Little is known about the local to regional scale variability in biomass and productivity of many subtidal ecosystems as direct surveys for these habitats are often time and labor intensive. Here, we combined high-resolution satellite imagery with detailed diver sampling to assess changes in giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) canopy cover and biomass along a ~60 km stretch coastline in the Santa Barbara Channel, California. Kelp canopy extent was determined by using principal component analysis on multispectral SPOT 5 satellite imagery.

In tallgrass prairie, annual tiller recruitment occurs primarily from belowground meristems (bud bank) rather than from seed. Therefore, in this system bud banks regulate plant population and community dynamics to a greater extent than seed banks. Current models predict greater variability in precipitation, with larger events and longer dry spells between events for northeastern Kansas. We hypothesize that bud banks mediate plant community response to changing precipitation patterns by differential release of meristems from dormancy and changing the production of new meristems.

Exposure to progressive inputs of anthropogenic N deposition elicits a series of changes in terrestrial ecosystems associated with both enhancement and inhibition of biogeochemical processes. Initially, growth of plants is enhanced as the constraint of N supply on NPP is relaxed, sometimes associated with altered dominance of species and gains or losses in diversity. Higher rates of nitrification and leaching of base cations eventually lead to acidification of soils, increases in soluble aluminum, and potentially to decreases in rates of NPP.

Human settlements in both arid lands and cities must, of necessity, alter hydrological regimes and geomorphology to provide clean, reliable drinking water, water for agriculture, and protection from flooding. Additionally, people also create substantial modifications to provide water for manufacturing, recreation, aesthetics, and sense of place. All of these practices can result in elimination or degradation of existing aquatic ecosystems, as well as creation of new ecosystems such as artificial lakes, stormwater retention basins, mitigation wetlands, groundwater recharge ponds, etc.

Soil microbes are key drivers of ecosystem processes, yet their role in regulating landscape-scale vegetation change is not known. Comprehensive studies of treeline position have noted that ectomycorrhizal fungi may be an important factor delineating the boundary between forest and tundra. Yet, these critical plant-fungal symbioses are sensitive to wildfires. Fire is the primary landscape-scale disturbance in the boreal forest and increasingly important in tundra.

The town of Ipswich, Massachusetts in the Ipswich river watershed was mapped at the sub-parcel scale using object-based image analysis. Look at the map's inset for detail. Individual objects such as houses, trees, and shrubs are mapped using 45cm 4-band aerial photography to describe the contents of tens of thousands of parcels in the Ipswich and Parker river watersheds of Massachusetts. Virtual globes are used to determine the extent to which the methodology has properly classified the imagery.
 

Sub-parcel land-cover can be mapped for large spatial extents with a measured accuracy using object-based image analysis. Individual objects such as houses, trees, and shrubs are mapped using 45cm 4-band aerial photography to describe the contents of tens of thousands of parcels in the Ipswich and Parker river watersheds of Massachusetts. Virtual globes are used to determine the extent to which the methodology has properly classified the imagery

An aspect of climate change in California has been an increase in the intensity and frequency of winter storms. Disturbance from storms is a major source of variation in the standing biomass of the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera, a competitive dominant on shallow reefs that forms a dense overstory canopy at the sea surface. Climate induced changes in the standing biomass of Macrocystis are expected to have a profound effect on the assemblage of subordinate understory macroalgae.

 Most climate change research has concentrated on the direct effects of environmental change for individual species and their interactions. By affecting key foundation species and ecosystem engineers, however, climate change may have a variety of indirect that may complicate our abilities to predict the response of communities and ecosystems. In California, climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of storms over the last half century.  Storms may directly alter the structure of kelp forest food webs via disturbance.