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Current Research
2002-2008 Current Initiative II: Ecosystem Responses to Variation in the Socio-Natural Template Ecosystem responses are often subtle and can take decades or centuries to be observed (Webster et al. 1992, Swank et al. 2001). Coweeta researchers have used short- and long-term studies since the 1930s to document the interactions between aquatic and terrestrial systems, within-watershed processes, and the regulation of ecosystem structure and function across southern Appalachia (Webster and Meyer 1997). Understanding is nevertheless limited about how distribution and productivity of forest species is linked to underlying causes, or how different land uses and land-use changes cumulatively affect water quality, quantity, and aquatic biota. This constrains efforts to forecast future ecosystem responses or execute management strategies that anticipate the most likely outcomes from established trajectories of change. In Initiative 2, we are developing specific understanding about tradeoffs underlying ecosystem responses to variation in the socio-natural template. We do this by combining long-term baseline studies with new studies testing key hypotheses about the effects of anthropogenic drivers on ecosystem processes, and mechanistic controls on forest form and function. C-IIA. Baseline Conditions of Stream Fish C-IIB. Understanding the Role of Sedimentation C-IIB1. Sediment Erosion and Yield Through Time C-IIB2. Homogenization of Stream Fish Assemblages C-IIB3. Effects of Suspended Sediments on Fish Foraging Success and Habitat Use C-IIC. Understanding the Role of Organic Matter C-IIC1. Links Among Land-Use Change, Litter Inputs and Litter Processing C-IID. Climatic and Site Controls of Forest Form and Function C-IID1. Controls on Productivity C-IID2. Controls on Overstory Demography C-IID3. Controls on Understory Diversity C-IID4. Controls on Microarthropod Diversity Previous (Current Initiative I) | Next (Current Initiative III) |