Reversing long-term experiments to understand regime shifts

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Changes in one component of an ecological system can sometimes cause major, relatively rapid, and seemingly permanent changes in the system as a whole. This project offers a rare opportunity to study the reversibility of such dramatic ecological changes in a rigorous way. The project will use a long-term experiment in the Chihuahuan Desert in which selective exclusions of rodents that are major seed eaters has produced sharp changes in the abundances of plant and animal species and in levels of soil nutrients. These exclusions will be reversed, and the effects on plants, animals, and soils measured over five years. The broader impacts of this project include the training of two graduate students and broad outreach to the public through construction of a website for the communication of scientific research. In addition, better understanding of how specific factors can cause major shifts in ecological systems will help land managers and policy makers avoid unintended consequences of natural resource management.