2009 LTER All Scientists Meeting - Plant Population Biology

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.

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.

Altered precipitation patterns increase the genetic diversity of a dominant tallgrass species

Meghan Avolio — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:23:15 +0000

Poster Number:

130

Presenter/Primary Author:

Meghan Avolio

Co-Authors:

Melinda Smith

Co-Authors:

Jeremey Beaulieu

Climate change has the potential to alter the genetic diversity of plant populations with consequences for ecosystem function. In this study we addressed whether a long-term climate change manipulation has altered the genetic diversity of a dominant C4 grass, Andropogon gerardii, which contributes disproportionately to ecosystem productivity in the tallgrass prairie, using the Rainfall Manipulation Plots (RaMPs).

Student Poster:

Yes

Cost of Reproduction in Perennial Grains

Nikhil Jaikumar — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:26:15 +0000

Poster Number:

Presenter/Primary Author:

Nikhil Jaikumar

Co-Authors:

Sieglinde Snapp

High yielding perennial grasses, legumes, and grass/cereal hybrids are currently being investigated as potential alternative crops which could produce high yields of food or forage while also maintaining high levels of ecosystem services (lowered erosion, increased carbon sequestration, improved soil quality, and higher levels of pollinators and natural enemies as compared to annual systems). However, it is still unknown to what extent it will be possible to select perennial grasses and perennial grass/cereal hybrids for increased yield without jeopardizing the perennial life cycle.