2009 LTER All Scientists Meeting - Plant Ecology

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

Sherri Johnson — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:26:56 +0000

Poster Number:

387

Presenter/Primary Author:

Sherri Johnson

Co-Authors:

Mark Schulze

Co-Authors:

Matt Betts

Co-Authors:

Judy Li

Co-Authors:

Sarah Frey

Co-Authors:

Jay Sexton

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.

Regional, Historical, and Environmental Variation in A. petiolata occurrence in Western Massachusetts

Kristina Stinson — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:50:35 +0000

Poster Number:

386

Presenter/Primary Author:

Kristina Stinson

Co-Authors:

Dunbar Carpenter

Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) is an herbaceous biennial herb that has been present in the New England landscape for over a century. We investigated the ecological and historical factors affecting A. petiolata's invasion pattern across the New England landscape, including forest community structure, geophysical attributes, and habitat fragmentation. One-hundred-and-seventy-five 25× 100 m roadside, forested plots across two ecoregions were visited in the summers of 2006 and 2007. A. petiolata presence and cover, dominant canopy species, slope, and soil moisture were recorded.

Interactive Effects of Plant Species Diversity and Climate on Seedling Establishment in Grassland

Peter Wragg — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:38:45 +0000

Poster Number:

365

Presenter/Primary Author:

Peter Wragg

Co-Authors:

David Tilman

How will anticipated changes in climate interact with grassland plant community composition and diversity to affect the performance of seedlings? We ask this question for two reasons. 1) If plant species are to track spatial shifts in the locations of suitable climatic conditions, plant species must invade communities by means of seedling establishment; more diverse plant communities have been shown to be less invasible, but it is not known how warming will interact with diversity to affect invasion.

SEVILLETA LTER Abiotic Pulses and Constraints: Dynamics and stability in an aridland ecosystem

Scott Collins — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:57:53 +0000

Poster Number:

352

Presenter/Primary Author:

Scott Collins

Co-Authors:

Cliff Dahm

Co-Authors:

Marchy Litvak

Co-Authors:

Will Pockman

Co-Authors:

Kristin Vanderbilt

Co-Authors:

Esteban Muldavin

Co-Authors:

Bob Sinsabaugh

Co-Authors:

Blair Wolf

The Sevilleta LTER is located at the intersection of several aridland ecosystem types. Although it is axiomatic that water is the key limiting resource in aridland ecosystems, most arid land soils are also chronically low in nutrients and organic matter. Resource availability is a function of the frequency and size of precipitation events as well as the time between events. As a consequence, NPP and organic matter decomposition are often decoupled in space and time, and soil nutrient supply rates may limit NPP during periods when soil moisture is sufficient for plant growth.

Effect of rainfall pulses on soil CO2 fluxes and ecophysiology of Bouteloua eriopoda in a northern Chihuahuan Desert Grassland: a synthesis of research to date

Michell Thomey — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:02:20 +0000

Poster Number:

345

Presenter/Primary Author:

Michell Thomey

Co-Authors:

Scott Collins

Co-Authors:

Rodrigo Vargas

Co-Authors:

Jennifer Johnson

Co-Authors:

Renee Brown

Co-Authors:

Don Natvig

Co-Authors:

Michael Friggens

Background/Questions/Methods

Student Poster:

Yes

The Virginia Coast Reserve Long-Term Ecological Research Project

John Porter — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:27:27 +0000

Poster Number:

330

Presenter/Primary Author:

Karen McGlathery

Co-Authors:

Patricia Wiberg

Co-Authors:

John Porter

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.

Interactions between hurricanes and the legacy of human disturbance, determine the future composition of the Luquillo Forest.

Jill Thompson — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:23:14 +0000

Poster Number:

316

Presenter/Primary Author:

Jill Thompson

Co-Authors:

María Uriarte

Co-Authors:

Liza Comita

Co-Authors:

Jess K. Zimmerman

Co-Authors:

Charles Canham

Co-Authors:

Nicholas Brokaw

Co-Authors:

Inge Jonkcheere

Co-Authors:

Ned Fetcher

Co-Authors:

Lora Murphy

Co-Authors:

Alberto Sabat

Co-Authors:

Bruce Haines

The Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot (LFDP) is a 16-ha long-term study plot in subtropical wet forest in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico. It is part of the Luquillo LTER and the Center for Tropical Science (CTFS) network of large tropical forest plots. Forests are often subject to multiple, compounded disturbances, representing both natural and human-induced processes. Our goal is to understand forest structure, diversity and dynamics, and to predict long-term changes resulting from interactions of past human land use and intermittent hurricane damage.

Soil Warming and Nitrogen Deposition in a Northeastern Forest

Sydne Record — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:44:14 +0000

Poster Number:

290

Presenter/Primary Author:

Sydne Record

Co-Authors:

Serita D. Frey

Co-Authors:

Alexandra R. Contosta

Co-Authors:

Aaron M. Ellison

Ecosystems worldwide are faced with climate change. In the northeastern United States, climate change is coupled with nitrogen deposition from air pollution. The objective of this study is to determine how soil warming and nitrogen deposition influence species richness, diversity, and abundance of vegetation in a northeastern forest. Our study site is the chronic Soil Warming and Nitrogen Fertilization experiment at the Harvard Forest Long Term Ecological Research site.

Student Poster:

Yes

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

David Wise — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:58:54 +0000

Poster Number:

285

Presenter/Primary Author:

David Wise

Co-Authors:

Lynne M Westphal

Co-Authors:

Liam Heneghan

Co-Authors:

Bryan C Pijanowski

Co-Authors:

Nancy C Tuchman

Co-Authors:

Aaron N Durnbaugh

Co-Authors:

Paul H Gobster

Co-Authors:

Jennifer L Hirsch

Co-Authors:

Eric V Lonsdorf

Co-Authors:

Emily S Minor

Co-Authors:

Susan I Stewart

Co-Authors:

Moira L Zellner

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.

Non-native plant invasion modulated by land-use history and contemporary landscape patterns in the southern Appalachians

Scott Pearson — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:23:08 +0000

Poster Number:

268

Presenter/Primary Author:

Timothy Kuhman

Co-Authors:

Scott M. Pearson

Co-Authors:

Monica G. Turner

Some non-native invasive plant species are well suited for spread in forest-dominated landscapes and may pose a threat to forest communities. We determined the local and regional factors which the distribution of such species, in order to better understand the invasion process and to identify areas that are particularly susceptible to invasion. We conducted roadside surveys to determine the presence/absence and abundance of 15 non-native plant species known to invade forests in western North Carolina.