Competitive Proposals

Jornada Basin LTER V: Landscape Linkages in Arid and Semiarid Ecosystems  funded by the National Science Foundation

Project Summary - Intellectual merit: Chihuahuan Desert landscapes exemplify the ecological conditions, vulnerability, and management issues found in arid and semi-arid regions around the world. The goal of the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research program established in 1982 is to understand and quantify the causes and consequences of desertification in these systems. In collaboration with our research partner, the Jornada Experimental Range (USDA ARS), we have incorporated studies beginning in 1915 into our program. In the past 6 years as part of LTER IV, we expanded our plant-interspace resource redistribution framework to include multiple spatial and temporal scales in our landscape linkages framework. We propose to elaborate on this landscape linkages framework in LTER V by: (1) testing specific elements using existing longterm studies, (2) conducting a suite of new integrated, cross-scale experiments, both at the Jornada and in a nearby suburban interface, (3) continuing cross-site and regional studies designed to test its generality, and (4) forecasting alternative future landscapes under a changing environment that includes socioeconomic processes and explicit interactions with the ecological system. Our overall hypothesis is that spatial and temporal variation in ecosystem dynamics is the result of patch structure interacting with transport vectors (wind, water, animals) and environmental drivers (e.g., precipitation, temperature, human activities) to influence cross-scale resource redistribution. These interactions feed back to patch structure and dynamics to cause cascading events with effects on ecosystem goods and services. Historic legacies and geomorphic templates are important modifiers of this relationship. We propose to organize our research around three major geomorphic units that characterize the Chihuahuan Desert, and contain existing long-term studies and a sensor network. We will combine long-term studies with new mechanistic and process-level experiments designed to identify dominant processes and drivers with a focus on patch structure. We will use simulation modeling to synthesize and integrate these data, both to understand current patterns and to predict future dynamics. New socio-economic studies and scenarios based on the Ecosystem Millennium Assessment will place Jornada research into a broader socio-economicecologic context.

Broader impacts: Our research activities provide training opportunities for a large number of graduate and undergraduate students, primarily from New Mexico State University, a Hispanicserving institution. Our international scientific collaborations include cooperative agreements with research and academic institutions on four continents (North and South America, Asia, Europe). Our research supports a highly successful K-12 and teacher training program: over 50,000 students, teachers, and other adults were involved in educational outreach programs during LTER IV. These programs will continue in LTER V and include field trips, schoolyard ecology activities, teacher workshops, and public education events. The proposed research includes targeted interactions with resource management practitioners through workshops, seminars, and service by LTER scientists on various boards of directors. Our annual research symposium is attended by > 100 scientists, educators, and land managers.

2006 Supplement for LTER IV: Jornada Basin: Linkages in Semi-arid Landscapes Proposal

2007 Supplement for Jornada Basin LTER Proposal

2008 Supplement for Jornada Basin LTER V: Landscape Linkages in Arid and Semiarid Ecosystems Proposal

2008 Construction of a Multi-user Facility at the Jornada Experimental Range Field Station Proposal

2009 Construction of an On Site Manager Residence at the Jornada Experimental Range Field Station Proposal