Cross site investigation using LTER Data.
Project Summary: Many global change drivers (GCDs) lead to chronic alterations in resource availability. As communities change through time in response to these GCDs, the magnitude and direction of ecosystem responses is also predicted to change in a non-linear fashion. We propose to examine whether plant community dynamics are predictive of shifts in ecosystem function… Read more »
The goals of this proposed LTER Synthesis Working Group are (1) to initiate and coordinate the integration of data from multiple sites on stream ecosystem responses to nutrient amendment, (2) to synthesize these data with a quantitative evaluation of functional responses at the microbial, primary producer, consumer and whole-stream levels, (3) to produce an NSF… Read more »
A four-day workshop will use LTER data, including data from the EcoTrends project, to bridge the gap between the relatively mature theoretical understanding of thresholds and state changes in ecological systems and the emerging empirical databases that allow us to actually test models of state changes. Many of these changes represent “tipping points” or dramatic… Read more »
We are requesting Synthesis Working Group funds to support LTER participation in StreamchemDB. StreamchemDB is focused on aquatic chemistry data, and builds on former data synthesis projects ClimDB and HydroDB, all of which have been collaborative LTER-Forest Service cross-site synthesis and cyber-infrastructure projects.
Long-term ecological studies have expanded our view of microbial biology with the incorporation of long-term monitoring programs of diversity, plant and animal ecology, and decomposition processes in the context of global climate change. The full integration of meaningful cross-site ecological-genomic studies into LTER research will require either substantial new infrastructure or access to existing infrastructure… Read more »
The goal of this workshop is to test hypotheses (identified in a 2010 working group) about ecological and social resilience of the water cycle to climate change and land use change in ten major river basins in the US and Canada.
The goal of this synthesis is to evaluate uncertainty in hydrologic inputs, outputs, and net hydrologic flux of major elements across small watersheds with diverse characteristics. The long-term goal of this project is to contribute to a cultural change in ecology that makes uncertainty analysis an accepted and expected practice in the construction of ecosystem… Read more »
We are requesting funds to assemble a working group of LTER scientists with extensive experience in conducting long-term experiments in the LTER Network, the skills and interest in synthetically interpreting the results of those experiments, and in using data from these studies to address new questions relevant to pressing global change issues.
Recent work has suggested that freshwater ecosystems may play a significant role in the global carbon cycle, potentially emitting 1.2 Pg C y-1 to the atmosphere [1, 2]. The majority of the CO2 that is degassed from streams and rivers comes from the decomposition of allochthonous leaf litter inputs [3, 4]. The process of decomposition… Read more »
Introduction and Goals: In the Western US mountain regions, winter temperature increases will lead to the reduction and even loss of winter snowpacks. A shift from snow to rain-dominated systems will alter seasonal patterns of streamflow, soil moisture, soil temperature, etc. affecting a myriad of ecosystem processes. This proposed work will develop a working group… Read more »
