DroughtNet

Just published this new paper, with a bunch of fantastic colleagues, with many suggestions for "Improving the representation of plant water stress and water use in Earth System Models." Access is free online. We have some great figures, thanks to Victor Leshyk. 🧪🌐🌳🌎

Yellow-flowering goldenrod plants poke through the tops of rainout shelters for the International Drought Experiment (IDE) in a field at the Purdue Wildlife Area near West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. This was one of 74 IDE sites used in the study.

So the bad news is that impacts of_extreme_droughts worsened dramatically over time, but the good news is that these systems were not progressively impaired by_moderate_droughts. And, for us, it's good news that we have published these findings! Stay tuned; many more DN manuscripts are in progress.

Two panel graph showing the productivity response of ecosystems to moderate drought remained constant from 1-4 years of drought, while the productivity progressively decreased from the first to the fourth year of drought in systems consistently exposed to extreme drought.

...while the effects of droughts that were extreme (i.e., 1 in 100 year events) compounded over time, perennial grasslands and shrublands were more resilient to less extreme droughts. That is, drought-related reductions in plant growth did not magnify over more years of moderate drought. (2/3)

Drought intensity and duration interact to magnify losses in primary productivity As droughts become longer and more intense, impacts on terrestrial primary productivity are expected to increase progressively. Yet, some ecosystems appear to acclimate to multiyear drought, with cons...

The latest DroughtNet paper is out in Science today! Using coordinated experiments across six continents and 74 sites, the International Drought Experiment found differences between the effects of extreme droughts and more typical droughts... (1/3) www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A view from underneath a rainout shelter made of clear corrugated plastic slats on a wood frame at the Purdue Wildlife Area, near West Lafayette, Indiana. These shelters reduced precipitation in a restored prairie as part of the International Drought Experiment. Credit: Jeff Dukes

We are really excited to announce… that our next big DroughtNet paper will be published… next week. And that’s about all we can say for now! 😁
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Climatic stress‐induced changes in plant chemistry alter the compound‐specific degradation of litter during decomposition Plant litter decomposition sustains ecosystem productivity and modulates soil carbon cycling. Drought directly impacts decomposition by decreasing soil moisture and indirectly by altering plant tiss.....

New paper from the (long-finished) Boston Area Climate Experiment shows how water stress during plant growth affects the chemistry of leaves, with later consequences for decomposition rates. Led by Vidya Suseela's lab at Clemson. 🧪 #drought
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Leaf traits and phylogeny explain plant survival and community dynamics in response to extreme drought in a restored coastal grassland Our results suggest that leaf traits and phylogenetics could serve as plant selection criteria for reducing plant mortality risk during drought, thereby improving restoration outcomes. Because some t...

The first paper from my dissertation found leaf traits and phylogeny explain plant survival and community dynamics in response to extreme drought in a restored coastal grassland using @droughtnet.bsky.social drought shelters. California native plants were resistant to drought
doi.org/10.1111/1365...

Differential phenological responses of plant functional types to the temporal repackaging of precipitation in a semiarid grassland - Plant and Soil Aims Large portions of the western United States have witnessed extended dry intervals between rainfall events due to an intensified hydrological cycle triggered by global warming. Semiarid ecosystems...

Happy to share a new paper with novel insights into the impacts of precip variability in a semiarid #rangeland ecosystem. Unfortunately, with unconstitutional layoffs at #USDA #ARS, we have been forced to transition this longterm experimental facility into dormancy. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The Luong Lab students and staff (4) erecting a field drought plot in the hilly foreground with forests and the ocean in the background

The Luong Lab with a completed Drought Structure in Kneeland

New Year New Drought Structures 💦😍🩵

@droughtnet.bsky.social

Undergraduate Research Opportunities - LTER NSF funds a large number of research opportunities for undergraduate students through its Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites Program. The REU program allows for active research partic...

REU programs are starting to come out across the LTER Network!

See all the postings below.

REU opportunities will continue to come out through the winter, so check back often for the most up-to-date postings.

lternet.edu/education-an...

Great worflow and R package for any one working of ecological trait database !!

by Elizabeth Wenk et al. in Ecological Informatics Nov. 2024

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Do you estimate % cover in your research? Check out COVERater (coverater.com), a standardised method of training to improve visual estimates of cover.

Our app helps streamline data collection in global studies and is a useful teaching tool for undergrads! 🌿(paper here: doi.org/10.1002/ece3...)

Assistant/Associate/Full Professor Tenure System - Hickory Corners, Michigan, United States Working/Functional Title Assistant/Associate/Full Professor Tenure System Position Summary The search committee will begin reviewing applications on February 7, 2025. Questions regarding this position...

Join our faculty!

We have an opening for an ecosystem ecologist, through @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social. Open rank. Please help spread the word!

careers.msu.edu/jobs/assista...

If you have repeated community surveys from the same vegetation plot, turfmapper can help find taxonomic discrepancies and other problems between surveys between-the-fjords.github.io/turfmapper/

Institute/Center Director-Management - Hickory Corners, Michigan, United States Position Summary Questions regarding this position may be directed to the Search Committee Co-Chairs, Dr. Richard Kobe (kobe@msu.edu) and Dr. Andrea Case (caseand4@msu.edu). The position will remain o...

Kellogg Biological Station is searching for a new Director! KBS is unique in its ability to integrate lab and field research, as well as integrating fundamental research in ecology and evolution with applications to environmental problems. Questions to me or the search chairs. Please apply!

Foundations and future directions for causal inference in ecological research, forthcoming w/ @katherinesiegel.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/4mm57zzd.
We wrote it based on our experience teaching causal inference to ecologists w/ some stuff we wish other papers had reviewed to share w/ the students
1/n

Excited to share our new #Nature article published yesterday. It showed that rainfall variability is almost as important as total annual rainfall amount in determining global vegetation dynamics.

Led by Feldman, with Konings, Gentine, Cattry, Smith, Biederman, Chatterjee, Joiner & Poulter

Aridity drives the response of soil total and particulate organic carbon to drought in temperate grasslands and shrublands Drought reduces soil carbon in wetter regions, but drylands remain stable, showing aridity’s key role in carbon dynamics.

In case you missed this recent DroughtNet paper, 👀👇
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Welcome to the new DroughtNet social media presence on Bluesky! We're moving away from Twitter/X and sharing new developments from the network here. In the meantime, you can read more about our International Drought Experiment in the linked paper. 💚🌱🌍🌎🌏
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...