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Grasslands are globally imperiled ecosystems due to widespread conversion to agriculture, and there is a concerted effort to catalogue arthropod diversity in grasslands to guide conservation decisions. The Palouse Prairie is one such endangered grassland; a mid-elevation habitat found in Washington and Idaho, United States. Ants (Formicidae) are useful indicators of biodiversity and historical ecological disturbance, but there has been no structured sampling of ants in the Palouse Prairie. To fill this gap, we employed a rapid inventory sampling approach using pitfall traps to capture peak ant activity in five habitat fragments. We complemented our survey with a systemic review of field studies for the ant species found in Palouse Prairie. Our field inventory yielded 17 ant species across 10 genera, and our models estimate the total ant species pool to be 27. The highest ant diversity was found in an actively managed ecological trust in Latah County, Idaho, suggesting that restoration efforts may increase biodiversity. We also report two rarely collected ants in the Pacific Northwest, and a microgyne that may represent an undescribed species related to Brachymyrmex depilis. Our score-counting review revealed that grassland ants in Palouse prairie have rarely been studied previously, and that more ant surveys in temperate grasslands have lagged behind sampling efforts of other global biomes.

Ken Wilson’s ‘Wood Mountain Walk: Afterthoughts on a Pilgrimage for Andrew Suknaski’ reflects on a 250-kilometre walking pilgrimage made in honour of the late Canadian poet Andrew Suknaski. Wilson’s autoethnographic essay considers the possibilities and challenges of walking as a way to engage with land and community; Suknaski’s book Wood Mountain Poems and the issue of cultural appropriation; what it is like to walk in a sparsely populated and arid agricultural province where trespassing laws confine walkers to roads; and walking as both pilgrimage and artistic practice.

Se analizan los pastizales montanos y subalpinos de la Sierra del Aramo, bastión calcáreo del Macizo Central Asturiano, centrándose no solo en el estado y la composición de las formaciones pratenses, sino también en su origen y devenir histórico, especialmente en la dinámica actual. Las metodologías empleadas incluyen, entre otras, el estudio florístico y fitosociológico, la cartografía de cubiertas vegetales y hábitats de interés comunitario de porte herbáceo, el ensayo de la pedoantracología y técnicas historicistas. Como resultado, se han caracterizado los pastos montanos y subalpinos, así como cartografiado la distribución de los hábitats herbáceos 6170, 6210, 6230, 6510, 8130 y 8210, y ha quedado establecida la expansión de los pastos en la Edad del Bronce. Así pues, cabe destacar el rico legado de los pastizales de montaña como entidad sociocultural, paisajística y geoecológica, por lo que su gestión merece una profunda reflexión acorde con los tiempos de cambio global que están aconteciendo. S'analitzen les pastures montanes i subalpines de la Serra de l'Aramo, bastió calcari del Massís Central Asturià, centrant-se no només en l'estat i la composició dels prats, sinó també en el seu origen i esdevenir històric, especialment en la dinàmica actual. Les metodologies emprades inclouen, entre d'altres, l'estudi florístic i fitosociològic, la cartografia de cobertes vegetals i d'hàbitats d'interès comunitari de port herbaci, l'assaig de la pedoantracologia i tècniques historicistes. Com a resultat, s'han caracteritzat les pastures montanes i subalpines, així com cartografiat la distribució dels hàbitats herbacis 6170, 6210, 6230, 6510, 8130 i 8210, i ha quedat establerta l'expansió de les pastures durant l'edat del bronze. Així doncs, cal destacar el ric llegat de les pastures de muntanya com a entitat sociocultural, paisatgística i geoecològica, de manera que la seva gestió mereix una profunda reflexió d'acord amb el canvi global actual. This article analyzes the montane and subalpine grasslands of the Sierra del Aramo, a limestone bastion of the Asturian Central Massif. The study focuses not only on the state and composition of the pasture formations, but also on their origin and historical evolution, especially in the current dynamics. The methodologies used include, among others, a floristic and phytosociological study, the mapping of vegetation covers and herbaceous habitats of community interest, a pedoanthracology analysis and historicist techniques. As a result, montane and subalpine pastures have been characterized, as well as the distribution of herbaceous habitats 6170, 6210, 6230, 6510, 8130 and 8210, establishing the expansion of these pastures in the Bronze Age. Given the rich legacy of mountain grasslands as a sociocultural landscape and geoecological entity, it is important to reflect deeply on their management in the current scenario of global change. Les prairies montagnardes et subalpines de la Sierra del Aramo, bastion calcaire du Massif Central Asturien, sont analysées en se focalisant non seulement sur l'état et la composition des formations prariales, mais aussi sur leur origine et leur évolution historique, en particulier dans la dynamique actuelle. Les méthodologies utilisées comprennent, entre autres, l'étude floristique et phytosociologique, la cartographie des couvertures végétales et des habitats d'intérêt communautaire de l'herbacée, le test de pédoanthracologie et les techniques historicistes. En conséquence, les pâturages montagnards et subalpins ont été caractérisés, ainsi que la répartition des habitats herbacés 6170, 6210, 6230, 6510, 8130 et 8210, et on a établi l'expansion des pâturages à l'âge du bronze. Ainsi, il convient de souligner le riche héritage des prairies de montagne en tant qu'entité socioculturelle, paysagère et géo-écologique, de sorte que leur gestion mérite une réflexion approfondie en fonction des temps de changement global en cours.

