Landscape Ecology

Sampling spruce growth and climate sensitivity on glacial rivers of Alaska

Poster Number: 
398
Presenter/Primary Author: 
Glenn Juday

 We are examining the growth, growth history and climate sensitivity of white and black spruce trees on the floodplains of the major rivers fed by glacial meltwater in Interior Alaska. To date we have sampled 624 trees on 41 sites distributed across 1,783 km of the Yukon River, 375 km of the Tanana River, and 370 km of the Kuskokwim River, for a total of 2,528 km of river length.

Landscape dynamics in an interdisciplinary perspective: 25 years of research for sustainable agriculture and forestry

Poster Number: 
394
Presenter/Primary Author: 
Marc Deconchat

The study site, located in southwest of Toulouse (France) is a typical agricultural landscape (agricultural mosaic + forest remnants) with mixed production systems. This region is considered as an “intermediate zone”, without any particular conservation value, any agricultural potential, and any social challenge. The total study site area is around 15 000 hectares. Agriculture remains the predominant activity, but it is encountering difficulties in marginal areas that do not have particularly high agricultural potential.

New Phenology Research at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest

Poster Number: 
387
Presenter/Primary Author: 
Sherri Johnson

We are beginning new studies of phenology at the Andrews Forest to better understand influences of existing complex climatic gradients on timing of springtime life history events for multiple trophic levels. Phenological events are highly sensitive to temperature and climatic variations and are some of the most responsive indicators to climate change. By studying timing of events at multiple sites in a very heterogeneous climatic landscape, we expect to learn much about plant, insect and bird responses to current abiotic variability (i.e.

The Virginia Coast Reserve Long-Term Ecological Research Project

Poster Number: 
330
Presenter/Primary Author: 
Karen McGlathery

The Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR) is an extremely dynamic, heterogeneous coastal barrier landscape comprising mainland watersheds, tidal marshes, lagoons, and barrier islands. Our goal for the VCR LTER program is to develop a predictive understanding of the response of coastal barrier systems to long-term environmental changes in climate, sea level and land use, and to relate these to the ecological services the coastal barrier systems provide.

Patterns and Processes of Fragmentation Near Konza Prairie LTER

Poster Number: 
322
Presenter/Primary Author: 
Tom Prebyl

Fragmentation of natural habitats, driven by urban growth and other land use modifications, acts to decrease the amount of core habitat as well as the connectivity among core areas. As a result, landscape fragmentation can have negative impacts on the ecological communities, ecosystem services, and metapopulation dynamics.

Biomass energy and a changing forest landscape: Simulating the effects of intensified timber harvest for biomass energy

Poster Number: 
294
Presenter/Primary Author: 
Jonathan Thompson

Climate change, residential development, and timber harvesting are likely to be the primary disturbance agents affecting the forests of Massachusetts in the coming decades. One source of uncertainty is the potential rise of a forest biomass energy industry and the ensuing increases in harvesting to meet demand for feedstock. Under Massachusetts’ Renewable Portfolio Standard, potential future demand for biomass electricity could be around 165 MW, which would require up to 2 million Mg of woody biomass annually.

ULTRA-Ex: Connecting the social and ecological sciences with planners, managers, and the public: Building a broad foundation for the Chicago Region ULTRA

Poster Number: 
285
Presenter/Primary Author: 
David Wise

The Chicago Region ULTRA-Ex will address a question fundamental to understanding the dynamic interactions between biodiversity conservation, ecosystem processes, and human well being in urban landscapes: In a complex urban/metropolitan system, what are the synergies and tradeoffs between conserving biodiversity and providing ecosystem services to people? The project focuses on the Green Infrastructure Vision of the Chicago Wilderness alliance, a conservation consortium of over 240 organizations.

Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program

Poster Number: 
241
Presenter/Primary Author: 
Nick Brokaw

Tropical environments are changing fast due to deforestation and regrowth, urbanization, climate change, and other forces. The consequences are immense for the whole array of ecosystem services people require. The Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program (LUQ) is tackling these issues in Puerto Rico. LUQ began in 1988 and focused on natural disturbances (hurricanes, landslides, droughts, floods) and ecosystem response. That work revealed patterns of resistance and resilience to cycles of natural disturbance.

100 years of forest cover change in the urbanizing Gwynns Falls watershed, Baltimore, Maryland: spatial and temporal dynamics

Poster Number: 
187
Presenter/Primary Author: 
Weiqi Zhou

Landscape structure in the Eastern US experienced great changes in the last century with the expansion of forest cover into abandoned agricultural land and clearance of forest cover for urban development. Quantifying the changes in forest cover is a prerequisite to understanding the potential effects of those changes on ecological processes. In this paper, the spatial and temporal patterns of forest cover from 1914 to 2004 in the Gwynns Falls watershed in Baltimore, Maryland were quantified from historical forest maps and aerial photographs.

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