Conserving native ecosystems helps sequester carbon and mitigate climate change, but new statistical modeling questions the permanence of California’s carbon-rich forests with climate change.
ecosystems
Posted inScience Updates
NEON Lights a Path for Sustained Ecological Observations
Resources and data offered by the National Ecological Observatory Network are supporting researchers investigating critical ecosystem changes across the country.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Gulf Stream Intrusions Feed Diatom Hot Spots
Previous research suggested that the intrusion of low-nutrient Gulf Stream water into the Mid-Atlantic Bight would reduce productivity, but a new study finds that it can also lead to chlorophyll hot spots.
Posted inNews
The Chaos Beneath a Glacier’s Calving Front
For the first time, researchers have captured continuous data on the abrupt changes and activities happening at a glacier’s calving front.
Posted inNews
Amazon Forests Are Turning into Savannas
Floodplain forests have low resilience to repeated exposure to wildfires. As climate change increases the instances of fires, forests may transform to less productive grassland ecosystems.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A Well-Balanced Ecosystem Uses Water Most Efficiently
Excess of a single nutrient, such as nitrogen, may boost plant productivity, but the imbalance leads to less efficient water use as plants scramble for the nutrients they lack.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
First Worldwide View of a Key Phytoplankton Proxy
New insights into the dynamics of ocean features known as deep chlorophyll maxima set the stage for better understanding of their role in carbon cycling.
Posted inNews
Years After the Pacific Marine Heat Wave, Ecosystem Shifts Persist
Researchers question whether Gulf of Alaska species will return to pre–heat wave conditions.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Why Rivers Need Their Floodplains
Floodplain storage of water, nutrients, and sediment is critical to sustaining river ecosystems but has been reduced by human activities.
Posted inOpinions
Sediment Mismanagement Puts Reservoirs and Ecosystems at Risk
Current regulations and reservoir management practices impede efforts to deal with sediment accumulation behind U.S. dams. New approaches are needed to improve reservoir sustainability.