The Structure and Function of Ecosystems in the Central North American Grassland Region
The Structure and Function of Ecosystems in the Central North American Grassland Region
复制标题
DOI：
--
复制
发表时间：
1999
影响因子：
15
通讯作者：
W. K. Luaenroth;I. Burke;M. Gutmann
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
W. K. Luaenroth;I. Burke;M. Gutmann
中部草原地区位于美国、加拿大和墨西哥的北美洲中心，是该大陆的独特资源。虽然没有其他地区具有类似的特征，但最大的类似草原地区出现在欧洲和亚洲。该区域的独特性来自其大小，相对平坦度及其物理梯度的平滑度。降水和温度的平滑梯度是生态系统性质的大多数梯度也是平滑的原因。降水量的东西梯度和温度的南北梯度导致植物群落类型、植物净生物量生产、土壤碳储量和植物氮有效性的相应梯度。中部草原地区目前状况的一个最显著的特点是，很大一部分原始的天然草原已经被农田所取代。
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 types, net biomass production by plants, soil carbon storage, and nitrogen availability to plants. One of the most striking features of the present condition of the central grassland region is that a huge fraction of the original native grassland have been replaced by cropland.