The Value on an Interdisciplinary Environmental Awareness: An Introduction

This special issue of Great Plains Research brings together important and innovative environmentally-related research being conducted in what might be considered an ecoregion, the Great Plains. Investigators from seven different disciplines explore topics that span the Great Plains from the southern border of Texas to the Canadian prairie provinces of Alberta and Manitoba. Their methods vary from highly focused experimental designs to broad-based policy analysis. A review of the research topics covered in this issue might suggest they are as varied as the geographic locations, disciplinary affiliations, and methodological approaches of the researchers. In one sense, they are, but the reader also will find important, underlying, interrelated concerns being addressed. Thus, while each article describes a valuable body of research, an added value can be found in their relatedness