Ecosystems are resistant or resilient to hurricanes, but not both
Ecosystems resist devastation from hurricanes by choosing either of two strategies: high resistance or high resilience.
In Search of Commonality: Plant communities exhibit a wide variety of responses to global change
All plants are somehow affected by global change, but their responses are inconsistent between ecosystems, a LTER Synthesis group finds.
Climate change makes kelp less nutritious
For Southern California reefs and beaches, giant kelp fuels the food web and creates an environment in which biodiversity booms. But the nutritional quality of kelp is lower than it once was, a new study from the Santa Barbara Coastal LTER shows. The culprit? Climate change and warming ocean water, coauthors Dr. Heili Lowman and Kyle Emery find.
In “The Conversation”: Climate change is already disrupting US forests and coasts
Scientists have been consistently documenting environmental changes at research sites like this one in the Cascade Mountains for decades. US Forest Service Michael Paul Nelson, Oregon State University and Peter Mark Groffman, CUNY Graduate Center Record-breaking heat waves and drought have left West Coast rivers lethally hot for salmon, literally cooked millions of mussels… Read more »
Choose Your Poison: Plant Disease Outbreaks May Be Curbed by Periodic Wildfire
Wildfires have made headlines worldwide in recent years — and for good reason. Evidence points to increasing wildfire frequency and intensity across many vulnerable ecosystems as climate change impacts grow ever more evident. However, periodic wildfires in ecosystems adapted to them can actually help inhibit plant disease outbreaks, according to new research from Cedar Creek… Read more »
2021 LTER Synthesis Awards: Reproduction and Resilience
Two new synthesis working groups, awarded in 2021, capitalize on the intensive and extended record of observation at LTER sites to shed light on thorny ecological questions.
Fire Brings New Perspectives on Disturbance at H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest
By Natasha Griffin, PhD candidate at Oregon State University The staff of the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest LTER site had almost no time to prepare when a massive wildfire swept through the region in early September. Stoked by dry late-summer conditions and extreme high winds, Oregon’s Holiday Farm fire began spreading rapidly as soon as… Read more »
Seeing the forest for the shrubs in Southern Appalachia
As ecosystems respond to human activity, what organisms will emerge as new trailblazers, shaping the diversity and resilience of these changing environments? And how can land managers identify these species early on to better prepare for the future? Forests of southern Appalachia have a history fraught with human activity. Hardy and towering, American chestnut and… Read more »
LTER Road Trip: Boreal Forest Research Legacies
By Haley Dunleavy, PhD Candidate at Northern Arizona University Leaving my house, I feel like a runaway. I am packed inside an economy-sized rental car with my field clothes, camping gear, and of course, face masks, heading 300 miles north to meet my advisor Michelle Mack and fellow lab members for a couple days of… Read more »
Stop giving early and late Arctic seasons the ‘cold shoulder’, say LTER scientists
Climate change is hitting Arctic ecosystems hard – permafrost is rapidly thawing, releasing previously-frozen organic matter into the surrounding environment. Knowing not only how, but when, dissolved organic matter (DOM) and other nutrient concentrations are changing is important for predicting effects of climate change, but the picture is currently incomplete. A new paper from Arctic… Read more »
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Top Stories
Winter is Not Coming
Ecosystems are resistant or resilient to hurricanes, but not both
Using the LTERHub Directory API to Perform Site Tasks
Ready-to-teach R Environmental Datasets: the lterdatasampler R package
2021-22 LTER Webinar Series: See past webinars here!
LTER Grad Students: Apply Now for Science Writing Opportunity
Expanding the “bio” in biogeochemical modeling: including voles in arctic climate models
Stream Dissolved Nitrogen Cycling Responds to Human Activity across the Landscape
Upcoming Panel Discussion on Community Engagement
Historical irrigation leaves long lasting legacies on the prairie