Structure and Function of an Alpine Ecosystem Niwot Ridge, Colorado

by Bowman, William D.; Seastedt, Timothy R.

• ISBN13: 9780195117288
• ISBN10: 019511728X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-04-26
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This book will provide a complete overview of an alpine ecosystem, based on the long-term research conducted at the Niwot Ridge LTER. There is, at present, no general book on alpine ecology. The alpine ecosystem features conditions near the limits of biological existence, and is a useful laboratory for asking more general ecological questions, because it offers large environmental change over relatively short distances. Factors such as macroclimate, microclimate, soil conditions, biota, and various biological factors change on differing scales, allowing insight into the relative contributions of the different factors on ecological outcomes.

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. ix
Foreword	p. xi
Introduction: Historical Perspective and Significance of Alpine Ecosystem Studies	p. 3
Physical Environment
Climate	p. 15
Atmospheric Chemistry and Deposition	p. 32
Geomorphic Systems of Green Lakes Valley	p. 45
Hydrology and Hydrochemistry	p. 75
Ecosystem Structure
The Vegetation: Hierarchical Species-Environment Relationships	p. 99
Vertebrates	p. 128
Soils	p. 157
Ecosystem Function
Primary Production	p. 177
Plant Nutrient Relations	p. 198
Controls on Decomposition Processes in Alpine Tundra	p. 222
Nitrogen Cycling	p. 237
Soil-Atmosphere Gas Exchange	p. 254
Plant-Herbivore Interactions	p. 266
Past and Future
Paleoecology and Late Quaternary Environments of the Colorado Rockies	p. 285
Environmental Change and Future Directions in Alpine Research	p. 304
Index	p. 323
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