Water plus soil makes mud, right? It’s definitely mud when it’s on the kitchen table at home. But for the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (Ecoss), water plus soil makes paint, and it enjoyed centerpiece status on our table in Science in the Park in Flagstaff, last weekend, part […]
Science and Sentiment. What does it feel like to be a scientist? Check out this great video featuring scientists from Ecoss. Sonya Daw, writer/editor/videographer/producer.
Permafrost soils store nearly half of global soil carbon (C), and therefore permafrost thawing could lead to large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions via decomposition of soil organic matter. When ice-rich permafrost thaws, it creates a localized surface subsidence called thermokarst terrain, which changes the soil microenvironment. We used soil […]
We investigated the effects of a 5 °C soil + air experimental heating on root and microbial respiration in a boreal black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) forest in northern Manitoba, Canada, that was warmed between 2004 and 2007. In 2007, the 14C/12C signatures of soil CO2efflux and root and […]
For two species of oak, we determined whether increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration (Ca) would decrease leaf mitochondrial respiration (R) directly, or indirectly owing to their growth in elevated Ca, or both. In particular, we tested whether acclimatory decreases in leaf-Rubisco content in elevated Ca would decrease R associated with its […]
Increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) are likely to affect the trophic relationships that exist between plants, their herbivores and the herbivores’ natural enemies. This study takes advantage of an open-top CO2 fertilization experiment in a Florida scrub oak community at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, consisting of eight chambers […]
The permafrost component of the cryosphere is changing dramatically, but the permafrost region is not well monitored and the consequences of change are not well understood. Changing permafrost interacts with ecosystems and climate on various spatial and temporal scales. The feedbacks resulting from these interactions range from local impacts on […]
Flow diversion and invasive species are two major threats to freshwater ecosystems, threats that restoration efforts attempt to redress. Yet, few restoration projects monitor whether removal of these threats improve target charac- teristics of the ecosystem. Fewer still have an appropriate experimental design from which causal inferences can be drawn […]
At 6 A.M. on the first day of winter break, a van full of high school stu- dents and teachers set out for Fossil Creek in Arizona to conduct measurements for an ongoing environmental project (which monitors changes to the creek). The group had a long day ahead—hiking about 7 […]
Uncertainty surrounds belowground plant responses to rising atmospheric CO2 because roots are difficult to measure, requiring frequent monitoring as a result of fine root dynamics and long-term monitoring as a result of sensitivity to resource availability. We report belowground plant responses of a scrub-oak ecosystem in Florida exposed to 11 yr […]