A process-based model for semi-arid grassland ecosystems was developed. It is driven by standard daily meteorological data and simulates with a daily time step the seasonal course of root, aboveground green, and dead biomass. Water infiltration and redistribution in the soil, transpiration and evaporation are simulated in a coupled water budget submodel. The main plant processes are photosynthe...

Vegetation light use efficiency (LUE) is a key parameter of Production Efficiency Models (PEMs) for simulating gross primary production (GPP) of vegetation, from regional to global scales. Previous studies suggest that grasslands have the largest inter-site variation of LUE and controlling factors of grassland LUE differ from those of other biomes, since grasslands are usually water-limited eco...

PETER B. ADLER*, DANIEL G. MILCHUNAS†, WILLIAM K. LAUENROTH*†, OSVALDO E. SALA‡ and INGRID C. BURKE*† *Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA; †Department of Forest, Rangeland and Watershed Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA; and ‡Department de Ecología, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Avenu...

Concentrations and isotopic compositions of lead in the total and mobile (acid-soluble and carbonatebound) forms were determined in remote and roadside Chestnut soils in the dry steppe region of Low Volga, Russia. As a reference to evaluate the level of modern soil contamination with lead, we used ancient soil buried under a Bronze Age kurgan about 4500 years ago. In comparison with buried soil...

To examine the effects of cultivation and grazing on evapotranspiration (ET), continuous measurements of ET were conducted over almost two years, from December 2005 to September 2007, using the eddycovariance technique in two paired ecosystems: a steppe and a cropland in Duolun and a fenced and a degraded steppe in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China. The ET of the four ecosystems approached or exc...

The Germplasm Bank of Universidad Rey Juan Carlos was created in 2008 and currently holds 235 accessions and 96 species. This bank focuses on the conservation of wild-plant communities and aims to conserve ex situ a representative sample of the plant biodiversity present in a habitat, emphasizing priority ecosystems identified by the Habitats Directive. It is also used to store plant material f...

As a consequence of agricultural intensification and habitat fragmentation since the mid-20th century, biological diversity has declined considerably throughout world, particularly in Europe. We assessed how landscape-scale heterogeneity, such as variation fragment size (small vs. large) landscape configuration (measured connectivity index), affect plant arthropod diversity. focused on arthropo...

Installing artificial nests is a widely used method of managing wild bird populations around the world that allows to increase their numbers and/or productivity and breeding success. Among raptors this mostly for small falcons owls; however, are also repeatedly attract such rare species as Saker Falcon (Falco cherrug) breeding. We deployed system nesting restore population in former agrocenoses...