OOS 43
Effects of Climate Warming on Aboveground-Belowground Feedbacks in Terrestrial Ecosystems

Wednesday, August 12, 2015: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
329, Baltimore Convention Center
Organizer:
Pamela H. Templer, Boston University
Moderator:
Rebecca Sanders-DeMott, Boston University
Interest in understanding the mechanisms controlling ecosystem function in terrestrial ecosystems has grown significantly in recent years, as these ecosystems have been increasingly recognized as a major, yet vulnerable sink for both carbon and nitrogen. Climate projections indicate that mean annual temperatures will warm throughout the globe over the next century. Increased temperatures are expected to affect many biological, geological, chemical, and meteorological processes that control ecosystem function. However, the impact of these changes on different components of terrestrial ecosystems will vary in intensity, timing, quantity and form. Therefore, these changes in climate will likely alter feedbacks between belowground and aboveground processes, which together will alter carbon exchange and nitrogen retention within terrestrial ecosystems. Several recent studies have evaluated the effects of warmer temperatures on feedbacks between belowground and aboveground ecosystem functions that could add to our understanding of these key processes. Here we are leading an organized oral session at the 2015 Ecological Society of America meeting to bring together ecosystem-scale experiments and modeling efforts across a wide geographic range of ecosystem types. Together, these talks will show how empirical work and modeling efforts can inform each other to transform our thinking about the impacts of climate change on carbon exchange and nutrient retention. Through these topics, we will address questions about the effects of climate change on the biology and chemistry of terrestrial ecosystems.
8:00 AM
 Modeling stand recovery from fire disturbance across the North American boreal forest: Climate and soil organic layer drive forest structure and ecosystem carbon storage
Anna T. Trugman, Princeton University; David M. Medvigy, Princeton University; Nicole Fenton, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue; Yves Bergeron, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
8:20 AM
 Coupling of aboveground and belowground responses to warming in a grass-dominated temperate old field
Hugh A. L. Henry, University of Western Ontario; Terrence B. Bell, University of Western Ontario; Min Ku Kim, University of Western Ontario; Eric R. D. Moise, University of Western Ontario; Michelle M. Turner, University of Western Ontario; Mathew R. Vankoughnett, University of Wisconsin-Richland
8:40 AM
 Moisture dependence of above- and belowground responses to warming in an old-field ecosystem
Jeffrey S. Dukes, Purdue University; D. S. Novem Auyeung, Purdue University; Richard P. Phillips, Indiana University; Vidya Suseela, Clemson University
9:00 AM
 A globally replicated experiment shows that long-term environmental filters constrain plant response to increased temperature and loss of foundation species
Quentin D. Read, University of Tennessee; Nathan J. Sanders, The University of Copenhagen; Aimee Classen, University of Tennessee
9:20 AM
 Effects of warming on aboveground tropical plant feedbacks
Martijn Slot, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute; Klaus Winter, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
9:40 AM
10:10 AM
 Effects of warming on soil microbial communities and feedbacks to nitrogen and carbon fluxes in a mixed temperate forest ecosystem
Serita D. Frey, University of New Hampshire; Alexandra R. Contosta, University of New Hampshire; Melissa A. Knorr, University of New Hampshire; Linda van Diepen, University of New Hampshire
10:50 AM
 Marsh ecosystem greenhouse gas fluxes in a warmer world
Joanna C. Carey, Marine Biological Laboratory; Kevin D. Kroeger, US Geological Survey; Kate Morkeski, Marine Biological Laboratory; Xuechu Chen, Marine Biological Laboratory; Jianwu Tang, Marine Biological Laboratory
11:10 AM
 Combining long-term observation and manipulation with modeling to predict carbon cycle feedback to climate in terrestrial ecosystems
John Harte, University of California; Scott R. Saleska, University of Arizona; Charlotte Levy, Cornell University