Integrated Pest Management On Rangeland A Shortgrass Prairie Perspective

Grasslands comprise the largest and most diverse set of ecosystems in the United States and are among the most extensive in the world. Characterized by scanty rainfall, these western grasslands are too dry for crop production and are used almost exclusively for grazing livestock. The grasslands on the western edge of the Great Plains, known as the shortgrass region, support some unique species of plants and animals as well as some common to other rangeland ecosystems. Invertebrate plant pests, native vertebrate foragers, and weeds can adversely affect the efficient management of this economically and ecologically important region. The contributors?ecologists, entomologists, range scientists, vertebrate biologists, and economists?synthesize and review the available information on shortgrass rangelands, offering the first comprehensive treatment of pest management and ecology within this vital ecosystem.

Dedication -- Preface -- The Rangeland Resource -- An Overview of the Western Grasslands -- Grazing Management Systems for the Shortgrass Prairie -- Forage Quality: Primary Chemistry of Grasses -- Forage Quality: Secondary Chemistry of Grasses -- Grass Response to Herbivory -- Estimation of Forage Removal by Rangeland Pests -- Rangeland Pests and Their Management -- Ecology and Management of Pricklypear Cactus on the Great Plains -- Ecology and Management of Broom Snakeweed -- Ecology and Management of Mormon Cricket, Anabrus simpled Haldeman -- Behavioral Responses Underlying Ecological Patterns of Resource Use in Rangeland Grasshoppers -- Population Ecology of Rangeland Grasshoppers -- A Historical Look at Rangeland Grasshoppers and the Value of Grasshopper Control Programs -- Integrated Management of Rangeland Grasshoppers -- Future Prospects for Microbial Control of Grasshoppers -- Sampling Rangeland Grasshoppers -- Ecology of the Range Caterpillar, Hemileuca oliviae Cockerell -- Development and Implementation of a Rangeland IPM Program for Range Caterpillar -- Ecology and Management of Harvester Ants in the Shortgrass Plains -- Belowground Arthropods of Semiarid Grasslands -- Nematodes in Rangelands -- Relation of Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs and Control Programs to Vegetation, Livestock, and Wildlife -- Function of Insectivorous Birds in a Shortgrass IPM System -- Biological and Economic Models for Rangeland Pest Management -- Modeling the Pest Component of Rangeland Ecosystems -- Predictive Phenology Modeling in Rangeland Pest Management -- Application of Inventory Control Theory to Economic Thresholds -- Factors Affecting the Economic Threshold for Control of Rangeland Grasshoppers -- Assessment of Alternative Grasshopper Control Strategies with a Population Dynamics Simulation Model -- Future Developments -- Rangeland Pest Management: Problems and Perspectives