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SUMMARY:Long term drivers of aboveground-belowground linkages - evidence f
 rom invaders\, islands and chronosequences - David Wardle\, Swedish Univer
 sity of Agricultural Sciences
DTSTART:20091203T160000Z
DTEND:20091203T170000Z
UID:TALK20040@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Ian Henderson
DESCRIPTION:In forested ecosystems dominated by long lived plant species\,
  many ecological processes occur over a time span that is greater than can
  be studied through conventional experiments. In this seminar I describe t
 hree pieces of work that employ 'natural' or 'unintended' experiments to i
 nvestigate aboveground and belowground processes and linkages in the long 
 term perspective. The first involves the aboveground and belowground effec
 ts of invasive mammals such as deer and rats in New Zealand rainforests th
 at have occurred over a time-span of decades to centuries. The second invo
 lves an ongoing study of lake islands in northern Sweden in which historic
 al fire regime drives aboveground-belowground feedbacks in the order of mi
 llennia. The third involves the aboveground and belowground consequences o
 f ecosystem retrogression in contrasting long term chronosequences around 
 the world\, over the order of millennia and beyond. The consistent theme t
 hat emerges from these examples is that feedbacks between aboveground and 
 belowground organisms\, and the key traits of the dominant taxa in these g
 roups\, serve as major drivers of forest community and ecosystem processes
  at long-term timescales that are relevant to the dynamics of the forest.
LOCATION:Department of Plant Sciences\, Large Lecture Theatre
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