Shay, J., Whelan-Enns, G., Appleby, A., Usher, R., Kavanagh, K., Sims, M., Chaplin, S., Sims, P., Carney, K. and Dinerstein, E. (2013) Northern Mixed Grasslands. http://worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/na0810

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Long Term Effect of Major Disturbances on the Northern Mixed Grassland Ecosystem—A Review

  AUTHORS: Meng Li, Xulin Guo

  KEYWORDS: Grassland Ecosystem; Disturbances; Grazing; Fire; Drought

  JOURNAL NAME: Open Journal of Ecology, Vol.4 No.4, March 28, 2014

  ABSTRACT: Grassland ecosystems in North America have been significantly altered through various disturbances from past to present. This paper has identified and examined major disturbances in the grassland ecosystems, which include grazing, fire and drought. A brief history of each disturbance is reviewed and its impact on the grassland ecosystem is discussed, by synthesizing previous research efforts available in the current literature. The paper intends to understand the grassland ecosystem from a comprehensive perspective and particularly tries to articulate the compound effect of the major disturbances in the same context instead of viewing them in isolations. It is concluded that a holistic understanding of the interaction between disturbances and plant communities is essential for sustainable grassland management, which demands comprehensive research effort in this area. The paper also points out the challenges we are facing in the current researches and suggests potential future improvement.