In Canada, the Common Eastern Bumble Bee (BombusimpatiensCresson) is native to southern Ontario and Quebec, but since being developed as a managed commercial pollinator, it has been exported to several other provinces for use in greenhouse and field crop settings. This has enabled this species to become established outside its natural range and it is now established in eastern Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island) and British Columbia. To date, the species has not been detected via field capture in the prairie provinces.Here we report on recent captures ofB.impatiensworkers and males from south-eastern Alberta and suggest that these specimens escaped from nearby commercial greenhouses. The risk that the presence and looming establishment of this species has on native bumble bees in the Canadian prairies is discussed.

Analysis of the hourly Canadian Prairie data for the past 60 years has transformed our quantitative understanding of land⁻atmosphere⁻cloud coupling. The key reason is that trained observers made hourly estimates of the opaque cloud fraction that obscures the sun, moon, or stars, following the same protocol for 60 years at all stations. These 24 daily estimates of opaque cloud data are of sufficient quality such that they can be calibrated against Baseline Surface Radiation Network data to yield the climatology of the daily short-wave, long-wave, and total cloud forcing (SWCF, LWCF and CF, respectively). This key radiative forcing has not been available previously for climate datasets. Net cloud radiative forcing changes sign from negative in the warm season, to positive in the cold season, when reflective snow reduces the negative SWCF below the positive LWCF. This in turn leads to a large climate discontinuity with snow cover, with a systematic cooling of 10 °C or more with snow cover. In addition, snow cover transforms the coupling between cloud cover and the diurnal range of temperature. In the warm season, maximum temperature increases with decreasing cloud, while minimum temperature barely changes; while in the cold season with snow cover, maximum temperature decreases with decreasing cloud, and minimum temperature decreases even more. In the warm season, the diurnal ranges of temperature, relative humidity, equivalent potential temperature, and the pressure height of the lifting condensation level are all tightly coupled to the opaque cloud cover. Given over 600 station-years of hourly data, we are able to extract, perhaps for the first time, the coupling between the cloud forcing and the warm season imbalance of the diurnal cycle, which changes monotonically from a warming and drying under clear skies to a cooling and moistening under cloudy skies with precipitation. Because we have the daily cloud radiative forcing, which is large, we are able to show that the memory of water storage anomalies, from precipitation and the snowpack, goes back many months. The spring climatology shows the memory of snowfall back through the entire winter, and the memory in summer, goes back to the months of snowmelt. Lagged precipitation anomalies modify the thermodynamic coupling of the diurnal cycle to the cloud forcing, and shift the diurnal cycle of the mixing ratio, which has a double peak. The seasonal extraction of the surface total water storage is a large damping of the interannual variability of precipitation anomalies in the growing season. The large land-use change from summer fallow to intensive cropping, which peaked in the early 1990s, has led to a coupled climate response that has cooled and moistened the growing season, lowering cloud-base, increasing equivalent potential temperature, and increasing precipitation. We show a simplified energy balance of the Prairies during the growing season, and its dependence on reflective cloud.

There is increasing evidence that the impact of climate change on the productivity of grasslands will at least partly depend on their biodiversity. A high level of biodiversity may confer stability to grassland ecosystems against environmental change, but there are also direct effects of biodiversity on the quantity and quality of grassland productivity. To explain the manifold interactions, and to predict future climatic responses, models may be used. However, models designed for studying the interaction between biodiversity and productivity tend to be structurally different from models for studying the effects of climatic impacts. Here we review the literature on the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and productivity of grasslands. We first discuss the availability of data for model development. Then we analyse strengths and weaknesses of three types of model: ecological, process-based and integrated. We discuss the merits of this model diversity and the scope for merging different model types.

