longer snow free season

Recent models indicate that lengthening of the snow-free season and associated declines in surface albedo constitutes the largest positive feedback to climate warming in the boreal forest. Roger Ruess

thawing permafrost

Increases in air temperatures and depth of insulating snow cover during winter are accelerating the rate of permafrost thaw. In areas of ice-rich permafrost, widespread thermokarst is having significant consequences for biogeochemical cycling and surface hydrology. Ted Schuur

severe fires shifts

A recent shift in the Alaska fire regime has increased the frequency and size of high-severity fires that combust deep organic layers, exposing mineral soil and favoring the invasion of hardwoods. Within the BNZ LTER Regional Site Network, many sites that were dominated by black spruce prior to burning in 2004 have now converted to dense birch stands with very different vegetation and ecosystem characteristics (BD1 site). Roger Ruess

VCR-LTER-site-lightning-talk-2020

VCR-LTER-site-lightning-talk-2020 VCR Site Lightning Talk, delivered at May 2020 Science Council Meeting by Keryn Gedan.

Jeff Liang_MCR1

Dana out in the lagoon with another local fisher working on the CNH project (left) and SDSU collaborator Jean Wencélius (right). Matthew Lauer, SDSU (CC BY 4.0)

Jeff Liang MCR

Dana performing an algae assay to measure herbivory in the lagoon. Lauren Enright, UCSB (CC BY 4.0)

Tasha_McMurdo1

The Wormherders take soil samples from the SLIME experiment site on the northern shore of Lake Bonney. On their left is the dive hut used by other LTER scientists who dove under the ice to collect lake sediment samples. On their right is a sensor station that records information from buried soil moisture sensors on the lakeshore. Natasha Griffin (CC BY 4.0)