Scientists call for development of ecological forecasting
...cast ecological change in areas ranging from small plots to the entire globe. The scientists say advances in science and technology could enable forecasts guiding policy to forewarn of invasions of exotic species and disease epidemics, protect the ecology of lakes, rivers and estuaries, and predict ecolo......ing experiments near Duke University where forest plots grow in the higher atmospheric levels of carbon di...drought in 1999 delayed growth in the elevated CO2 plots at the Duke Free Air Carbon Enrichment (FACE) study site, the scientists found. Even with extra nutr...Biodiversity increases ecosystems' ability to absorb CO2 and nitrogen
...e six rings were each subdivided into experimental plots measuring 2 x 2 meters. In 1997, these subplots we..., including four nitrogen fixers. The experimental plots within three of the rings received no additional CO2, while the other three rings were bathed in CO2...Scientists map biological changes in Earth's tropical forests
...ave established a world network of tropical forest plots to map changes in the biology of one-tenth of the ...outheast Asia and Africa. "Data from these forest plots can be used to monitor the effects of pollution on tropical forests, measure the amount of carbon di...Established ecological relationship is flawed says new study
...osie Harral of the Department of Biology, surveyed plots of land in Berkshire, UK, ranging in size from one-hundredth of a metre squared to 100 kilometres squared (km2). They found that the power value changed systematically with area. At small scales, where individual plants interact with one another, spe...Touching effects: Visiting plants in the field may alter their future
...theory, the ecologists marked 605 plants within 12 plots in an abandoned hayfield in Pennsylvania's Brandywine Valley. Six plots were visited weekly, while the remaining six plots were left unvisited as controls. When plants wer...Scientists find that grasslands can act as 'carbon sinks'
...rend toward higher carbon content in the soil from plots given elevated carbon dioxide levels. Hu says the implications are that grasslands can be carbon sinks at least for the short term. The magnitude of carbon sequestration in such a grassland is yet to be determined, he notes. Hu says the implications...Wolves in Yellowstone may aid aspen recovery
...ice biologists in more than 115 permanent research plots to test the theory, Larsen said. What is clear is that the wolves disappeared during the same era that the successful development of mature aspen stands ground to a halt. The loss of aspen, scientists say, is an ecological crisis thats poorly apprec...Soybean pest native to China detected in U.S. for first time
... Hogg, and plant pathologist Grau has set up field plots where they control insects that might transmit viral diseases to soybeans. "This study was designed to detect possible viral diseases of soybeans," Grau says. "These trials will help us find out if the soybean aphid is carrying viruses that affect so...Amazon rainforest field research facility opens for ecological, global change studies
...massive ecosystem at scales ranging from one-meter plots to the entire Amazon region. This analysis will be used to study potential future scenarios for the Amazon. Santarém will be the main LBA ecological field site for NASA-sponsored investigations, joining a network of nine other sites in different ...Tropical tree distribution could have implications for forest management, conservation
...ndomly across the landscape. A census of six large plots of 25 to 52 hectares (60 to 130 acres) in five Sou...een the subject of debate since then. Much larger plots from Panama, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka have now been surveyed in work funded mainly by...RX for Hawaii's dry forests: no cows and lots of hard work
...olled, virtually none of the preserve's 16X16-foot plots had seedlings; afterwards nearly 40% of the plots did. However, there was a downside to these restoration efforts. The researchers found 16 non-nativ......tion of inorganic fertilizers toforest and pasture plots in Brazil had no measurable effect onenantioselectivity for methyl dichlorprop or to plots in North Americanfertilized since 1988. On the other hand, laboratory enrichments with organ...Cattails and contamination: marshy stalks hold DNA clues on pollution
...earchersfound more variation in 30-foot by 30-foot plots than previously identifiedacross the entire continent. Although this variation was high enough to permitthe identification of different intermingling clones within plots, the amount ofvariation was the lowest yet found for natural plant stands using...Common grass infected by fungus makes life difficult for other species
...gus. Clay and Holah established eight experimental plots in summer 1994, each ofwhich had avariety of vegetation at the start. Alternating plots were then planted withinfected oruninfected fescue seed. After two months, there were stands of fesc...USGS fire research in the southeast
...re prescribed fires. On Snyder's experimental plots in Big Cypress, USGS and National Park Servicepers...six different treatment combinations. On all ofthe plots fire behavior, as well as short- and long-term responses of pine,hardwood and herbaceous plant popul...Unique research center opens at Purdue
...onomy. "Having a facility adjacent to the research plots and the golf course means thatwe can discuss topic...m we just talked about," Reicher said. The outdoor plots allow the scientists to study turf problems, to investigatethe environmental effects of turf chemica...Salamanders may one day monitor degradation in small streams
...pled each study stream by searching 4 square meter plots thatincluded both wet and dry bank area. "Three of the seven species were veryrare in the samples, but this is probably due to our sampling techniques," saysRocco. "The northern red salamander prefers slow areas of streams and we sampledfaster movi...Caterpillars foiled when tomato plants summon parasitic wasps
...ts, each containing 4-6tomato plants. Half of the plots were sprayed with the resistance-triggeringchemical jasmonic acid and the others were sprayed only with water. Shechemically tested the plants and found that the resistance response was nearlythree times as great in the plants sprayed with jasmonic ...Report: High Carbon Dioxide Boosts Duke Forest Growth By 25 Percent
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University forest plots bathed in the highercarbon-dioxide atmosphere expe...ikely, for several reasons. First, the Duke Forest plots where theU.S. Department of Energy-funded study is being conducted are dominated by13-year-old loblo...