A5080121734- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Fire effects on ecosystems
- Plant and animal studies
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
- Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Forest Management and Policy
- Geological Studies and Exploration
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Offshore Engineering and Technologies
- Geological formations and processes
- Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
2021-2025
Abstract Forbs (“wildflowers”) are important contributors to grassland biodiversity but vulnerable environmental changes. In a factorial experiment at 94 sites on 6 continents, we test the global generality of several broad predictions: (1) Forb cover and richness decline under nutrient enrichment, particularly nitrogen enrichment. (2) increase herbivory by large mammals. (3) less affected enrichment in more arid climates, because water limitation reduces impacts competition with grasses....
Abstract Grasslands cover approximately a third of the Earth’s land surface and account for about terrestrial carbon storage. Yet, we lack strong predictive models grassland plant biomass, primary source in grasslands. This ability may arise from assumption linear relationships between biomass environment an underestimation interactions environmental variables. Using data 116 grasslands on six continents, show unimodal ecosystem characteristics, such as mean annual precipitation soil...
Abstract Dominance often indicates one or a few species being best suited for resource capture and retention in given environment. Press perturbations that change availability of limiting resources can restructure competitive hierarchies, allowing new to retain leaving once dominant fated decline. However, may maintain high abundances even when their environments no longer favour them due stochastic processes associated with abundance, impeding deterministic would otherwise diminish them....
Abstract Questions Restoration of ecosystems is complex, with multiple targets that can work in concert or conflict each other, such as biodiversity, species dominance and biomass. When properly managed, longleaf pine (LLP) savannas are among the most biologically diverse habitats world. However, anthropogenic influences, fire suppression, have decimated this ecosystem its making restoration a priority. Here, we describe biodiversity community dynamics seen understory layer across xeric LLP...