RCN: The Novus Project for Integrating Paleo- and Neo-ecosystem Ecology

Kansas State University, Manhattan KS

Investigators

Abstract

By their very nature, events such as beetle outbreaks, catastrophic fires, large windstorms, and severe droughts are considered to be disturbances. Although it is now understood that some ecosystems require certain kinds of disturbance, there are no general rules about how ecosystems respond to disturbance. As a result, it is difficult to develop strategies for dealing with disturbances, which are in some ecosystems becoming more frequent and more severe as a consequence of changing climates. The Novus network will bring together groups of scientists who study different types of disturbance, and in particular scientists who have studied the impacts and consequences of disturbance on different time scales, with the goal of coordinating and promoting research about ecosystem responses to disturbance. An important contribution of the network will be to enhance communication between scientists studying contemporary ecosystem responses to disturbance and scientists studying historical responses at time scales of hundreds to thousands of years ago. The network will conduct four workshops, develop an interactive website (www.ksu.edu/novus), jointly mentor a postdoctoral researcher, publish collaborative manuscripts, organize sessions at scientific meetings, and foster a science exchange program. Additionally, data will be added to a public database, making them widely available. The network will engage and train young scientists, share information about new developments in methods, and interact with government agencies and NGOs to provide information about the effects of disturbance (especially insect outbreaks and wildland fire management). Participants will be recruited to the network through broad solicitation efforts and a variety of mechanisms.