LTER Science Update provides short, accessible articles describing recent news and publications from across the Network. We hope you will be informed and inspired. Subscribers can sign up online and manage their own subscription settings, so feel free to share with interested colleagues. Have a recent paper or project that may be of interest? Please send us a few basic details using our news submission form and we’ll follow up.
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Researchers from Bonanza Creek LTER developed a framework for boreal forest management that considers climate uncertainty, public safety related to fire regimes, and harvest and biodiversity goals.
FCE-LTER researchers explore a case where industry and regulatory stakeholders have worked together to reduce runoff and improve water quality in the Everglades.
Western black widow spider populations in urban locations are more diverse than those in rural locations
Researchers at the Virginia Coast Reserve LTER recently found that adjacent patches of salt marsh and seagrass increase sedimentation benefits in shallow coastal bays.
Sunshine, sand, and surf greeted participants of the 2018 LTER All Scientists’ Meeting as they arrived at Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California. For four days, Asilomar was abuzz with the excitement of nearly 600 people sharing new scientific ideas and discussions. The theme of the 2018 meeting, Next Generation Synthesis: Successes and Strategies,… Read more »
On the boundaries of fresh and saltwater systems, coastal marshes give rise to diverse, productive ecosystems that act as carbon sinks. Their secret? Freshwater marsh plants receive just the right amount of nutrients and salt from periodic seawater tides to thrive. However, incursions of saltwater into these systems are increasing —often caused by drought and… Read more »
Observed benefits of carbon dioxide enrichment to C3 v. C4 plants appear to reverse after 12 years of treatment.
The Yahara may sound like the name of a vast desert, but it’s actually a 359-square mile watershed in southern Wisconsin. The Yahara Watershed is a mix of urbanized land (including the state capital), productive agriculture land, and a chain of lakes called the Yahara Lakes. Because of its diverse environment, the Yahara provides many… Read more »
Climate change is already impacting polar habitats such as the Arctic tundra, where increasing temperatures are causing permafrost to thaw and exposing soil and organic matter that have been buried for thousands of years. Many scientists predicted that this soil, once exposed, would release a massive amount of sequestered carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to… Read more »
As temperatures rise in many regions around the world, plant species whose ranges were previously limited by low temperature thresholds and intolerance to freezing are increasingly able to expand into new areas and possibly overtake established vegetation regimes. On Hog Island, an undeveloped barrier island off the coast of Virginia, a group of LTER researchers… Read more »
