Increased summer air temperatures in interior Alaska have caused drought stress and growth suppression in several boreal tree species. The response of Alnus tenuifolia (thinleaf alder) to a warming climate could substantially impact interior Alaskan floodplains due the role alder plays as the dominant N-fixer. We studied the effects of inter-annual variation in monthly meteorological and hydrological variables on annual alder radial growth (directly related to N-fixation input), the landscape variability in alder climate sensitivity, and the long-term trends in climate and hydrology.

Research at the Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) LTER site focuses on understanding the ecology of intensive field crop production and its environmental consequences. This topic cuts across biological disciplines ranging from agroecology to evolutionary biology, making our work both timely and important for stakeholders as diverse as farmers and K-12 students and teachers.

Phosphorus (P) is often limiting in aquatic ecosystems. The quantity of available P is often determined by sediment binding and release processes. We obtained 32 sediment samples from shallow freshwater ecosystems in Southwest Michigan. Sediment cores were separated into consolidated and flocculent strata for analysis of percent organic matter, total sediment phosphorus (TP), and HCl-extractable iron (HCl~Fe). Sediment TP ranged from 110-3348 ugP/gdw, with an average of 1052 ugP/gdw.

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.

Many LTER sites focus, at least in part, on freshwater aquatic ecosystems. The purpose of this workshop is to document why long term records, in some cases coupled with experiments, provide information about these systems that cannot be teased out under normal funding cycles of a few years, and how future aquatic monitoring networks might be designed. We will include presentations on lake and stream habitats that document the unique benefits of long-term monitoring and experimentation.