The Niwot Ridge Long-Term Ecological Research Program 2011-2016: Tipping Points in High-Elevation Ecosystems in Response to Changes in Climate and Atmospheric Deposition

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The Niwot (NWT) LTER project was initiated in 1980 and since then has provided experimental and observational research designed to understand the dynamics of high-elevation alpine ecosystems in North America. The project has a history of research that has illuminated the responses of organisms and ecosystems to climate and various atmospheric inputs over the range of habitats that typify mountainous regions. This project will continue that long-term line of research and will expand it to address: the quantity and quality of organic carbon deposition; the role of plant-soil feedbacks and environmental change in community dynamics that may include threshold effects or tipping points; the potential of biotic disturbances, such an species invasions and infectious diseases, to cause ecosystems to tip to new states and dynamics; and, development of methods and collaborations to anticipate such ecosystem shifts and to improve understanding of the social impacts of these and other perturbations to high-elevation ecosystems. The research integrates ecological, hydrologic, geomorphic, atmospheric, and social perspectives and research techniques to understand high-elevation ecosystems and provide knowledge to manage them effectively in changing environmental and social contexts. This project contributes to understanding of the structure, function, and dynamics of a high-elevation ecosystem and includes development of techniques for modeling, forecasting, and better understanding such ecosystems in general. It assembles and integrates valuable long-term data sets on climate, hydrology, biology, ecology, geomorphic processes, and other elements of high-elevation ecosystems and the larger environment in which they are embedded. The project has broad societal value through its contributions to improved understanding of alpine ecosystems and their management. Its broader values also include extensive research-based training, educational program development that includes a children's book series and K-12 teacher training, and public outreach.