Biology ETDs

Publication Date

5-14-2022

Abstract

Terrestrial ecosystems are critical to human and ecological processes but many gaps in our knowledge remain regarding how terrestrial plant communities assemble and respond to global change. I used field experiments distributed around the world, including long-term experiments from the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR) in New Mexico and deserts of the southwestern U.S., to evaluate the consequences of drought and other abiotic stressors on plant communities. Dominant grasses were particularly important for the productivity and structure of grasslands at SNWR. In general, the structure of desert plant communities had high resistance to extreme drought, though grasses and other perennial species were most negatively impacted. Global change drivers altered the beta diversity of plant communities both locally and among sites. Continued study of how communities respond to abiotic disturbances is of increasing importance as we try to conserve modern ecosystems and predict the consequences of anthropogenic global change.

Project Sponsors

Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research (SEV LTER), Central Arizona-Phoenix Long Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER), the Smithsonian Institution, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), UNM’s Department of Biology, UNM’s Biology Graduate Student Association (BGSA), and UNM’s Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA)

Language

English

Keywords

community ecology, plant ecology, global change, climate change, drought, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Biology

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

UNM Biology Department

First Committee Member (Chair)

Scott L. Collins

Second Committee Member

Jennifer A. Rudgers

Third Committee Member

Marcy E. Litvak

Fourth Committee Member

Benjamin Wong Blonder

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