Rocky Mountain Research Station

Title: Historic and Current Conditions of Southwestern Grasslands

Author: Fletcher, Reggie; Robbie, Wayne A.

Date: 2004

Source: In: Finch, Deborah M., Editor. 2004. Assessment of grassland ecosystem conditions in the Southwestern United States. Volume 1. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-135-vol. 1. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 120-129

Station ID: GTR-RMRS-135

Description: Southwestern grasslands today share general differences from their pre-Euro-American settlement conditions. With few exceptions, grasslands--whether in the desert, prairie, or mountains--were, prior to non-Indian settlement, more diverse in plant and animal species composition, more productive, more resilient, and better able to absorb the impact of disturbances. Southwestern grasslands today are missing the elements of disturbance regimes that kept them functioning in the prelivestock period. Such interruptions include human activities leading to loss of palatable plant species and keystone grazers such as the buffalo and prairie dog. The loss of most fire events resulted in the accelerated loss of soil from wind and water erosion, including loss of the highest productivity sites from gully formation. Soil changes also include loss of soil pore space through compaction, decrease of soil organic matter, retention of surface water, and nutrient cycling processes whether permanent or temporary. The result is a loss of large-scale connectivity by isolating grasslands through urbanization and other anthropogenic influences.

Individual papers from this publication

Keywords: grasslands, ecological assessment, Southwestern United States, ecosystem conditions, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma

View and Print this Publication (700 K)

Publication Notes: 

• We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
• This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.
• You may send email to rschneider@fs.fed.us to request a hard copy of this publication. (Please specify exactly which publication you are requesting and your mailing address.)

 Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility

Citation

Fletcher, Reggie; Robbie, Wayne A.  2004.  Historic and Current Conditions of Southwestern Grasslands.   In: Finch, Deborah M., Editor. 2004. Assessment of grassland ecosystem conditions in the Southwestern United States. Volume 1. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-135-vol. 1. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 120-129.