saran twombly – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Where Does Charcoal, or Black Carbon, in Soils Go?

By Guest PostMay 2, 2013Environmentbiochar technology, black carbon, bonanza creek, carbon cycle, carbon sequestration, charcoal, climate change, ecology, environmental factors, environmental fate, everglades, fate of charcoal, florida international university, georgia coastal ecosystems, german, Germany, global carbon budget, global scale, hubbard brook, konza prairie, marine geochemistry, max planck society, national science foundation, organic carbon, rudolf jaffe, saran twombly, soils, thorsten dittmar, university oldenburg, yan ding

Scientists find surprising new answers in wetlands such as the Everglades

Scientists have uncovered one of nature’s long-kept secrets–the true fate of charcoal in the world’s soils.

The ability to determine the fate of charcoal is critical to knowledge of the global carbon budget, which in turn can help understand and mitigate climate change.

However, until now, researchers only had scientific guesses about what happens to charcoal once it’s incorporated into soil. They believed it stayed there.

Surprisingly, most of these researchers were wrong. (more…)

Where Have All the Hummingbirds Gone?

By Guest PostJune 8, 2012Environment, Natureamy mckinney, arizona, billy barr, broad tailed hummingbirds, bumblebees, central america, crested butte, david bertelsen, david inouye, food resources, glacier lily, global warming, higher latitudes, hummingbirds, hummingbirds fly, male hummingbirds, mountain meadows, mountain summer, national science foundation, nectar, nickolas waser, North America, paul caradonna, saran twombly, united states, university of maryland

Glacier lilies and broad-tailed hummingbirds out of sync

The glacier lily as it’s called, is a tall, willowy plant that graces mountain meadows throughout western North America. It flowers early in spring, when the first bumblebees and hummingbirds appear.

Or did.

The lily, a plant that grows best on subalpine slopes, is fast becoming a hothouse flower. In Earth’s warming temperatures, its first blooms appear some 17 days earlier than they did in the 1970s, scientists David Inouye and Amy McKinney of the University of Maryland and colleagues have found. (more…)

Climate Change Boosts Then Quickly Stunts Plants, Decade-long Study Shows

By Guest PostApril 12, 2012Environmentarizona, atmosphere, bruce hungate, climate change, ecologist, ecosystem feedback, elevation, george koch, global warming, grassland ecosystem, great basin desert, greenhouse, national science foundation, nau, nitrogen gas, northern arizona university, nsf, nutrient cycle, paul dijkstra, plant communities, san francisco peaks, saran twombly, warming environment, zhuoting wu

*Global warming may initially make the grass greener, but not for long*

Global warming may initially make the grass greener, but not for long, according to new research results.

The findings, published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change, show that plants may thrive in the early stages of a warming environment but then begin to deteriorate quickly.

“We were really surprised by the pattern, where the initial boost in growth just went away,” said scientist Zhuoting Wu of Northern Arizona University (NAU), a lead author of the study. “As ecosystems adjusted, the responses changed.” (more…)

Evolving to Fight Epidemics: Weakness Can Be an Advantage

By Guest PostMarch 31, 2012Sciencechristopher klausmeier, daphnia dentifera, daphnia population, david civitello, disease, ecological factor, ecosystems, evolution, georgia tech, indiana lakes, infection, jessica housley ochs, magnitude, meghan duffy, metschnikowia bicuspidate, nutrient concentration, parasite epidemic, rachel penczykowski, saran twombly, spencer hall, total nitrogen, vertebrate predator, water fleas, yeast parasite, zooplankton

*Less resistance can sometimes be better than more–at least in a freshwater lake*

When battling a deadly parasite epidemic, less resistance can sometimes be better than more, a new study suggests.

A freshwater zooplankton species known as Daphnia dentifera endures periodic epidemics of a virulent yeast parasite that can infect more than 60 percent of the Daphnia population.

During these epidemics, the Daphnia population evolves quickly, balancing infection resistance and reproduction. (more…)

Early Spring Drives Butterfly Population Declines

By Guest PostMarch 18, 2012Environment, Naturebutterfly population, carol boggs, caterpillars, climate change, colorado rocky mountains, david inouye, flower, life cycle, mormon fritillary butterfly, national science foundation, nectar, population, saran twombly, snowmelt, species, speyeria mormonia, university of maryland

“Ahead-of-time” snowmelt triggers chains of events in the Mormon Fritillary butterfly

Early snowmelt caused by climate change in the Colorado Rocky Mountains snowballs into two chains of events: a decrease in the number of flowers, which, in turn, decreases available nectar. The result is decline in a population of the Mormon Fritillary butterfly, Speyeria mormonia.

Using long-term data on date of snowmelt, butterfly population sizes and flower numbers at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Carol Boggs, a biologist at Stanford University, and colleagues uncovered multiple effects of early snowmelt on the growth rate of an insect population. (more…)

Prehistoric Predators with Supersized Teeth Had Beefier Arm Bones

By Guest PostJanuary 4, 2012Sciencearm bones, barbourofelids, carnivores, catlike cousins, chicken and egg question, colossal canines, cross section, dimensions of the teeth, durham, environmental challenges, extinct cats, extinct predators, fangs, Julie Meachen, meat eaters, museum specimen, national science foundation, NESCent, nimravids, north Carolina, saber toothed cats, Saber toothed tigers, saran twombly, toothiest prehistoric predators

*Combination of colossal canines and forceful forelimbs arose repeatedly over time*

The toothiest prehistoric predators also had beefier arm bones, according to results of a study published today in the journal Paleobiology.

Saber-toothed tigers may come to mind, but these extinct cats weren’t the only animals with fearsome fangs.

Take the false saber-toothed cats–also known as nimravids–and their catlike cousins, a family of carnivores called the barbourofelids. (more…)

Acid Rain Poses a Previously Unrecognized Threat to Great Lakes Sugar Maples

By Guest PostDecember 19, 2011Environmentacid rain, acidification, alan f talhelm, andrew j burton, atmospheric nitrogen, calcium poor granitic soils, calcium rich soils, canada, donald zak, forests, huron manistee national forests, leaf litter, mature sugar maples, mean abundance of seedlings, michigan, michigan peninsulas, microbial decay, northeast, northern hardwood ecosystem, saran twombly, seedling establishment data, sierra patterson, soil acidification, soil nutrients, sugar maples, united states, university of michigan, upper great lakes

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— The number of sugar maples in Upper Great Lakes forests is likely to decline in coming decades, according to University of Michigan ecologists and their colleagues, due to a previously unrecognized threat from a familiar enemy: acid rain.

Over the past four decades, sugar maple abundance has declined in some regions of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada, due largely to acidification of calcium-poor granitic soils in response to acid rain. (more…)

New Projection Shows Global Food Demand Doubling by 2050

By Guest PostNovember 24, 2011Economy, Generalagricultural land, agricultural practices, agronomic practices, belinda befort, carbon dioxide, christian balzer, david tilman, earth, ecosystems, Environment, environmental effects, extinction of species, global agriculture, global food demand, greenhouse gas emissions, human prosperity, jason hill, nitrogen, nitrogen fertilizers, poorer countries, saran twombly, technology transfer, united states, university of minnesota, yield

*Increasing yield in poorer countries could decrease adverse environmental effects*

Global food demand could double by 2050, according to a new projection reported this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The analysis also shows that the world faces major environmental challenges unless agricultural practices change.

Scientists David Tilman and Jason Hill of the University of Minnesota (UMN) and colleagues found that producing the amount of food needed could significantly increase levels of carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the environment, and may cause the extinction of numerous species. (more…)

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