A.
Center/Institute/Program
University of Kansas Field Station and Ecological Reserves
Kansas Biological
Survey Higuchi Hall
2101 Constant Avenue
Lawrence, KS 66047
Phone: 785-864-1505
E-mail: martinko@ku.edu
Web Page: http://www.kbs.ku.edu or www.ksr.ku.edu
Director/Chairperson:
Dr. Edward A. Martinko
Representative to AERC:
Dr. Edward A. Martinko
Alternate: Dr. Jerry
deNoyelles
B. Major objectives of the
Center/Institute/Program
1. Provide a focal point for studying
ecosystem processes in the transition zone between the eastern deciduous forest
and the tallgrass prairie biomes.
2. Sponsor and facilitate long-term,
interdisciplinary ecological studies that draw upon core databases and
expertise at KU, and collaboration with outside scientists.
3. Develop and maintain long-term studies
in both experimentally-manipulated and native habitats.
4. Promote large and mesoscale ecosystem
and community experiments, including long-term studies using both terrestrial
and aquatic facilities.
5. Enhance environmental education and
community outreach.
C. Major ecosystem research emphases
1. Ecology of the prairie-forest ecotone,
including studies of secondary succession, carbon sequestration, disturbance
ecology, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity and global climate change.
2. Ecosystem-level hazard assessment of
xenobiotics, with emphasis on aquatic ecosystems.
3. Land use impacts in the Great Plains on
soil carbon, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity.
4. Understanding landscape change by
linking studies of remote sensing, ecology, and biogeochemistry.
D. Staff
Permanent
scientific staff: PhD: 31
Scientific
support staff: Technicians: 4
Other
support staff: Administrative: 3
Graduate
students: PhD: 28, MS:
12
E. Approximate annual funding (recent year)
Core
funding: $480,000/yr, Source: University of Kansas
Grants: $1,200,000/yr, Major sources: USEPA, USDA, NSF, NASA, General Research
Fund-KU, Kansas Water Research Institute
F. Areas and facilities for ecosystem research studies
The
field station includes about 3,000 acres (1200 ha) of diverse terrestrial and
aquatic habitats in eastern Kansas.
Experimental facilities at the field station include long-term sites for
land use treatments, prairie manipulation, habitat fragmentation, experimental
ponds, and laboratories. An additional
40,000 acres (16,000 ha) of lands are available for research. These lands are distributed throughout the
state in various types of forest and prairie habitats.
G. Research staff directly involved in ecosystem research (names and
specialty areas)
Alexander,
Helen plant population ecology
Armitage,
Kenneth small mammal ecology
Billings,
Sharon global change biology and biogeochemistry
Boyd,
Roger avian ecology, wetland restoration
Butler,
James hydrogeology, aquifer characterization
Campbell,
Scott applied aquatic ecology
Cink,
Calvin avian ecology and population biology
deNoyelles,
Frank aquatic ecology, effects of pesticides on aquatic communities
Ebihara,
Tatsuji environmental toxicology
Fitch,
Henry vertebrate ecology, ecology and behavior or reptiles
Foster,
Bryan plant community ecology
Foster,
Johanna ecology and conservation biology
Freeman,
Craig plant systematics, prairie conservation
Graham,
David environmental toxicology
Hagen,
Robert population genetics and ecology
Haufler,
Christopher plant systematics
Healey,
John hydrogeology, aquifer characterization
Holt,
Robert theoretical and community ecology
Huggins,
Donald human disturbance in aquatic systems
Johanning,
Bruce experimental facilities management
Kettle,
Dean natural resource management, restoration ecology
Kindscher,
Kelly conservation biology, restoration ecology
Lane,
Dennis air quality research, airborne particulates, acid rain
Larive,
Cynthia environmental analytical chemistry
Loeb,
Stanford applied aquatic ecology, environmental monitoring
Macpherson,
Gwen geochemistry and hydrogeology
Marotz,
Glen air quality research, statistical analysis and experimental design
Martinko,
Edward community ecology, remote sensing of natural resources
McElwee,
Carl hydrogeology, availability of groundwater in Kansas
Pierotti,
Raymond evolutionary ecology, avian population biology
Pittman,
Galen field ornithology
Price, Kevin biogeography and landscape ecology,
remote sensing and geographic information systems
Randtke,
Stephen water quality and treatment
Roth,
Stanley field ecology and environmental education
Salisbury,
Vaughn forestry, field ecology
Slade,
Norman small mammal ecology
Smith,
Val ecosystem and community ecology
Taylor,
Orley insect ecology and behavior
Terwilliger,
Valery biogeochemistry and plant ecology, applications of stable isotopes
Thorp,
James ecology of large rivers
Zheng,
Li hydrogeology, water resources management
H. Long-term data sets (code name, number of years of data, computer
accessibility)
1. Climate
data: daily temperature and rainfall from Fitch Reservation, 1950-present.
2. Climate
data: meteorological station at field station recording 8 variables (hourly),
1985-present.
3. Frank
B. Cross Reservoir: water chemistry, plankton, and fish, 1994-present.
4. Aboveground
plant biomass: native and restored prairies, 1974-present.
5. Vascular
plant species inventories: 1948-present (intervals and scope varies).
6. Rare
plants: historic data and continuous records (1988-present) for Meads milkweed
(Asclepias meadii), Western Prairie
fringed orchid (Platanthera praeclera),
and Eared foxglove (Tomanthera auriculata).
7. Tree
growth and survivorship: native and successional stands, 1982-present.
8. Tree
plantation (Fraxinus Americana):
growth and survivorship, 1975-present.
9. Small
mammals: population changes since 1948, monthly trapping 1973-present.
10. Reptiles: continuous records from
1948-present.
11. Birds: continuous records from
1948-present.
12. Land management histories: 1948-present.
13. Bibliography: about 700 scientific
publications, theses, and dissertations based at the field station
(1948-present).
14. Habitat fragmentation/biotic succession
facility: (1948-present) data at regular intervals for herbaceous plants, woody
vegetation, small mammals, and snakes, data also collected for insects and
invertebrates, soils, and miscellaneous features.
15. Remote sensing: Green Report Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), 15-year data set; Landsat
Thematic Mapper data; ASTER data; MODIS data; Landsat Multi-Spectral Scanner
(MSS) data; ASCS 35-mm slides, late 70s-early 80s.