Wednesday, August 6, 2008: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
202 A, Midwest Airlines Center
OOS 12 - Ecohydrological Consequences of Aeolian Processes: Local- to Global-Scale Perspectives
Processes related to aeolian sediment transport, dust production and deposition, and wind-driven erosion and redistribution operate at scales ranging from individual plants or smaller up through regional connections that can span the globe. These processes are not considered in many ecological studies, despite their fundamental relevance to many basic and applied ecological issues. Recent studies are leading to growing recognition of how aeolian processes in and from dryland ecosystems affect basic ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling, litter decomposition, and fluxes of resources and energy. Despite the growing recognition of the prevalence and connectivity associated with aeolian processes within the geosciences, ecologists have focused on this issue to a much lesser degree. Yet the limited, recent studies that do focus on the ecological consequences of aeolian processes highlight that these processes will need to be taken into account by the ecological community at large, if issues related to land use and climate change are to be addressed effectively. The rapid growth in aeolian research and its ecological relevance is occurring concurrently with the rise of ecohydrology - which focuses on explicit ecological and hydrological interactions - and is related to the key ways in which the water budget and vegetation interact to influence production, transport, and deposition of sediment and dust. This session will draw on expertise from leaders and rising stars who are addressing this topic within the ecological community. It will bring together a suite of speakers who have worked in diverse, relevant areas, over a range of spatial scales, and with respect to ecohydrological connectivity and land-use disturbances. The session will provide a general overview of aeolian processes from an ecological perspective, will examine complex interactions between aeolian processes and ecosystem dynamics from the plant-interspace scale to regional and global scales, and will highlight specific examples of how disturbance affects these interactions and their consequences.
Organizer:Jason P. Field, University of Arizona
Co-organizers:David D. Breshears, The University of Arizona
Jayne Belnap, U.S. Geological Survey
Moderator:David D. Breshears, The University of Arizona
8:00 AMOOS 12-1An overview of the global dust cycle
Jason C. Neff, University of Colorado
8:20 AMOOS 12-2Aeolian processes at the plant-interspace scale: Implications for patch dynamics
Sujith Ravi, University of Virginia, Paolo D'Odorico, University of Virginia, Scott L. Collins, University of New Mexico, Carleton White, University of New Mexico, Greg Okin, UCLA, Stephen Macko, University of Virginia, Lixin Wang, University of Virginia
8:40 AMOOS 12-3Wind erosion and dust flux from plot to landscape scale: Disturbance effects exemplified by fire and grazing
Jason P. Field, University of Arizona, David D. Breshears, The University of Arizona, Jeffrey J. Whicker, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Chris B. Zou, Oklahoma State University, Craig D. Allen, Jemez Mountains Field Station
9:00 AMOOS 12-4Regional controls on dust generation and accumulation in the southwestern US
Marith C. Reheis, U.S. Geological Survey, Richard L. Reynolds, U.S. Geological Survey
9:20 AMOOS 12-5Implications of disturbance and drought on aeolian processes in the southwestern US
Jayne Belnap, U.S. Geological Survey, Richard L. Reynolds, USGS, Marith C. Reheis, USGS, Jason C. Neff, University of Colorado, Frank E. Urban, U.S. Geological Survey, Harland Goldstein, USGS, Thomas Painter, University of Colorado
9:40 AM Break
9:50 AMOOS 12-6Aeolian desertification in northern China
Xian Xue, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tao Wang, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences
10:10 AMOOS 12-7Linkages between dust from disturbed lands and snowmelt hydrology
Thomas H. Painter, University of Utah, Andrew P. Barrett, National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, Chris C. Landry, Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies, jason C. Neff, University of Colorado, Abigail Guess, University of Utah
10:30 AMOOS 12-8Terrestrial support of lakes across the landscape
Nicholas D. Preston, UW-Madison, S.R. Carpenter, UW-Madison, L. J. Kohler, UW-Madison

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See more of The 93rd ESA Annual Meeting (August 3 -- August 8, 2008)