Contents Introduction...........................................................................................................1 Plenary Session....................................................................................................3 Shrubland Ecosystems: Importance, Distinguishing Characteristics, and Dynamics . .. 3 E. Durant McArthur and Stanley G. Kitchen Grassland Ecosystems of the Llano Estacado................................................................... 11 Eileen Johnson The Southern High Plains: A History of Vegetation, 1540 to Present............................. 24 David B. Wester Prescribed Fire to Restore Shrublands to Grasslands...................................................... 48 Carlton M. Britton, David B. Wester and Brent J. Racher Role of Summer Prescribed Fire to Manage Shrub-invaded Grasslands....................... 52 Charles A. Taylor Fire Session Management of South Texas Shrublands with Prescribed Fire....................................... 57 C. Wayne Hanselka, D. Lynn Drawe, and D.C. Ruthven, III Hydrology, Erosion, Plant, and Soil Relationships after Rangeland Wildfire................ 62 Kenneth E. Spaeth, Frederick B. Pierson, Peter R. Robichaud and Corey A. Moffet Using Relative Humidity to Predict Spotfire Probability on Prescribed Burns............. 69 John R. Weir Mesquite Cover Responses in Rotational Grazing/Prescribed Fire Management Systems: Landscape Assessment Using Aerial Images..................................................... 73 R. J. Ansley, W. E. Pinchak and W. R. Teague Modeling Erosion on Steep Sagebrush Rangeland Before and After Prescribed Fire.. 79 Corey A. Moffet, Frederick B. Pierson and Kenneth E. Spaeth Water and Ecophysiology Session Germination Responses to Temperature and Soil Moisture in Three Species of the Subfamily Caragana and Their Implications Toward Restoration in Loess-gully Region, China....................................................................................................................... 85 Zhao Xiaoying and Ren Jizhou Saltcedar Control and Water Salvage on the Pecos River, Texas, 1999 to 2003............. 89 Charles R. Hart, Larry D. White, Alyson McDonald and Zhuping Sheng Mesquite Root Distribution and Water Use Efficiency in Response to Long-term Soil Moisture Manipulations............................................................................................... 96 R. J. Ansley, T. W. Boutton and P. W. Jacoby Response of Seedlings of Two Hypogeal Brush Species to CO2 Enrichment................ 104 Charles R. Tischler, Justin D. Derner, H. Wayne Polley and Hyrum B. Johnson Shrub Biomass Production Following Simulated Herbivory: A Test of the Compensatory Growth Hypothesis................................................................................... 107 Terri B. Teaschner and Timothy E. Fulbright Soil Responses to Human Recreational Activities in a Blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima Torr.) Shrubland........................................................................................... 112 Simon A. Lei Influence of Shrubs on Soil Chemical Properties in Alxa Desert Steppe, China.......... 117 Hua Fu, Shifang Pei, Yaming Chen and Changgui Wan iv Fungal Genomes that Influence Basic Physiological Processes of Black Grama and Fourwing Saltbush in Arid Southwestern Rangelands........................................... 123 J.R. Barrow, M. Lucero, P. Osuna-Avila, I. Reyes-Vera and R.E. Aaltonen Ecology and Population Biology Session Estimating Aboveground Biomass of Mariola (Parthenium incanum) from Plant Dimensions................................................................................................................ 132 Carlos Villalobos Shrub Establishment in the Presence of Cheatgrass: The Effect of Soil Microorganisms.......................................................................................................... 136 Rosemary L. Pendleton, Burton K. Pendleton, Steven D. Warren, Jeffrey R. Johansen and Larry L. St. Clair Differences in Volatile Profiles Between Populations of Ceratoides lanata var. subspinosa (Rydb.) J.T. Howell......................................................................................... 142 Mary Lucero, Rick Estell, Dean Anderson, Ed Fredrickson and Marta Remmenga Emergence and Growth of Four Winterfat Accessions in the Presence of the Exotic Annual Cheatgrass................................................................................................. 147 Ann L. Hild, Jennifer M. Muscha and Nancy L. Shaw Seed Germination Biology of Intermountain Populations of Fourwing Saltbush (Atriplex canescens: Chenopodiaceae).............................................................................. 153 Susan E. Meyer and Stephanie L. Carlson Efficacy of Exclosures in Conserving Local Shrub Biodiversity in Xeric Sandy Grassland, Inner Mongolia, China................................................................................... 163 Feng-Rui Li, Zhi-Yu Zhou, Li-Ya Zhao, Ai-Sheng Zhang and Ling-Fen Kang Intraspecific Variation in Leaf Anatomy of Blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima Torr.).............................................................................................................. 170 Simon A. Lei v