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BNZ 2006 Proposal Task Methods

Climate Sensitivity

  • C1

    Conduct a retrospective analysis of the relationship of litter fall, diameter increment, and seed production to thaw date, summer air temperature, growing degree days, daily temperature maxima and minima, summer soil temperature and moisture, early-winter soil temperature, and precipitation.

  • C2

    Use tree-ring analysis to assess the sensitivity of tree-ring width to climatic variation.

  • C3

    Document the effects of climate variability, vegetation type, and predation on herbivore abundance.

  • C4

    Manipulate soil moisture to assess its effects on NPP and other ecosystem processes.

  • C5

    Document the relative importance if winter and summer processes through observations and field experiments.

    • Integration & Synthesis

  • I/S1

    Monitor patterns of retention and loss of water, carbon, and nitrogen from watersheds of differing permafrost extent and stability.

  • I/S2

    Document the temporal and spatial patterns of vegetation distribution and their interactions with climate.

  • I/S3

    Integrate research on gradual and abrupt responses of boreal ecosystems to climate warming to assess recent and projected changes.

  • I/S4

    Use ecosystem and landscape models to assess the regional consequences of state changes and threshold responses to climate change.

  • I/S5

    Summarize recent and projected changes in boreal ecosystem services and assess their consequences for Alaskan communities.

  • I/S6

    Use monthly and annual meetings to synthesize systematically our major research themes and to place this in a global context.

    • Succession

  • S1

    Develop predictive relationships among climate, glacier melt, and discharge within and among years to assess their effects on water availability and nutrient supply in the Tanana River floodplain.

  • S2

    Develop predictive relationships between climate and fire regimes, specifically the number, size, and severity of fires.

  • S3

    Analyze the relationships among climate, disturbance regime, ecosystem structure (vegetation composition and organic layer depth) and permafrost distribution.

  • S4

    Analyze the relationship between disturbance properties and plant successional pattern as a basis for rule-based models of succession.

  • S5

    Document the effects of key plant functional types on ecosystem processes.

  • S6

    Determine the long-term effects of snowshoe hares and moose on ecosystem processes in floodplain succession.

  • S7

    Establish baseline characterization of soil fungal community composition among successional stages, soil horizons, and seasons in floodplain and upland ecosystems.

    • Thresholds

  • T1

    Document hydrologic changes in permafrost-dominated wetlands (extent of open water) inside and outside burns.

  • T2

    Determine the effects of altered disturbance regime on successional trajectory and ecosystem processes.

  • T3

    Document impacts of disease and insect outbreaks on ecosystem processes.
    • LTER UAF BECRU IAB NSF
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    The Bonanza Creek LTER, including this website, is supported by the National Science Foundation through awards DEB-1026415, DEB-0620579, DEB-0423442, DEB-0080609, DEB-9810217, DEB-9211769, DEB-8702629 and by the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station through agreement number RJVA-PNW-01-JV-11261952-231. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the supporting agencies or the program as a whole.

    © Bonanza Creek LTER, 2011.
    Last modified 20-May-12
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