OOS 46 - The Interactive Effects of Global Change Drivers on Dryland Ecosystems of the Western U.S.

Organizer(s)

• SJ

  Samuel Jordan

  Arizona State University
  Tempe, AZ, United States

Co-Organizer(s)

• BO

  Brooke Osborne, PhD

  Research Ecologist
  U.S. Geological Survey, United States
• SL

  Steven Lee

  Graduate Student
  New Mexico State University
  Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
• TT

  Tyson Terry

  Graduate Student
  Utah State University
  Logan, UT, United States

Moderator(s)

• JH

  Jennifer Holguin

  PhD Candidate
  University of Texas at El Paso
  Horizon City, Texas, United States

Drylands, earth's largest terrestrial biome, remain poorly understood relative to more mesic systems, particularly in how we understand ecosystem responses to multiple, overlapping global change drivers. In the drylands of western North America, climate, land use, and human populations are changing quickly, often resulting in decreased ecosystem functioning. Predicting and mitigating the negative effects of global change remains a central challenge in ecology, and we are just beginning to understand how productivity and diversity in dryland systems respond to these multiple global change drivers. Research budgets and logistics often limit studies to focus on single global change drivers, but we must clearly address how these drivers interact across space and time.

Recent advances in manipulative experiments and ecosystem modeling efforts in North American drylands have created a unique opportunity to test and revise existing theory across ecosystem types and global change drivers. Specifically, untangling responses and attributing specific mechanisms across these inherently stochastic systems may only be possible by synthesizing across ecological disciplines and approaches. As ecologists, we aim to place our theory squarely on a mechanistic understanding of our study systems, and creative synthesis across research efforts is our best hope at achieving this goal, especially among those with a robust working knowledge of their study systems. This session will bring together researchers with deep expertise in dryland biotic functioning and conduct research across spatial scales, ecosystems, and disciplines to advance our understanding of this large and misunderstood biome.

Presentations:

• 1:30 PM – 1:45 PM EDT

  Interactions of global change drivers in drylands: What theory would predict and what data show
  

  Presenting Author: Sasha C. Reed – U.S. Geological Survey

  Co-author: Brooke B. Osborne, PhD – U.S. Geological Survey

  Co-author: Scott Ferrenberg, PhD – New Mexico State University

  Co-author: William K. Smith – University of Arizona

  Co-author: Osvaldo E. Sala – Arizona State University

  Co-author: Peter B. Adler, PhD – Utah State Uiversity

  Co-author: Samuel E. Jordan – Arizona State University

  Co-author: Steven R. Lee – New Mexico State University

  Co-author: Tyson Terry – Utah State University

  Co-author: Matthew P. Dannenberg, n/a – University of Iowa

  Co-author: Fangyue Zhang, PhD – University of Arizona
• 1:45 PM – 2:00 PM EDT

  Ecological drought metrics to understand dryland ecosystem dynamics
  

  Presenting Author: John B. Bradford – USGS

  Co-author: Michele Crist – BLM National Interagency Fire Center

  Co-author: Damaris A. Chenoweth – USGS Southwest Biological Science Center

  Co-author: Daniel R. Schlaepfer – US Geological Survey & Northern Arizona University

  Co-author: Jeanne C. Chambers, PhD – USDA Forest Service, RMRS

  Co-author: Ali Urza – USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station

  Co-author: Brice Hanberry – USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station

  Co-author: Jessi Brown – USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station

  Co-author: David I. Board, MS – USDA Forest Service, RMRS
• 2:00 PM – 2:15 PM EDT

  More than the textbook food web: The complexity of trophic interaction effects on and with abiotic characteristics in plant community structure and function
  

  Presenting Author: Tara B. Bishop – USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station

  Co-author: Samuel B. St. Clair, PhD – Brigham Young University

  Co-author: Joshua Gilman – Arizona State University

  Co-author: Richard A. Gill, PhD – Brigham Young Univ-Provo

  Co-author: Neil Hansen, PhD – Brigham Young university- Plant and wildlife Sciences

  Co-author: Matthew Heiner, PhD – Brigham Young University- Statistics

  Co-author: Brock McMillan, PhD – Brigham Young University

  Co-author: Rory O'Connor, PhD – USDA-ARS
• 2:15 PM – 2:30 PM EDT

  Precipitation legacies amplify nitrogen losses from nitric oxide emissions in dryland ecosystems
  

  Presenting Author: Alexander Krichels – University of California, Riverside

  Co-author: Aral C. Greene – University of California, Riverside

  Co-author: Marko J. Spasojevic – University of California, Riverside

  Co-author: Darrel Jenerette – University of California - Riverside

  Co-author: Peter M. Homyak – University of California, Riverside
• 2:30 PM – 2:45 PM EDT

  Fire, invasion and herbicide Impacts on plant-soil feedbacks in the sagebrush steppe
  

  Presenting Author: Marie-Anne de graaff – Boise State University
• 2:45 PM – 3:00 PM EDT

  CANCELLED - Remote sensing of extreme drought impacts on Western US vegetation productivity from site to ecosystem
  

  Presenting Author: William K. Smith – University of Arizona

  Co-author: Xian Wang – University of Arizona

  Co-author: Matthew P. Dannenberg, n/a – University of Iowa

  Co-author: Russell L. Scott – USDA

  Co-author: Fangyue Zhang, PhD – University of Arizona

  Co-author: Yao Zhang – Peking University

  Co-author: Mostafa Javadian – University of Arizona

  Co-author: Joel A. Biederman – USDA-ARS Southwest Watershed Research Center

  Co-author: Sasha C. Reed – U.S. Geological Survey