Long-term research reveals how climate change is playing out in real ecosystems

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Lori Quillen (quillenl@caryinstitute.org), (845) 677-7600 x121 DECEMBER 1, 2012 NORTH WOODSTOCK, N.H.—Around the world, the effects of global climate change are increasingly evident and difficult to ignore. However, evaluations of the local effects of climate change are often confounded by natural and human induced factors that overshadow the effects of… Read more »

Plum Island study says nutrients likely causing salt marsh loss

Scientists studying salt marshes at the Plum Island Ecosystem (PIE) Long Term Ecological Research site have long wondered why the marshes were disintegrating and dying at a faster rate than normal. Writing in the journal Nature this week the scientists, led by Linda Deegan of PIE and the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole,… Read more »

In blown down forests, a story of survival

Contact: Clarisse Hart, Harvard Forest Outreach Manager Telephone: (978) 756-6157 (9a to 5p) Email: hart3@fas.harvard.edu October 16, 2012 PETERSHAM, MASSACHUSETTS—In newscasts following intense wind and ice storms, damaged trees stand out: snapped limbs, uprooted trunks, sometimes entire forests blown nearly flat. In the storm’s wake, landowners, municipalities, and state agencies are faced with important financial… Read more »

The Colors of Fall: Are Autumn Reds and Golds Passing By?

According to the latest article in the National Science Foundation’s “Discovery” series, climate change, land-use change, and introduced pests and diseases, are altering fall foliage. Read the full article: The Colors of Fall: Are Autumn Reds and Golds Passing By?

Native plants in urban yards offer refuge to local birds

A study by scientists at the Central Arizona-Phoenix (CAP) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site found that residential yards in urban areas with native vegetation support local bird species better than those with traditional grass lawns, essentially providing “mini refuges.” The study, published in the online journal PLoS ONE, looked at residential landscapes in Phoenix,… Read more »

Long-term research reveals causes and consequences of environmental change

WASHINGTON, D.C., APRIL 6, 2012—As global temperatures rise, the most threatened ecosystems are those that depend on a season of snow and ice, scientists from the nation’s Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network say.”The vulnerability of cool, wet areas to climate change is striking,” says Julia Jones, a lead author in a special issue of the journal BioScience released today featuring results from more than 30 years of LTER, a program of the National Science Foundation (NSF).