Climatic variability, fire, and vegetation modeling in the North American Central Grassland Region
Conference
·
· Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States)
OSTI ID:7015981
- Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)
In developing an equilibrium vegetation model for assessing the sensitivity of natural vegetation to climatic change in the Central Grasslands, we encountered difficulties in establishing solely climatic determinants for grasslands. Under the normal climate, woody plant dominance was predicted for much of the region supporting open grassland at the time of European settlement. Climatic data for historic periods and a fire model were used to test whether grass dominance was promoted by (1) climatic periods distinct from the normal period, (2) by fire, or (3) by the interactive effect of both. Grass/woody ratios in test simulations exhibited spatio-temporal variation produced by complex interactions among PET, precipitation seasonality, competition for soil moisture, and fuel characteristics determining fire intensity. Results support concepts of plant community thresholds and multiple steady states in the Central Grassland region.
- OSTI ID:
- 7015981
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940894--
- Conference Information:
- Journal Name: Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States) Journal Volume: 75:2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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