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The shift from grassland to shrubland is not the only alternative state for desert vegetation. Jornada Basin LTER research has documented: (a) shifts from desertified shrublands back towards native grassland, (b) shifts between different shrubland types, and (c) shifts from grasslands or shrublands to novel ecosystems dominated by non-native annual or perennial grasses. State changes… Read more »

Locations that are functionally connected in the landscape experience greater materials and energy transfer, which ultimately influences spatial and temporal vegetation dynamics in desert landscapes. In pilot studies, small connectivity modifying structures (ConMods) increased grasses and forbs relative to areas without ConMods.  

Using long term observations and a water balance approach, JRN LTER researchers determined that small watersheds on piedmont slopes are large contributors to groundwater recharge on the Jornada Basin. This was one of the first studies to quantify groundwater recharge in arid region first-order watersheds.  

Research from KBS LTER reveals not only how changes in cropping practices improve ecosystem service flows, but also the economic value of those flows. Paired studies of farmers and consumers track farmer willingness to provide changed practices along with consumer willingness to pay for ecosystem services that come from those changed practices, such as climate… Read more »

Desert rodent biomass depends on an interaction between shrub cover and precipitation – more rodent biomass is associated with grasslands following droughts and with shrublands following wet years. This pattern can be largely explained by the irruption of folivores (which prefer shrubbier vegetation) during wet years and suggests that rodent population dynamics are likely to… Read more »

Researchers at JRN LTER are incorporating machine learning into complex dataset exploration. The data exploration interface is capable of suggesting potential analytical approaches to new users based on interactions with previous users.  

Credit: MCM LTERDuring a decadal cooling period, productivity and hydrological connectivity synchronously decreased among terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. As summer air temperatures and solar radiation stabilized in the following decade, the ecosystem moved back toward pre-cooling period conditions but in an asynchronous manner. This was due in part to the fact that the end of… Read more »

Credit: Amy Chiuchiolo / MCM LTERSoil invertebrate communities in long term monitoring plots are responding to long term and seasonal changes in temperature and water availability, with key taxa exhibiting distinct responses. These changes are favoring rarer hydrophilic taxa, while the dominant species, an endemic free-living nematode which prefers cold dry soils, is declining in… Read more »

Credit: MCM LTERPhotosynthetic and mixotrophic eukaryotes are the dominant primary producers in the stratified water columns of the dry valleys lakes. Nutrient amendment experiments have shown that growth of chlorophytes, an obligate photosynthetic phytoplankton group, are stimulated by the addition of nitrogen or phosphorus in Lake Fryxell and nitrogen in Lake Bonney. Conversely, when communities… Read more »

Credit: Aslan Wright-Stow Hilke Giles, Antarctica NZ Pictorial Collection: K081C 08/09Record melt and thaw events over the past decade have increased the physical connectivity of the McMurdo Dry Valleys ecosystem. Researchers at MCM LTER have tested hypotheses that focus on responses, such as increased biogeochemical cycling and changes in biodiversity. These studies suggest that landscape… Read more »