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 »
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 »
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?
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 »
A number of scientists led by Florida Coastal Everglades (FCE) Long Term Ecological Research scientist, James Fourqurean, have concluded that seagrasses may play a vital role in solving climate change. In an interesting paper in the May 21 issue of the journal Nature Geoscience, Fourqurean and his co-authors report that, on a unit area basis,… Read more »
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).
