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Simplification of agricultural landscapes reduces abundance of predatory insects, at substantial cost to farmers and society. Diverse landscapes harbor generalist predators such as ladybird beetles, which control crop pests such as soybean aphids, limiting the need for insecticide use. Given global declines in insect abundance, increasing the diversity of habitats and their spatial arrangement across… Read more »

Old-growth forest-stream ecosystems store enormous amounts of carbon. Andrews LTER researchers found that forest biomass accumulated at relatively linear rates over a century – counter to theoretical predictions that biomass accumulation would slow during forest succession. They also found that climate change related mortality at Andrews is low compared to other forests in the western… Read more »

Credit: AND LTERDue to increased shading from forest regrowth, streams in recovering forest experience declining temperatures, despite a warming climate. Site history is essential to correctly interpreting climate change response to such trends.  

Credit: Lina DiGregorioCross-site comparisons reveal varying long term trends in nitrogen exports, and varying responses to warming trends. Although theory predicts that streamflow should recover quickly after disturbance, paired watershed comparisons found decreases in summer flow (relative to undisturbed watersheds) in regenerating post-harvest forests 25 to 45 years old.  

Credit: Eriks ZambelloThe northern spotted owl, an iconic species in federal lands policy, continues to decline. Over 4,000 invertebrate species have been recorded at AND LTER since 1991. Native climate-sensitive bird species appear to be persisting, despite multi-decade warming, likely because old forests buffer micro-climate.  

Credit: BES LTERResearchers at BES LTER developed new theory and methods for characterizing the multidimensional, multidisciplinary nature of urban ecosystems. This work sparked the development of a new “urban systems science” which has become a key component of sustainability science across the globe.  

  Baltimore LTER research showed that nutrient cycling and retention in urban watersheds are driven by complex dynamics, with surprisingly high nitrogen retention, climate sensitivity, and surface water-groundwater interactions. These studies have been a foundation for novel analyses of how ecosystems are affected by contaminants of emerging concern.  

Credit: BES LTERThe BES LTER Household Telephone Survey provided information on environmental knowledge, perceptions, values, and behaviors of residents, their influence on ecosystem structure and function, and the ways that ecosystem structure and function may affect residents’ physical activity, social cohesion, perception of neighborhood desirability, and willingness to relocate.  

  Baltimore LTER research has helped challenge the assumption that urban biodiversity is low by showing that biological communities in urban environments are diverse and dynamic. This diversity ultimately affects human well-being, and fluxes of water, energy, carbon, and nutrients.