OPUS: Forest Canopy Communities as Arenas to Advance Syntheses and Understanding of Disturbance Ecology

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators

Abstract

Disturbances in ecosystems are increasingly recognized as being important in influencing the ways that different species function and are sustained in rainforests. Recent research shows that treetop biota play important ecological roles such as retaining nutrients and water, and providing resources for arboreal mammals, birds, and insects. However, effects of disturbances such as deforestation and climate change on canopy biota have been little studied, and have never been synthesized. Nadkarni proposes to advance the field of disturbance ecology through review and synthesis of studies on canopy disturbances, which will provide insights for future transformative rainforest ecology research, and, ultimately, in managing complex rainforest ecosystems in more sustainable ways. In addition, an insight paper will draw on Nadkarni’s innovative approach to integrating intellectual merit and broader impact that can serve as a guide to future scientists. The spark and foundation is the body of work that Nadkarni has produced in nearly four decades of NSF-supported canopy research (136 Core Publications, including three scholarly books, with 141 colleagues, 45 of which are women and people underrepresented in science). One outcome is a review paper on processes of disturbance and recovery of canopy plants in temperate and tropical habitats. A second outcome is a synthesis paper on how forest canopy communities provide ecologists with “arenas” to test theories concerning disturbances, which are not possible using full-scale ecosystems and landscapes because forest canopies: a) have established metrics and response rubrics; b) are comprised of elements that can be manipulated for experimental studies; and c) allow replication of field elements to yield sound quantitative analyses. These activities will lead to recommendations, directed to community and ecosystem ecologists, to inform future questions and address hypotheses about effects of ecological disturbances. Nadkarni and her team will create an accessible archive of data and metadata of her canopy research, for sharing with other ecologists and with scientists in other fields. Nadkarni will also draw from her career-long work in public engagement to non-traditional public groups to create three broader impacts activities: 1) a bilingual blog, distributed through academic and ecotourism websites; 2) participation to an existing monthly bilingual lecture series in Monteverde, Costa Rica, and 3) a reflection/insight paper that discusses the benefits and challenges of integrating intellectual merit and broader impact activities during an ecologist’s career. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.