Ecosystems have a long memory. That may not be a good thing.
What scientists have learned is that extreme climate events like drought and heat waves don’t just negatively impact plants, trees and other vegetation while they’re ongoing. The effects of climate extremes, especially droughts,… Read more
New NAU study measures long-term carbon loss from thawing permafrost in Alaska
New long-term data from a permafrost monitoring site in Healy, Alaska, suggest it was a net carbon source to the atmosphere at least since 2004 and, under current climate conditions as the region grows warmer, will continue to be one, potentially losing up to a fifth of all carbon stored… Read more
NAU geomorphologists map fine sediment in Colorado River ecosystem to improve long-term sandbar management
Grain by grain, sandbars are ecologically important to the Colorado River system for humans and wildlife, say scientists. How sand, silt and clay move along and become deposited within the river corridor in the Grand Canyon National Park, downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, has become… Read more
NAU ecologist receives grant to study improvements in pollinator habitat, biodiversity in Arizona utility’s rights-of-way
Bees, butterflies and other insects are important plant pollinators in natural ecosystems and agricultural settings. However, pollinator populations have been decreasing in recent decades. Researchers say one factor contributing to the decline is the degradation and loss of their habitat. Northern Arizona University ecologist and conservation biologist Clare… Read more
When it comes to global plant production, new study suggests phosphorus matters everywhere
Challenging long-held assumptions that phosphorus limits aboveground plant growth mainly in tropical regions, a new paper in Nature Communications by NAU authors suggests that this important nutrient actually helps govern plant production in temperate regions, too, and on every continent except Antarctica.
Analyzing data from phosphorus field experiments conducted worldwide between 1955-2017, authors Enqing… Read more
NAU scientists, national partners win $3.3 million to study microbes’ role in a changing world
If the fate of carbon is a test that planet Earth is taking right now, one of the answer keys is likely to be found in soil, where microorganisms—which account for nearly 15 percent of global biomass, by some estimates—eat, store and respire carbon and other nutrients. As Earth warms, how these microbes change the way they live will have potentially big consequences for where the carbon goes.
Now, a team… Read more