Disturbance Dynamics and Ecological Response: The Contribution of Long-Term Ecological Research

Turner, Monica G.; Collins, Scott L.; Lugo, Ariel L.; Magnuson, John J.; Rupp, T. Scott; Swanson, Frederick J.

doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[0046:ddaert]2.0.co;2

Cited by 160 publications

(114 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…We review insights gained on patterns and processes of plant community dynamics from data collected from networks. Ecological networks can shed light on the effects of episodic and chronic disturbance on ecosystems (hurricane or fire vs. nitrogen deposition) (26). Cross-site comparisons showed that, during drought years, all ecosystems exhibited a ratio of net primary productivity (NPP) to rainfall (water use efficiency), similar to arid ecosystems where water stress is the normal condition (24).…”

Section: Observing Changes In Plant Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global change and terrestrial plant community dynamics

Franklin

Serra‐Diaz

Syphard

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

316

225

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This contribution is part of a special series of Inaugural Articles by members of the National Academy of Sciences elected in 2014.Contributed by Janet Franklin, February 2, 2016 (sent for review October 8, 2015; reviewed by Gregory P. Asner, Monica G. Turner, and Peter M. Vitousek)Anthropogenic drivers of global change include rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses and resulting changes in the climate, as well as nitrogen deposition, biotic invasions, altered disturbance regimes, and land-use change. Predicting the effects of global change on terrestrial plant communities is crucial because of the ecosystem services vegetation provides, from climate regulation to forest products. In this paper, we present a framework for detecting vegetation changes and attributing them to global change drivers that incorporates multiple lines of evidence from spatially extensive monitoring networks, distributed experiments, remotely sensed data, and historical records. Based on a literature review, we summarize observed changes and then describe modeling tools that can forecast the impacts of multiple drivers on plant communities in an era of rapid change. Observed responses to changes in temperature, water, nutrients, land use, and disturbance show strong sensitivity of ecosystem productivity and plant population dynamics to water balance and long-lasting effects of disturbance on plant community dynamics. Persistent effects of land-use change and human-altered fire regimes on vegetation can overshadow or interact with climate change impacts. Models forecasting plant community responses to global change incorporate shifting ecological niches, population dynamics, species interactions, spatially explicit disturbance, ecosystem processes, and plant functional responses. Monitoring, experiments, and models evaluating multiple change drivers are needed to detect and predict vegetation changes in response to 21st century global change.climate change | drought | forests | global change | land-use change T errestrial plant communities include forests, woodlands, shrublands, and grasslands; they support economic activities including forestry and grazing and provide other ecosystem services (1) such as carbon sequestration and water delivery. Plant communities play a key role in global biogeochemical cycles of carbon, oxygen, water, and nitrogen, with feedbacks to the oceans, atmosphere, and climate. The distribution of animals on land is often influenced by the distribution of vegetation, and therefore, plant community dynamics affect biodiversity. Changes in the Earth's vegetation in response to climate change, and associated faunal changes, may have played a role in the evolution of the human lineage (2, 3). Thus, human populations have a vested interest in understanding rapid global change effects on terrestrial plant communities.Anthropogenic drivers of global change include rising atmospheric concentrations of CO 2 and other greenhouse gasses and associated changes in the climate, as well...

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Section: Observing Changes In Plant Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global change and terrestrial plant community dynamics

Franklin

Serra‐Diaz

Syphard

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

316

225

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“…19-23) and of physical disturbance in general (e.g., refs. [24][25][26][27][28]. In the present study, a late-season hurricane wiped out two populations of lizards that an earlier hurricane failed to exterminate even though the earlier hurricane was stronger.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Variable ecological effects of hurricanes: The importance of seasonal timing for survival of lizards on Bahamian islands

Schoener

Spiller

Losos

2003

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Two recent hurricanes passed directly over the northern Bahamas 2 years apart, allowing a comparison of their effects on lizard populations inhabiting exactly the same islands. The hurricanes differed in two ways: one struck during the reproductive season and was relatively severe; the other struck after most reproduction had taken place and was milder. The late-season hurricane produced a significant relation between population reduction and lowness of the island that lasted at least through two seasons; the earlier hurricane produced no such relationship. The late-season hurricane wiped out populations of lizards on two islands (two of the three lowest) that the earlier hurricane failed to exterminate even though it was stronger. We relate these effects to the fact that the study lizards regenerated from the earlier hurricane only via the egg stage, whereas eggs were unavailable when the later storm struck and regeneration was via hatched lizards. We discriminate and illustrate four kinds of hurricanes, cross-classified by two contrasts: earlier vs. later and stronger vs. weaker. A later, stronger hurricane completely exterminated lizard populations at a second Bahamian site, whereas an earlier, weaker hurricane had no detectable effect at a third Bahamian site. We suggest that, in addition to severity, the timing of a hurricane as it coincides with reproductive scheduling or other phenological aspects may determine the magnitude of its effect on a variety of organisms.

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“…At the ecosystem scale, in situ methods including field experiments (Barbeta et al, 2013), long-term observations (Turner et al, 2003), and the eddy covariance technique (Amiro et al, 2010;Schwalm et al, 2010) help us to understand the mechanisms underlying responses of ecosystem processes to ECE&D. Modeling approaches including process-based ecosystem models or data-driven upscaling approaches (Jung et al, 2009;Xiao et al, 2008) have been used for regional to global assessments, which also rely heavily on satellite remote sensing . Synthesizing these findings is an ongoing challenge, and multiple approaches are required to understand the consequences of different ECE&D for carbon cycling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preface: Impacts of extreme climate events and disturbances on carbon dynamics

Xiao

Stoy

2016

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. The impacts of extreme climate events and disturbances (ECE&D) on the carbon cycle have received growing attention in recent years. This special issue showcases a collection of recent advances in understanding the impacts of ECE&D on carbon cycling. Notable advances include quantifying how harvesting activities impact forest structure, carbon pool dynamics, and recovery processes; observed drastic increases of the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon and dissolved methane in thermokarst lakes in western Siberia during a summer warming event; disentangling the roles of herbivores and fire on forest carbon dioxide flux; direct and indirect impacts of fire on the global carbon balance; and improved atmospheric inversion of regional carbon sources and sinks by incorporating disturbances. Combined, studies herein indicate several major research needs. First, disturbances and extreme events can interact with one another, and it is important to understand their overall impacts and also disentangle their effects on the carbon cycle. Second, current ecosystem models are not skillful enough to correctly simulate the underlying processes and impacts of ECE&D (e.g., tree mortality and carbon consequences). Third, benchmark data characterizing the timing, location, type, and magnitude of disturbances must be systematically created to improve our ability to quantify carbon dynamics over large areas. Finally, improving the representation of ECE&D in regional climate/earth system models and accounting for the resulting feedbacks to climate are essential for understanding the interactions between climate and ecosystem dynamics.

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Disturbance Dynamics and Ecological Response: The Contribution of Long-Term Ecological Research

Cited by 160 publications

References 61 publications

Global change and terrestrial plant community dynamics

Global change and terrestrial plant community dynamics

Variable ecological effects of hurricanes: The importance of seasonal timing for survival of lizards on Bahamian islands

Preface: Impacts of extreme climate events and disturbances on carbon dynamics

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