Plants are typically infected by a consortium of internal fungal associates, including endophytes in their leaves, as well as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and dark septate endophytes (DSE) in their roots. It is logical that these organisms will interact with each other and the abiotic environment in addition to their host, but there has been little work to date examining the interactions of multiple symbionts within single plant hosts, or how the relationships among symbionts and their host change across environmental conditions. We examined the grassAgrostis capillarisin the context of a climate manipulation experiment in prairies in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Each plant was tested for presence of foliar endophytes in the genusEpichloë, and we measured percent root length colonized (PRLC) by AMF and DSE. We hypothesized that the symbionts in our system would be in competition for host resources, that the outcome of that competition could be driven by the benefit to the host, and that the host plants would be able to allocate carbon to the symbionts in such a way as to maximize fitness benefit within a particular environmental context. We found a correlation between DSE and AMF PRLC across climatic conditions; we also found a fitness cost to increasing DSE colonization, which was negated by presence ofEpichloëendophytes. These results suggest that selective pressure on the host is likely to favor host/symbiont relationships that structure the community of symbionts in the most beneficial way possible for the host, not necessarily favoring the individual symbiont that is most beneficial to the host in isolation. These results highlight the need for a more integrative, systems approach to the study of host/symbiont consortia.

Measurements of albedo were obtained along a 100 km transect in east central Illinois using a combination of airborne and ground-based radiometers. Analysis of the measurements focused on three different land use categories: agricultural cropland, prairie grass, and woodland. The value of albedo over the woodland after a fresh snowfall was 0.30, which is somewhat higher than what has been measured in a previous experiment over an aspen forest but similar to previous measurements over a deciduous forest in the eastern United States. The albedo values over the grassland were similar to past experiments and similar to the values over cropland. The drifting that accompanied one of the snow events caused large differences in albedo during snowmelt compared to another event with minimal drifting but similar average snow depth. The albedo was lower over the melting wind-blown snow cover than for a snow cover of similar average depth that fell under light wind conditions. These large differences suggest that inclusion of meteorological conditions during snowfall in snow parameterizations may appreciably increase their accuracy. Different tillage practices used in the agricultural fields also caused measurable differences in albedo during the snowmelt phase.

The Canadian Prairie has long been represented as a timeless and unchanging location, defined by settlement and landscape. Now, a new generation of writers and historians challenge that perception and argue. Instead, that it is a region with an evolving culture and history. This collection of ten essays explores a more contemporary prairie identity, and reconfigures "the prairie" as a construct that is nonlinear and diverse, responding to the impact of geographical, historical, and political currents. These writers explore the connections between document and imagination, between history and culture, and between geography and time.

In this paper, I conduct an historical structural analysis to explain the preservation of political cultures across the Canadian Prairie Provinces. Taking into account Alberta’s historically conservative climate and bootstrap individualism, Saskatchewan’s historically left-leaning policy environment, and Manitoba’s moderate culture between its two prairie compatriots, I explain how these different cultures have persisted using a “polity-centred” approach. Perhaps the most popular explanation for such a “prairie paradox” is “fragment theory”, or looking at different “waves” of settlers including Loyalists, Americans, and early Ontarians, across the prairies. Scholars such as Alan Cairns and Jared Wesley have critiqued this approach, arguing that it is the structure of federalism itself that preserves these cultures over time, or that it is the agency of political parties and their campaign literature that reflects political culture back at their populations. A “polity-centred” approach, as I present it here, synthesizes these two critiques of fragment theory to look at how structures both affect political agents and provide tools to affect political culture in their provinces. This is accomplished by, first, a more general examination of how the Canadian federal structure influences political parties; second, a discussion of how political parties use structure to affect discourse in a province, preserving and/or changing provincial political culture. I conclude that polity-centred approaches should be taken more seriously by sociologists and political scientists when looking at political cultures, and that this approach is useful for examining the cultures of other states and sub-states. Dans ce document, je fais une analyse structurelle historique pour expliquer la préservation des politiques culturelles des provinces des Prairies canadiennes. En tenant compte du climat conservateur historique de l’Alberta et de l’individualisme en circuit fermé, de la politique de l’environnement, historiquement à tendance gauchiste, de la Saskatchewan et de la culture modérée du Manitoba située entre ses compatriotes des deux Prairies, j’explique comment ces différentes cultures ont perduré en utilisant une approche « de régime politique centré ». L’explication la plus populaire à un tel « paradoxe des Prairies » est probablement la « théorie de la fragmentation » ou la considération de différentes « vagues » de colons dont les Loyalistes, Américains et les Premiers Ontariens s’établissant dans les Prairies. Des spécialistes tels qu’Alan Cairns et Jared Wesley ont critiqué cette approche, soutenant que c’est la structure du fédéralisme elle-même qui préserve ces cultures au fil du temps ou que c’est l’organisme des parties politiques et leur documentation de campagne électorale qui reflète la culture politique à sa population. Une approche de régime politique centrée, telle que je la présente ici, résume ces deux critiques de la théorie de la fragmentation pour expliquer comment elles affectent les programmes politiques et fournissent les instruments pour influencer la politique culturelle dans leurs provinces. Cela s’effectue d’abord par une analyse plus générale des influences de la structure fédérale canadienne sur les parties politiques et comment elle est exercée; deuxièmement, par une discussion évaluant comment les parties politique utilise la structure pour affecter le discours dans une province, en préservant et/ou changeant la culture politique provinciale. Je conclus que les approches de régime politique centré devraient être prises plus au sérieux par les sociologues et les politicologues lorsqu’ils se penchent sur les cultures politiques et que cette approche est utile à l’analyse des cultures d’autres états et sous-états.

