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AERC Research Topics
This diagram, modified from drawings by Francis Bretherton and Peter Vitousek, indicates the potential topics and linkages among topics under study by AERC members. Each arrow of the diagrm represents a valid area of scientific inquiry, and changes in both the individual components as well as the consequences of these changes on other components need to be understood if a comprehensive ecosystem management program is to be enacted at local, regional, national and global scales.
 
Meteorological tower
Photo from Smithsonian SERC website
Creosote bush - Sevilleta Nat'l Wildlife Refuge
Photo from LTER website
Marsh CO2 chambers
Photo from Smithsonian SERC website
Measuring photosynthesis of tree seedlings
Prince Georges County, MD


Questions addressed by AERC ecosystem research centers

  • How can we restore overgrazed range lands, drained wetlands or other degraded ecosystems?
  • What are the consequences of the loss of species diversity in ecosystems such as tropical rainforests?
  • How do emissions from terrestrial ecosystems contribute to levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere?
  • What are the consequences of massive land-use changes, such as urbanization or deforestation, on basic ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling or water movement?
  • How will the biota of estuaries respond to the changes in nutrients and runoff caused by increases in human populations in the coastal zone?
  • What factors control the production of renewable resources such as forest trees, fish populations or crops of all sorts?