Among the many research results from LTER sites, some findings stand out as being particularly important to achieve the LTER goal of providing information to conserve, protect, and manage the nation's ecosystems. Short descriptions of key findings at each site emphasize the importance of long-term data in understanding the pace and pattern of ecological change.
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Agriculture and Climate Change (KBS LTER) Since 1992 scientists at the KBS LTER site have studied fluxes of the major, naturally occurring greenhouse gases -- carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and nitrous oxide -- in a variety of cropped and natural ecosystems. A 2010 update of research originally published in 2000 continues to show how different cropping strategies can have markedly different effects on greenhouse gas fluxes from both... Read more |
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Diverse Landscapes Curtail Crop Pests (KBS LTER) The soybean aphid Aphis glycines, an invasive insect pest, is the greatest threat to soybean production in the United States. First detected in the United States in 2000, this East Asian pest has spread rapidly through the Midwest and costs growers about $30 million to $50 million per year in reduced yield. By 2005, farmers had responded with a 20-fold increase in insecticide use,... Read more |
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Minimizing Nitrogen Pollution (KBS LTER) Through a variety of long-term studies, KBS LTER research has significantly advanced scientific understanding of nitrogen cycling in cropping systems as well as in the broader landscape. Agricultural landscapes commonly have excessive concentrations of nitrate (an especially mobile form of nitrogen) in ground and surface waters due to fertilizer applications in excess of what the crops can use.... Read more |
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Soil Microbes and Agriculture (KBS LTER) Microbes in terrestrial environments are important catalysts of global carbon and nitrogen cycles, including the production and consumption of greenhouse gases in soil. Some microbes produce the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) while decomposing organic matter in soil. Others consume methane (CH4) from the atmosphere, thus helping to mitigate climate... Read more |
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