U.S.-Argentina Cooperative Research on Grass/Shrub          Interactions in Two Temperate Semiarid Regions
{'Code': '01090000', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'O/D', 'LongName': 'Office Of The Director'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'OISE', 'LongName': 'Office Of Internatl Science &Engineering'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'name not available'}
This award supports cooperative research between Prof. William                  K. Laurenroth of Colorado State University and Prof. O. E. Sala                 of the University of Buenos Aires on grass/shrub interactions in                semiarid regions.  The vegetation of arid and semiarid regions                  is dominated by one of two life-forms of plants: grasses or                     shrubs/low trees.  The replacement of grasses and grasslands by                 shrubs and shrublands is a serious worldwide problem in semiarid                regions.  Associated with this problem of brush encroachment is                 a collection of theoretical problems concerned with resource                    partitioning between these two dominant forms.  Other problems                  arise from the study of the geographical distribution of                        grasslands and shrublands.                                                                                                                                      Models that emulate the interaction between grasses and shrubs                  have been quite successful in predicting that interaction in                    tropical savannas.  These models often make the simplifying--and                limiting with regards to resource allocation--assumption that                   differentials in soil water use by coexisting grasses and woody                 plants is due to access to different soil layers (two-layer                     hypothesis).  The investigators plan to study the question of                   the applicability of such models to temperate regions.                          Additionally, the investigators plan to explore the potential                   for a biogeographic model, based upon current theoretical models                of resource partitioning, that may be used to better predict the                distribution of grasslands and shrublands.                                                                                                                      The North American site for this project is in the Central                      Crossland Region in Colorado and is part of a nationwide network                for long-term ecological research (LTER) funded by NSF.                         Comparison of results coming from the Argentinian site, will not                only serve to continue a long standing collaboration and aid our                theoretical understanding of woody plant/grass interactions, but                will also aid in judging the management potential of sites and                  in the decision making about alternate land uses.
{'FirstName': 'William', 'LastName': 'Lauenroth', 'EmailAddress': 'wlauenro@uwyo.edu', 'StartDate': '04/15/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Colorado State University', 'CityName': 'Fort Collins', 'ZipCode': '805232002', 'PhoneNumber': '9704916355', 'StreetAddress': '601 S Howes St', 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Colorado', 'StateCode': 'CO'}
{'Code': '5911', 'Text': 'ARGENTINA'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8715024.xml'}