-
Persistent reduced ecosystem respiration after insect disturbance in high elevation forests
-
Amid a worldwide increase in tree mortality, mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) have led to the death of billions of trees from Mexico to Alaska since 2000. This is predicted to have important carbon, water and energy balance feedbacks on the Earth system. Counter to current projections, we show that on a decadal scale, tree mortality causes no increase in ecosystem respiration from scales of several square metres up to an 84 km2 valley. Rather, we found comparable declines in both gross primary productivity and respiration suggesting little change in net flux, with a transitory recovery of respiration 6–7 years after mortality associated with increased incorporation of leaf litter C into soil organic matter, followed by further decline in years 8–10. The mechanism of the impact of tree mortality caused by these biotic disturbances is consistent with reduced input rather than increased output of carbon.
Keywords
Carbon balance, disturbance, ecosystem respiration, gross primary productivity, insect outbreak, lodgepole pine, mountain pine beetle, mountain West, subalpine forest.
Located in
Resources
/
Climate Science Documents
-
Pervasive Externalities at the Population, Consumption, and Environment Nexus
-
Growing concerns that contemporary patterns of economic development are unsustainable have given rise to an extensive empirical literature on population growth, consumption increases, and our growing use of nature’s products and services. However, far less has been done to reach a theoretical understanding of the socio-ecological processes at work at the population- consumption-environment nexus. In this Research Article, we highlight the ubiquity of externalities (which are the unaccounted for consequences for others, including future people) of decisions made by each of us on reproduction, consumption, and the use of our natural environment. Externalities, of which the “tragedy of the commons” remains the most widely discussed illustration, are a cause of inefficiency in the allocation of resources across space, time, and contingencies; in many situations, externalities accentuate inequity as well. Here, we identify
and classify externalities in consumption and reproductive decisions and use of the natural environment so as to construct a unified theoretical framework for the study of data drawn from the nexus. We show that externalities at the nexus are not self-correcting in the marketplace. We also show that fundamental nonlinearities, built into several categories of externalities, amplify the socio-ecological processes operating at the nexus. Eliminating the externalities would, therefore, require urgent collective action at both local and global levels.
Located in
Resources
/
Climate Science Documents
-
Peter Stangel: U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities
-
Peter Stangel, Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, discusses the importance of landscape-level conservation and partnerships as well as his vision for future collaboration.
Located in
Our Community
/
Voices from the Community
-
Peters, Chris
-
Located in
Expertise Search
-
Petit 1978.pdf
-
Located in
Resources
/
TRB Library
/
PEK-RIC
-
Petit 1979.pdf
-
Located in
Resources
/
TRB Library
/
PEK-RIC
-
Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, and WLFW East Region Webinar Series
-
Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever, in partnership with USDA-NRCS’s Working Lands for Wildlife, has reformed the WLFW Pollinator Conservation webinar series to include broader topics and changed platforms to Zoom. This series aims to enhance understanding, confidence, and knowledge of conservation concepts. It is designed for conservation professionals working in the WLFW East Region. NRCS staff and partner organizations are welcome to attend (click image for more details), so please feel free to share it with your field staff.
Located in
News & Events
-
Phenology Feedbacks on Climate Change
-
A longer growing season as a result of climate
change will in turn affect climate through
biogeochemical and biophysical effects.
SCIENCE VOL 324
Located in
Resources
/
Climate Science Documents
-
PHENOLOGY OF MIXED WOODY–HERBACEOUS ECOSYSTEMS FOLLOWING EXTREME EVENTS: NET AND DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSES
-
We present responses of a mixed woody–herbaceous ecosystem type to an extreme event: regional-scale pinon pine mortality following an extended drought and the subsequent herbaceous green-up following the first wet period after the drought. This example highlights how reductions in greenness of the slower, more stable evergreen woody component can rapidly be offset by increases associated with resources made available to the relatively more responsive herbaceous component. We hypothesize that such two-phase phenological responses to extreme events are characteristic of many mixed woody– herbaceous ecosystems.
Key words: die-off; disturbance; drought; extreme events; fire; Mesita del Buey; mortality; normalized difference vegetation index; phenology; pin ̃on; semiarid woodlands; woody and herbaceous plants.
Located in
Resources
/
Climate Science Documents
-
Philadelphia Record 1902.pdf
-
Located in
Resources
/
TRB Library
/
PEK-RIC
