Collaborative Research: Will Climate Change Alter Rates of Old Field Succession Across the U.S. Eastern Deciduous Forest? A Cross-latitude Experimental Network

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Studies of how ecological communities change over time have provided key insights into mechanisms that influence the identity and abundance of species within communities. Most studies of succession have focused on changes within a local area, rather than comparing patterns of change over broad geographic regions. Comparison of published studies suggests that temperature may be an important factor in limiting the rate at which tree cover is reestablished following disturbance in deciduous forests in the eastern United States. Experiments at 6 sites, along a latitudinal gradient from Syracuse, NY, to Tallahassee, FL, will be used to test the importance of temperature, soil fertility, and plant species pools as major drivers of rates of germination, growth, and survival of pioneer trees in eastern deciduous forest ecosystems. Use of widely distributed sites spanning the north-to-south extent of eastern deciduous forests is key to this study as it allows similar manipulations of soils and species composition across a significant temperature gradient. Data from these experiments will be incorporated into a hierarchical modeling structure that will assess the controls on rates of forest succession, and they will provide insights into a potential effect of climate change on management strategies for these forests. Two young faculty investigators will be supported by this project, as will a number of undergraduate students who will participate in many aspects of the research.