Author
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MORRIS, LESLEY - Utah State University |
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Monaco, Thomas |
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Submitted to: Rangelands
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 9/5/2012 Publication Date: 12/1/2012 Citation: Morris, L.R., Monaco, T.A. 2012. Assessing the past: the importance of cultivation history in EBIPM success. Rangelands. 34:19-22. Interpretive Summary: Exotic disturbances, such as historical cultivation, modifies an ecosystem and may lead to irreversible species loss because the environment becomes mismatched with the plant species traits. These cultivation legacies can represent novel environmental conditions that are initiated by the disturbance and maintained at the site through feedbacks between biotic and abiotic processes. The objective of this article is to illustrate how knowing cultivation history will help identify which of the three causes of plant community change have been affected, and which ecological processes are in need of repair. Technical Abstract: Exotic disturbances; such as, historical cultivation, modifies an ecosystem and may lead to irreversible species loss because the environment becomes mismatched with the plant species traits. These cultivation legacies can represent novel environmental conditions that are initiated by the disturbance and maintained at the site through feedbacks between biotic and abiotic processes. The objective of this article is to illustrate how knowing cultivation history will help identify which of the three causes of plant community change have been affected, and which ecological processes are in need of repair. |