[ES] El objetivo de estas líneas es reflexionar sobre un conjunto de transformaciones que se producen en torno a los seles entre 1450 y 1550. Me refiero a su conversión en caseríos al compás de la reconstrucción agrícola; a la compatibilización en esos espacios de una intensa explotación ganadera y forestal a medida que se incrementaba la producción de las ferrerías y de la construcción naval; y, por último, a las transferencias de titularidad de esos espacios. [EUS] 1450-1550 bitartean saroien inguruan gertatu ziren aldaketa multzoaz gogoeta egitea da lerro hauen helburua. Nekazaritza berreraiki ahala gertatzen den saroi horiek baserri bihurtzeaz ari naiz; abeltzantza eta oihantzantza ustiatze biziak eremu horietan adosteko eraz ari naiz, burdinolen produkzioa areagotu eta ontzigintza ere hazi ahala; bai eta, azkenik, eremu horien titularitate transferentziaz ere. [FR] Le but de ces lignes est de réfléchir à l’ensemble des transformations qu’ont subi les prairies entre 1450 et 1550. Je veux parler de leur conversion en fermes au rythme de la reconstruction agricole; de la compatibilisation, dans ces espaces, d’une intense exploitation de l’élevage et des forêts à mesure qu’augmentait la production des forges et de la construction navale; et, enfin, des transferts de propriété de ces espaces. Esta comunicación forma parte de los resultados de un proyecto de investigación (UPV 156.130-HA058/95, GV 156.130 0030/95) cofinanciado por la Universidad del País Vasco y el Gobierno Vasco “De los Bandos a la Provincia: Transformaciones económicas, sociales y políticas en la Guipúzcoa de los siglos XIV a XVI”, que reúne a un grupo de seis investigadores de los Departamentos de Historia Medieval, Moderna y América e Historia e Instituciones Económicas de la UPV/EHU.

This book describes the ecology of prairie environments in North America. The author draws on scientific research and personal experiences, accumulated over a lifetime of living on the prairie. Numerous photographs accompany the text.

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International audience; The grassland model intercomparison of the FACCE MACSUR knowledge hub involves nine modelling approaches. Grassland-specific approaches (AnnuGrow, PaSim, SPACSYS) were compared to the approaches mainly conceived to simulate crops (ARMOSA, EPIC, STICS) and biomes (Biome-BGC MuSo, CARAIB, LPJmL). The model intercomparison exercise is run over nine grassland sites across Europe and peri-Mediterranean regions where data were collected from at least five up to 31 years, with focus on biomass production and carbon exchanges. The protocol for model intercomparison, derived from Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project, includes sensitivity tests, as well as blind and calibrated simulations. A fuzzy logic-based indicator for model assessment was developed to provide insights into agreement between simulations and observations, complexity of model structure and robustness of simulation results over a variety of conditions. Some results are illustrated, which show the limitations of the models run with current parameterization to simulate grassland dry matter and C exchanges across the Euro-Mediterranean region. The study also suggests that the regional calibration can accommodate model discrepancies. However, areas in the model structures have been identified that require further improvements to reduce uncertainties and increase reliability of model results in impact studies.

el caso anterior, a comunidades de la Al. Rosmarino-Ericion o bien, en 10s mejores suelos (que s610 muy raramente son abandonados en la zona estudiada) a comunidades emparentadas con la Al. Pruno-Rubion ulmifolii.