Deep beneath the tundra near Eight Mile Lake in Alaska, at the “thaw front” where the active layer meets the permafrost, Northern Arizona University postdoctoral researcher Rebecca Hewitt has been observing a surprising rally: mycorrhizal fungi are congregating, in some cases taking up nitrogen as it’s released from the permafrost Read more…
Some experts estimate that a single mature oak tree produces between 200,000 and 1 million leaves each year—all of which fall from the tree in the autumn. Although “litter” from decaying leaves is sometimes viewed as a problem in urban and suburban settings, fallen leaves play a critical role in Read more…
Please join the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society and Flagstaff Arts Council Saturday, September 29 for the Flagstaff premier of “This Verse Business,” a play that offers a new window into Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Frost’s personal life and poetic works. Frost is portrayed by Emmy-winning Gordon Clapp from NYPD Blue. Written and directed by Andy Dolan. Tickets are $10 Read more…
When it comes to how climate change is impacting ecosystems, there’s no shortage of data out there. But finding enough people who know both ecology and how to interpret that data can be a different story. Ecoss affiliated professor Kiona Ogle leads the multi million dollar grant from the National Read more…
Ecoss ecologist Ted Schuur, who’s received a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a carbon observatory at Eight Mile Lake near Denali National Park in Alaska, calls the permafrost’s massive release of greenhouse gases into the Earth’s atmosphere a “wild card,” and potentially a tipping point, Read more…