04166nas a2200565   4500008004100000022001400041245007900055210006900134260001200203300001100215490000700226520245300233653001802686653002702704653001902731653001902750653001202769653001202781653001502793653008902808653002002897100002302917700002502940700002602965700002702991700002103018700002503039700001703064700002203081700002903103700002603132700002403158700002603182700002403208700002103232700001603253700002703269700002403296700002303320700002203343700002403365700002303389700001503412700002203427700002103449700002203470700002603492700002403518856005803542       2021                        eng d  a2150-892500aConnectivity: Insights from the U.S. Long Term Ecological Research Network0 aConnectivity Insights from the US Long Term Ecological Research   c05/2021  ae034320 v123 a<p>Ecosystems across the United States are changing in complex and surprising ways. Ongoing demand for critical ecosystem services requires an understanding of the populations and communities 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 &ldquo;populations and communities.&rdquo; The objective of this effort was to show the importance of long-term data collection and experiments for addressing the hardest questions in scientific ecology that have significant implications for environmental policy and management. Each LTER site developed at least one compelling case study about what their site could look like in 50&ndash;100 yr as human and environmental drivers influencing specific ecosystems change. As the case studies were prepared, five themes emerged, and the studies were grouped into papers in this LTER Futures Special Feature addressing state change, connectivity, resilience, time lags, and cascading effects. This paper addresses the &ldquo;connectivity&rdquo; theme and has 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 case studies presented here range widely, showing how land-use legacies interact with climate to alter the structure and function of arid ecosystems and flows of resources and organisms in Antarctic polar desert, alpine, urban, 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 or contractions and the introduction of undesirable species. Continued long-term studies are essential for addressing the complexities of connectivity. The diversity of ecosystems within the LTER network is a strong platform for these studies.</p>10aalpine tundra10aAntarctic polar desert10aarid grassland10aarid shrubland10acoastal10aestuary10asalt marsh10aSpecial Feature: Forecasting Earth’s Ecosystems with Long-Term Ecological Research10aurban ecosystem1 aIwaniec, David, M.1 aGooseff, Michael, N.1 aSuding, Katharine, N.1 aJohnson, David, Samuel1 aReed, Daniel, C.1 aPeters, Debra, P. C.1 aAdams, Byron1 aBarrett, John, E.1 aBestelmeyer, Brandon, T.1 aCastorani, Max, C. N.1 aCook, Elizabeth, M.1 aDavidson, Melissa, J.1 aGroffman, Peter, M.1 aHanan, Niall, P.1 aHuenneke, L1 aJohnson, Pieter, T. J.1 aMcKnight, Diane, M.1 aMiller, Robert, J.1 aOkin, Gregory, S.1 aPreston, Daniel, L.1 aRassweiler, Andrew1 aRay, Chris1 aSala, Osvaldo, E.1 aSchooley, Robert1 aSeastedt, Timothy1 aSpasojevic, Marko, J.1 aVivoni, Enrique, R.  uhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.343202579nas a2200397   4500008004100000022001300041245012700054210006900181260001200250300001100262490000600273520134500279653003401624653002501658653003101683653002701714653001801741653001401759100002201773700002401795700002201819700002301841700002301864700001401887700001901901700001601920700002101936700002701957700002601984700001602010700002402026700001602050700002102066700002202087856007202109       2021                        eng d  a2666900500aPatterns and trends of organic matter processing and transport: Insights from the US Long-term Ecological Research Network0 aPatterns and trends of organic matter processing and transport I  c12/2021  a1000250 v23 a<p>Organic matter (OM) dynamics determine how much carbon is stored in ecosystems, a service that modulates climate. We synthesized research from across the US Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network to assemble a conceptual model of OM dynamics that is consistent with inter-disciplinary perspectives and emphasizes vulnerability of OM pools to disturbance. Guided by this conceptual model, we identified unanticipated patterns and long-term trends in processing and transport of OM emerging from terrestrial, freshwater, wetland, and marine ecosystems. Cross-ecosystem synthesis combined with a survey of researchers revealed several themes: 1) strong effects of climate change on OM dynamics, 2) surprising patterns in OM storage and dynamics resulting from coupling with nutrients, 3) characteristic and often complex legacies of land use and disturbance, 4) a significant role of OM transport that is often overlooked in terrestrial ecosystems, and 5) prospects for reducing uncertainty in forecasting OM dynamics by incorporating the chemical composition of OM. Cross-fertilization of perspectives and approaches across LTER sites and other research networks can stimulate the comprehensive understanding required to support large-scale characterizations of OM budgets and the role of ecosystems in regulating global climate.</p>10acoupled biogeochemical cycles10across-site synthesis10aorganic matter composition10aorganic matter storage10astabilization10atransport1 aHarms, Tamara, K.1 aGroffman, Peter, M.1 aAluwihare, Lihini1 aCraft, Christopher1 aWieder, William, R1 aHobbie, S1 aBaer, Sara, G.1 aBlair, J.M.1 aFrey, Serita, D.1 aRemucal, Christina, K.1 aRudgers, Jennifer, A.1 aCollins, SL1 aKominoski, John, S.1 aBall, Becky1 aPriscu, John, C.1 aBarrett, John, E.  uhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666900521000253