The LTER Network Decadal Planning process has identified Cryosphere loss as one focus area for development and potential research support over the next few years. With LNO support, we held a Cross-Site Workshop in Woods Hole in April to explore the geophysical, ecological, biogeochemical and socioecological dimensions of declining glacier, permafrost, snow, sea, lake and river ice.

Species diversity is expected to promote stability in ecosystem functions such as productivity. One mechanism that may contribute to stability is compensatory dynamics. Compensatory dynamics, which occur when an increase in density (biomass) of one species is associated with a decrease in another, are indicated by negative species covariances. These may be driven by competition or negatively correlated species responses to environmental drivers.

The dominant paradigm for explaining vegetation pattern in salt marshes is that there is a tradeoff between competitive ability and stress tolerance, leading to vegetation zones along a single gradient of increasing flooding and salinity from high to low marsh. This single-gradient paradigm breaks down, however, when the salinity gradient is decoupled from the flooding gradient, as happens following disturbance or at low latitudes.

Phenology is a critical aspect of nearly all ecological phenomena and processes. We propose a brain storming workgroup to take the next step in coordinating phenology monitoring and research across the LTER Network. The inspiration for this working group proposal has its roots in the 2006 ASM working group, the 2007 Sevilleta Workshop and the 2007 AGU Fall Meeting (see working group material). The paper by Henebry et al. 2007, "A White Paper on Phenology across LTER",  provides overview, background, and potential starting points for this session.