Connectivity: insights from the U.S. Long Term Ecological Research Network

Authors: IWANIEC, DAVID - Georgia State University; GOOSEFF, MICHAEL - University Of Colorado; SUDING, KATHERINE - University Of Colorado; JOHNSON, DAVID - Virginia Institute Of Marine Science; REED, DANIEL - University Of California; Peters, Debra; ADAMS, BYRON - Brigham Young University; BARRETT, JOHN - Virginia Tech; Bestelmeyer, Brandon; CASTORANI, MAX - University Of Virginia; COOK, ELIZABETH - The New School; DAVIDSON, MELISSA - Arizona State University; HANAN, NIALL - New Mexico State University; HUENNEKE, LAURA - Northern Arizona University; JOHNSON, PIETER - University Of Colorado; MCKNIGHT, DIANE - University Of Colorado; MILLER, ROBERT - Dominican University Of California; OKIN, GREGORY - Dominican University Of California; PRESTON, DANIEL - University Of Wisconsin; RASSWEILLER, ANDREW - Florida State University; RAY, CHRIS - University Of Colorado; SALA, OSVALDO - Arizona State University; SCHOOLEY, ROBERT - University Of Illinois; SEASTEDT, TIMOTHY - University Of Colorado; SPASOJEVIC, MARKO - University Of California; VIVONI, ENRIQUE - New Mexico State University; GROFFMAN, PETER - City University Of New York

Submitted to: Ecosphere
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/17/2020
Publication Date: 5/20/2021
Citation: Iwaniec, D., Gooseff, M., Suding, K., Johnson, D., Reed, D., Peters, D.C., Adams, B., Barrett, J., Bestelmeyer, B.T., Castorani, M., Cook, E., Davidson, M., Hanan, N., Huenneke, L., Johnson, P., McKnight, D., Miller, R., Okin, G., Preston, D., Rassweiller, A., Ray, C., Sala, O., Schooley, R., Seastedt, T., Spasojevic, M., Vivoni, E., Groffman, P. 2021. Connectivity: insights from the U.S. Long Term Ecological Research Network. Ecosphere. 12(5):e03432. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3432.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3432

Interpretive Summary: This paper represents a synthesis effort of the U.S. National Science Foundation-funded Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network addressing the core research area of “populations and communities.” This effort revealed that each LTER site had at least one compelling “story” about what their site could look like in 50 to 100 years as human and environmental drivers influencing specific ecosystems change. This paper includes examples from the Phoenix (urban), Niwot Ridge (alpine tundra), McMurdo Dry Valleys (polar desert), Plum Island (coastal), Santa Barbara Coastal (coastal), and Jornada (arid grassland and shrubland) sites, focused on the idea of “connectivity” within and among ecosystems. Long-term ecological research demonstrates that connectivity can, in some circumstances, sustain valuable ecosystem functions, such as the persistence of foundation species and their associated biodiversity or, it can be an agent of state change, as when it increases wind and water erosion. Increased connectivity due to warming can also lead to species range expansions and the introduction of undesirable species.

Technical Abstract: Ecosystems across the U.S. are changing in complex and often surprising ways. Ongoing demand for critical ecosystem services requires an understanding of the populations and communities that will be dominant in these ecosystems in the future. This paper represents a synthesis effort of the U.S. National Science Foundation-funded Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network addressing the core research area of “populations and communities.” This effort revealed that each LTER site had at least one compelling “story” about what their site could look like in 50 to 100 years as human and environmental drivers influencing specific ecosystems change. As the stories were prepared, five themes emerged, and the stories were grouped into papers in this LTER Futures Special Feature addressing state change, connectivity, resilience, time lags, and cascading effects. This paper addresses the “connectivity” theme and with examples from the Phoenix (urban), Niwot Ridge (alpine tundra), McMurdo Dry Valleys (polar desert), Plum Island (coastal), Santa Barbara Coastal (coastal), and Jornada (arid grassland and shrubland) sites. Connectivity has multiple dimensions, ranging from multi-scalar interactions in space to complex interactions over time that govern the transport of materials and the distribution and movement of organisms. The stories presented here show how land use legacies interact with climate to alter the structure and function of arid ecosystems and how climatic variation drives flows of resources and organisms in Antarctic polar desert, alpine ecosystems, and coastal marine ecosystems. Long-term ecological research demonstrates that connectivity can, in some circumstances, sustain valuable ecosystem functions, such as the persistence of foundation species and their associated biodiversity or, it can be an agent of state change, as when it increases wind and water erosion. Increased connectivity due to warming can also lead to species range expansions and the introduction of undesirable species. Continued long-term studies will help to fundamentally disentangle the multiple facets of connectivity, highlighting how the diversity of ecosystems within the LTER network facilitates the emergence of overarching concepts about connectivity as a driver of ecosystem structure, function, and services.