Call for Proposals: Synthesis Working Groups

The LTER Network Communications Office (NCO) announces a call for Synthesis Working Group proposals to promote analysis and synthesis of LTER data. Proposals must be submitted by the end of the day Wednesday, March 23, 2016, with research to begin before October 2016.

LTER Network Communications Office Appoints Lead Communications Officer

In August 2015, UCSB’s National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) was selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as the site of the first Network Communications Office (NCO) for the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) network. Martha “Marty” Downs has been appointed as the Communications Officer of the NCO and brings a background in both ecological research and science communications.

2015 LTER Mini-Symposium talks available for viewing and download

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Early this year the annual Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Mini-Symposium scheduled for Thursday, March 5, 2015, had to be postponed when inclement weather forced the closure of the National Science Foundation (NSF) (see http://bit.ly/1NkuT9Q). At the time we reported that webcasts of the talks would be presented in blocks of two or three at… Read more »

LTER data key to studies in special issue of Biogeochemistry journal

Long term studies by a number of Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites were the basis for some of the 14 papers in a special issue of the journal Biogeochemistry entitled “Tracking evolution of urban biogeochemical cycles: past, present, and future.” The issue encompasses work by urban ecologists in different cities across the U.S. including… Read more »

Harvard Study Shows Sprawl Threatens Water Quality, Climate Protection, and Land Conservation Gains in Massachusetts

Important findings reveal promise and peril of land-use decisions Petersham, MA – A groundbreaking study by Harvard University’s Harvard Forest Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program and the Smithsonian Institution reveals that, if left unchecked, recent trends in the loss of forests to development will undermine significant land conservation gains in Massachusetts, jeopardize water quality,… Read more »

Study: Forest clearcuts show sustained losses of carbon, surprising trends in water

PETERSHAM, Mass.—A new study out of the Harvard Forest, released today in the journal Global Change Biology, is the first detailed account of how carbon, water, and energy balances shift in the three years following the clearcut of a deciduous forest. The study, conducted by Clark University Professor Christopher Williams and colleagues in a 20-acre… Read more »

Harvard Forest researchers say whitebark pine tree’s future may be at risk

New research by Harvard Forest (HFR) LTER scientists suggest that widespread death of the whiteback pine tree from beetle infestations and tree disease outbreaks may be affecting seed production and hence the future of the tree–a mountain tree important to wildlife and water resources in the western United States and Canada. In a paper published… Read more »

Where Does Charcoal, or Black Carbon, in Soils Go?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Where Does Charcoal, or Black Carbon, in Soils Go? Scientists find surprising new answers in wetlands such as the Everglades April 18, 2013 — Scientists have uncovered one of nature’s long-kept secrets–the true fate of charcoal in the world’s soils. The ability to determine the fate of charcoal is critical to knowledge… Read more »

KBS researchers see marginal lands as prime fuel source for alternative energy

Biofuel experts identify a way to meet 25 percent of Congress’ 2022 cellulosic energy production goals Marginal lands unsuited for food crops can serve as prime real estate for meeting the nation’s alternative energy production goals. In the current issue of the journal Nature, a team of researchers working at the MSU’s Kellogg Biological Station… Read more »