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Research Projects
The program sponsors experimental research in terrestrial ecosystems in North America. Most of the research is in natural (rather than managed) ecosystems. Some of the research is in situ experimentation, and some of the research uses "constructed" ecosystems (i.e., ecosystems constructed for the purpose of research). Both whole-ecosystem experiments and process-level studies are supported.
The program is the principal sponsor of the world's largest long-term study of ecological effects of changes in atmospheric composition associated with energy production (i.e., the Rhinelander, Wisconsin, FACE [free-air CO2 enrichment] experiment). The Rhinelander FACE study began fumigating northern hardwood forest stands, in the field, with elevated concentrations of both carbon dioxide and ozone in 1998. The program also sponsored the largest long-term study of effects of altered precipitation amount on ecosystem structure and functioning (i.e., the Throughfall Displacement Experiment [TDE] at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory [ORNL] in Tennessee). The TDE was conducted from 1993 through 2007. In addition to large-scale field manipulations of climatic factors and atmospheric composition, the program also sponsors mesocosm research in controlled-environment laboratory, glasshouse, and field chambers to facilitate critical ecosystem research in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner. Moreover, the program supports mathematical modeling and data and information synthesis activities. It does this as both components of experimental research projects and as stand-alone modeling and synthesis projects. The final component of the program is the long-term monitoring and analysis of ecosystem structure and functioning on the Walker Branch Watershed at ORNL. This monitorig and analysis is meant to improve understanding of any ecological effects of climatic variability and change during recent decades. Presently Funded Research Projects (ordered by PI name) Climatic change in arid lands: effects on soil biota and ecosystem processes PIs: Belnap, Kuske, and Neher PI: Bradford Genomic regulation of the response of an agroecosystem to elements of global change PI: DeLucia PI: Dunn Threshold responses to interacting global changes in a California grassland ecosystem PI: Field An annual grassland mesocosm exploration of scaling from genomes to ecosystems PI: Firestone PI: Goulden Effects of warming on the structure and functioning of a boreal black spruce forest PI: Gower Effect of asymmetric versus symmetric warming on grassland mesocosms PI: Gregg PI: Hellmann The interaction of carbon and water availability along a subambient to elevated CO2 gradient PI: Jackson PI: Karnosky PI: King PI: Kueppers Effects of elevated CO2 and O3 on insect-mediated ecosystem processes in a northern deciduous forest PI: Lindroth PIs: McDowell and Pockman Effects of warming on tree species' recruitment in deciduous forests of the eastern United States PI: Melillo Interactive effects of elevated carbon dioxide and ozone on the mycorrhizal symbiosis PI: Miller PIs: Norby and Classen Boreal ecotone warming experiment PI: Reich Can soil genomics predict the impact of precipitation on nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes from soil? PI: Schwartz Bridging the divide: linking genomics to ecosystem responses to climatic change PI: Smith The response of a seasonal ectotherm (Allenemobius socius) to global warming PI: Winterhalter HERMES: hierarchical experimental responses at macromolecular to ecosystem scales PIs: Wullschleger, Kuske, and Rogers PI: Zak Previously Funded Research Projects The program's completed research projects, and research projects that are now supported by other funding sources, are listed on the Previously Funded Research Projects web page. |