Ecological complexity integrates complexity theory and ecosystem function and can provide insights to tackle critical environmental problems. Ecological complexity is not merely describing complicated systems, but complex in the many interacting components controlled by drivers operating across multiple scales. Multiple spatio-temporal scales are needed to understand complex systems. We are interested in understanding these different scales in the terms of biogeochemistry, or biogeochemical complexity. A unifying feature of many LTER sites is biogeochemical complexity.

Increasing land fragmentation, mostly caused by urban sprawl and “leap-frog’ developments, is a major concern in many rapidly growing metropolitan cities of the US. Land fragmentation affects biodiversity and ecosystem processes, as portions of the landscape become isolated without connecting corridors and this, in turn, can change ecological structure and function. This cross-site comparative study, a joint-collaboration of several LTER sites (i.e.