Plant Populations Patterns and Processes

Abstract

Abstract Long-term research on Konza Prairie has greatly increased our understanding of plant population structure, dynamics, and interactions in tallgrass prairie. It is well recognized that periodic fire, grazing, and a variable climate historically have been integral factors in shaping the structure of plant communities and directing the evolution and coevolution of their component species (Chapter 1, this volume). On Konza Prairie, landscape heterogeneity associated with the Flint Hills topography also interacts with these three primary factors to influence the distribution and abundance of plant species. These key factors have important direct, indirect, and interacting effects on tall-grass prairie plant life histories, population dynamics, species interactions, and community structure (Fig. 6.1). The structure and composition of the vegetation, in turn, influence populations of birds, mammals, and invertebrate consumers (Chapters 7, 8, this volume). Ultimately, these interactions drive local patterns of species abundance, migration, and extinction, imparting patterns to the distribution and abundance of species at the watershed and larger scales.