Warming and Removals in Mountains (WaRM)
The warming and species removal in mountains (WaRM) experiment is a collaborative networked approach that (1) uses low- and high-elevation sites that differ in temperature by approximately 2°C, (2) establishes dominant species removals and passive warming chambers (increasing air temperature ~2°C) to simulate short-term warming and shifts in species interactions, and (3) crosses experimental warming and species removals to explore the interactive effects of these treatments. This distributed experiment in 10 mountain ecosystems around the world (USA, NZ, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Greenland, Switzerland, France, Sweden, China) enables us to explore interactions among drivers and response variables in a way that will help us better understand and predict the direct and indirect effects of global warming on contrasting mountain ecosystems.
Detrital Inputs and Removal Treatments (DIRT)
Despite the critical roles played by soil organic matter (SOM) within ecosystems, in the global C cycle and in the Earth’s climate system, controls on SOM balances in ecosystems remain poorly understood. Temperature, soil mineralogy, and land management all play a role in the balance between SOM stabilization and destabilization, but the degree to which plant litter quality and quantity affect soil C sequestration is less well known. To address this knowledge gap, the international DIRT network was established to assess how rates and sources of plant litter inputs control the long-term stability, accumulation, and chemical nature of soil organic matter in forested ecosystems over decadal time scales. Sites span climatic and soil gradients, and we always welcome new colleagues and new sites.
Accelerated snowmelt, nutrients, roots & fungi
By manipulating snowmelt timing in Colorado we are exploring (1) the extent to which plant and AM fungal abundance and composition belowground shift across environmental gradients that vary in snowmelt timing across the growing season, (2) how experimental shifts in snowmelt timing impact root and AM fungal phenology, and (3) how altered plant and AM fungal growth affect biogeochemical cycling of soil C, N, and P via both plant and AM fungal gene expression and associated biogeochemical fluxes and pools. We will then (4) link plant, AM fungal, and free-living microbial phenology to predict the amount and forms of soil C, N, and P retained in soils versus leached as surface flow or groundwater recharge and discharge into nearby rivers and streams.
Bug-Network at Michigan Biological Station
We are a part of a global research network investigating the impacts of invertebrate herbivory and fungal pathogens on plant communities. We are a part of the experimental study which entails treating the plots with a combination of insecticide, fungicide, and molluscicide multiple times throughout the growing season to monitor the individual and interactive effects on plant communities. To read more about the global project, explore the website here.
DRAGnet at Michigan Biological Station
We are a part of a global research network – the Disturbance and Recovery Across Global Grasslands (DRAGNet) – aimed at assessing the generality of factors influencing disturbance recovery and community assembly in herbaceous-dominated ecosystems. DRAGNet quantified plant community assembly dynamics and and ecosystem recovery under a wide range of biotic and abiotic conditions, and tests whether assembly, recovery rate, or trajectory in herbaceous-dominated plant communities interacts with environmental nutrient enrichment. To learn more about the global network, explore the website here.
Cold Air Pooling & Ecosystem Function
Will ‘microrefugia’ formed by cold-air pooling preserve species and associated ecosystem functions as climate changes? This project led by Melissa Pastore looks to investigate this question by measuring forest canopy, understory, and soil across 6 regions each with 3 replicate transects spanning and elevational gradient to capture 100 total plots across the Northeast. These sites also have continuous high frequency soil and below canopy air temperature data being recorded since 2022. This continuous dataset is being used in modeling efforts to capture the impacts of local microclimate in our changing global climate.
