Abstract
The U.S. has a rich diversity of native plants, landscapes, and ecosystems. The relationship between native plant communities, ecosystems and ecoregions is discussed in this Chapter. Maps of vegetation and Level 1 Ecoregions are provided. The characteristics and main types of forests, woodlands, grasslands, deserts, and wetlands are described. Important plant species in different ecosystems are highlighted. This Chapter includes information on the former and current extent of major ecosystem types. Summary information is provided on ecosystems and carbon storage.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Barbour MG, Billings WD (eds) (2000) North American terrestrial vegetation, 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 708 p
Brockway DJ, Outcalt KW, Tomczak DJ, Johnson EE (2006) Restoration of longleaf pine ecosystems. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report SRS-83, Asheville, NC, 34 p
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (1997) Ecological regions of North America. Toward a common perspective. Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Montreal, Quebec, 71 p
Cowardin LM, Carter V, Golet FC, LaRoe ET (1979) Classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FWS/OBS-79/31, Washington, D.C.
Delcourt HR, Delcourt PA (2000) Eastern deciduous forests. In: Barbour MG, Billings WD (eds) North American terrestrial vegetation, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 357–395
Dumroese RK, Luna T, Richardson BA, Kilkenny FF, Runyon JB (2015) Conserving and restoring habitat for greater sage-grouse and other sagebrush-obligate wildlife: the crucial link of forbs and sagebrush diversity. Native Plants J 16(3):276–299
Federal Geographic Data Committe (2008) National Vegetation Classification Standard, Version 2. FGDC-STD-005-2008 (Version 2). 126p https://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/vegetation/NVCS_V2_FINAL_2008-02.pdf
Gori D, Bate J (2007) Historical range of variation and state and transition modeling of historical and current landscape conditions for pinyon-juniper of the Southwestern U.S. Prepared for the USDA Forest Service, Southwestern Region by The Nature Conservancy, Tucson, AZ, 141 p
MacMahon JA (2000) Warm deserts. In: Barbour MG, Billings WD (eds) North American terrestrial vegetation, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 285–322
Miller RF et al. (2011) Characteristics of sagebrush habitats and limitations to long-term conservation. USGS Administrative Report in Knick ST, Connelly JW (eds) Greater Sage-Grouse: ecology of a landscape species and its habitats. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, Cooper Ornithological Union, pp 145–184
Omernik JM (1987) Ecoregions of the conterminous United States. Map (scale 1:7,500,000). Ann Assoc Am Geogr 77(1):118–125
Oswalt SN, Smith BW, Miles PD, Pugh SA (2014) Forest resources of the United States, 2012: a technical document supporting the Forest Service update of the 2010 RPA assessment. US Forest Service General Technical Report WO-91. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, D.C., 218 p
Peet RK (2000) Forests and meadows of the Rocky Mountains. In: Barbour MG, Billings WD (eds) North American terrestrial vegetation, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 75–122
Potter C, Klooster S, Hiatt S, Fladeland M, Genovese V, Gross P (2007) Satellite-derived estimates of potential carbon sequestration through afforestation of agricultural lands in the United States. Clim Chang 80(3–4):323–336. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-006-9109-3
Ricketts TH, Dinertein E, Olson DM et al. (1999) Terrestrial ecoregions of North America: a conservation assessment. Island Press, Washington, D.C., 485 p
Samson FB, Knopf FL, Ostli W (2004) Great Plains ecosystems: past, present, and future. USGS Staff -Published Research Paper 45. Wildlife Soc Bull 32:6–15
Schwartzberg L (2014) Viewing nature’s beauty through a new lens. https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2014/04/05/viewing-natures-beauty-through-a-new-lens/
Sims PL, Risser PG (2000) Grasslands. In: Barbour MG, Billings WD (eds) North American terrestrial vegetation, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp 323–356
Welch BL (2005) Big sagebrush: a sea fragmented into lakes, ponds, and puddles. RMRS-GTR-144. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, 210 p
Wisdom M Jr, Rowland MM, Suring LH, Schueck L, Meinke CW, Knick ST (2005) Ch 1. Evaluating species of conservation concern at regional scales. In: Wisdom MJ, Rowland MM, Suring LH (eds) Habitat threats in the sagebrush ecosystem – methods of regional assessment and application in the Great Basin. Alliance Communications Group, Lawrence, KS, pp 5–75
Zhu Z (ed), Bergamaschi B, Bernknopf R, Clow D, Dye D, Faulkner S, Forney W, Gleason R, Hawbaker T, Liu J, Liu S, Prisley S, Reed B, Reeves M, Rollins M, Sleeter B, Sohl T, Stackpoole S, Stehman S, Striegl R, Wein A (2010) A method for assessing carbon stocks, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the United States under present conditions and future scenarios: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigation Report 2010, 1144, 195 p. Available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5233/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Oldfield, S.F., Olwell, P., Shaw, N., Havens, K. (2019). The Importance of Ecosystems. In: Seeds of Restoration Success. Springer Earth System Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96974-9_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96974-9_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-96973-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-96974-9
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)