Structure and Function of an Alpine Ecosystem Niot Ridge, Colorado [Hardcover]

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.

Contributors
Foreword
1. Introduction: Historical Perspectives on Significance of Alpine Ecosystem Studies,William D. Bowman
I Physical Environment
2. Climate,David Greenland
3. Atmospheric Chemistry and Deposition,herman Sievering
4. Geomorphic Systems of Green Lakes Valley,Nel Caine
5. Hydrology and Hydrochemistry,Mark W. Williams and Nel Caine
II Ecosystem Structures
6. The Vegetation: Hierarchical Species-Environment Relationships,Marilyn D. Walker et al
7. Vertebrates,David M. Armstrong et al
8. Soils,Timothy R. Seastedt
III Ecosystem Function
9. Primary Production,Willaim D. Bowman and Melany C. Fisk
10. Plant Nutrient Relations,Russell K. Monson et al
11. Controls on Decomposition Processes in Alpine Tundra,Timothy R. Seastedt
12. Nitrogen Cycling,Melany C. Fisk et al
13. Soil-Atmosphere Gas Exchange,Steven K. Schmidt et al
14. Plant-Herbivore Interactions,Denise Dearing
IV Past and Future
15. Paleoecology and Late Quaternary Environments of the Colorodo Rockies,Scott A. Elias
16. Environmental Chagne and Future Directions in Alpine Research,Jeffrey lC0