Global Change and Land-Use

Red lights illuminate experimental microcosms for nocturnal behavioral observations.

Climate change research has grown considerably in the past decades as the scientific community strives to understand how ecosystems will change in the future. In terrestrial systems, much of this effort has been focused at understanding the response of the vegetation community to climate change, stemming from a long-held view that these systems are controlled predominately by bottom-up processes. In this lab, we view terrestrial systems as being controlled by both top-down and bottom-up processes, and integrate this conceptualization into our climate change research. Thus, our research focuses on the effects of climate change on predation and herbivory (top-down), as well as plant productivity (bottom-up).

Land use change is occurring at dramatic levels across globe. This land use change alters ecosystems functions and processes. For example, converting agricultural land into a housing development increases impervious surfaces, decreases biodiversity, and can increase exotic species invasion. These processes decrease natural ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling and hydraulic processes. We study land use change to determine its effects on ecosystems and to determine ways that we, as managers, can minimize the loss of ecosystem function during land use conversions.

Specific projects in this area include:

1. Climate change and community function-Brandon Barton