We study those biotic interactions crucial to the structure and function of the shortgrass steppe today or in the past:
- Dominant species
Bouteloua gracilis, Buchloe dactyloides
- Dominant flowpaths
- Keystone species
aboveground herbivory, belowground trophic dynamics
(those that have important impacts on ecosystem structure and function but have low biomass levels) cactus; prairie dogs
- Processes related to the key vulnerabilities of the SGS
(changes in land use that involve cultivation management, changes in atmospheric conditions)
- Processes important to larger-scale dynamics and interactions (trace gas flux, carbon balance)
- Processes and dynamics that are important to the SGS and in which we have expertise
02/13/01