We’ll hear from 2 synthesis groups focusing on resilience in (primarily) grassland systems.
The “Resilience of Productivity” working group, funded through the LTER Network Office, brings together, researchers, literatures, and data across “natural” and agro-ecosystems to build a better understanding of how climate and management interact to affect the resilience and continuing productivity of landscapes.
- Dr. David Hoover, Research Ecologist, USDA
- Dr. Olivia Hajek, POstdoctoral Research Associate University of Alaska, Fairbanks
“Grassland Rocks” is a working group of early-career researchers across LTER sites investigating ecosystem resistance and resilience to extreme climate events. The group assembled nearly 40 years of data from grassland plant communities at Cedar Creek, Kellogg Biological Station, and Konza Prairie LTER sites to test the relative importance of species richness, evenness, and dominance on ecosystem resistance and resilience to extreme wet and dry events.
The resulting paper appeared this year in Ecology Letters: “Multiple Community Properties Drive Ecosystem Resistance and Resilience to Extreme Climate Events Across Mesic Grasslands”
- Joshua Ajowele, PhD Candidate UNC Greensboro
- Ashley Darst, PhD Candidate, Michigan State University
