Plains and their consequences. First, we review the factors that led to the January 1999 symposium, "Great Plains at the Millennium," sponsored by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, USDA Forest Service, Ecological Society of America, Society for Range Management, as well as the Center for Grassland Studies and the Center for Great …

Great Plains Research, Volume 9, Number 2, Fall 1999 - Contents

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Table of contents

Great Plains Research, Volume 9, Number 2, Fall 1999 - Book Notes

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Books:

Reshaping the Countryside: Perceptions and Processes of Rural Change
The Western Range Revisited: Removing Livestock from Public Lands to Conserve Native Biodiversity
The Ecoregions of Saskatchewan
Rattlesnake: Portrait of a Predator
Justice in Paradise

Great Plains Research, Volume 9, Number 2, Fall 1999 - Annual Index

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Annual Index

Greater Prairie-Chicken Harvest In Kansas: Early Vs. Regular Seasons, Francis E. Durbian, Iii, Elmer J. Finck, Roger D. Applegate

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Populations of the greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) in Kansas are managed to maintain population size while providing recreational hunting potential. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the effect of adding an early hunting season (late September-October) to the regular season (November-late January). We compared the hunting methods used and the harvest of greater prairie-chickens during early and regular hunting seasons for 1990-91 and 1991-92. The use of dogs and walkup hunting techniques were emphasized in early season, whereas pass shooting in feeding fields was emphasized in the regular season. During early season, the reported …

Sustainability Of Human Communities In Prairie Grasslands, Cornelia Butler Flora

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Explorers and colonists in the American grasslands viewed the landscape as barren and its people as savage. Both the land and its people needed to be controlled, and this often led to the destruction of both the environment and its inhabitants. Our perception of the landscape influences our actions toward it. As we redefine our perception of the landscape, we act differently toward it. We have begun to appreciate the important ecological functions provided by prairie grasslands. Understanding all the resources in plains communities - the human, social, financial and environmental forms of capital - and the impact of each …

Response Of Riparian Vegetation To Streamflow Regulation And Land Use In The Great Plains, W. Carter Johnson

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

The influence of human activities on riparian zone vegetation differs markedly by ecoregion and stream size. Large rivers, dams and water diversions affect ecological processes more than local land uses do. However, for small streams, the reverse is generally true. Examples demonstrating these relationships include studies completed on the Missouri River in North Dakota, the Platte River in Nebraska, and Foster Creek in western South Dakota. On the Missouri River, damming has stopped river meandering and the regeneration of riparian forests in gaps between reservoirs. In contrast, on the Platte River, diversion of a large portion of the flow for …

Essay: The Great Plains “Wilderness” As A Human-Shaped Environment, Dan Flores

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

This essay suggests that there is a discrepancy between historical accounts of the "natural" state of the Great Plains by European explorers and the likely strong influence of the North American Indians resident in the area. The preconceived notion of the "Great American Wilderness" appears to have obscured the explorers' perceptions of the many ways in which the indigenous peoples had manipulated and influenced both the vegetation and the abundance of animal life in the Plains. Clearly, this challenge of the "total wilderness" paradigm has major implications for future restorations in the Great Plains.

Review Of Holistic Management: A New Framework For Decision Making, Second Edition By Allan Savory With Jody Butterfield, Cliff Montagne

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

The combination of science and human endeavor helps us understand nature, express ourselves as humans, and shape the environments in which we live. People wish to make decisions promoting the integrity of the ecological processes we depend on, along with the social and financial health of human communities and organizations. While we can effectively apply mechanical principles to activities such as air travel, we still have trouble managing complex situations involving ecological and human systems. It is easy to drive or fly across the Great Plains. It is more difficult to solve questions of aquifer decline, exotic plant invasion, or …

Review Of Population Biology Of Grasses Edited By G. P. Cheplick, Thomas B. Bragg

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Population Biology of Grasses provides a wealth of knowledge beyond population biology that ecologists and ecosystem biologists will find relevant to their concerns, particularly those with an interest in grasslands. Though not limited to the Great Plains region, the book would make an excellent addition to the reference shelf of anyone interested in grasses and grassland-related ecosystems, including readers with an interest in land management and preservation. While the papers are written for different levels of readers, all provide information accessible to non-specialists.

Review Of Bugs In The System: Redesigning The Pesticide Industry For Sustainable Agriculture Edited By William Vorley And Dennis Keeney, Robert J. Wright

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

At first glance you might wonder what, if anything, pesticides and sustainable agriculture have in common. To quote the editors: "This book is a case study of an industry which finds itself with a vision of sustainable development and an entire product range which seems to be an anathema to that vision - pesticides - and a uniform perspective of its role in agriculture. We hope that this study is the beginning of an articulation of the choices that face the leaders, regulators and other stakeholders of this particularly controversial industry if they are to choose a course of sustainability." …

Review Of Nature Wars: People Vs. Pests By Mark L. Winston, Dennis Kenney

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Mark Winston draws much on case histories of pest control issues in the Pacific Northwest to argue for fundamental changes in the way we contend with pests. Quoting extensively from Rachel Carson's monumental Silent Spring, he outlines how balanced her view of pest control and environmental protection has proved to be and adopts that view in developing the thesis of Nature Wars.

The first case history involves efforts in Vancouver to control gypsy moths with Bacillus thuringiensis, a widely used bacterium that selectively controls only butterfly and moth larvae. Gypsy moths defoliate all green things in their …

Review Of Biology And Management Of Noxious Rangeland Weeds Edited By Roger L. Sheley And Janet K. Petroff, Steven Radosevich

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Dealing with one of the most pressing problems currently facing North American rangeland ecosystems - the occurrence and prevalence of invasive non-indigenous plants - this volume is the result of the efforts of over fifty contributors whose work was compiled and edited by two noted range scientists. It is divided into two main sections: the first focused on the theory and practice of weed management in the rangeland system; the second on information about selected herbaceous weed species of rangelands in the Great Basin.

Section I consists of eleven relatively short chapters that provide an abundance of information about the …

Review Of Herbarium Of The Lewis & Clark Expedition. Vol. 12, The Journals Of The Lewis & Clark Expedition Edited By Gary E. Moulton, Stanley L. Welsh

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

This volume continues the series edited by Gary E. Moulton and is certainly its capstone publication, including as it does a portion of the scientific results of that amazing expedition. The strengths of the volume are great indeed. Foremost is the presentation of a photographic representation of the extant herbarium collected on the Expedition. Moreover, the careful review of the historical meanderings of the herbarium specimens from their gathering to their present sites provides real insight into botanical history. That any of the specimens survived to contemporary times is a wonder, demonstrating again the fragmentary nature of early collections upon …