Papers by William Reiners
BioScience, 2001
E vents or conditions occurring at one point in environmental space can have consequences elsewhe... more E vents or conditions occurring at one point in environmental space can have consequences elsewhere. For example, the management decision to feed elk over winter in the National Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyoming, has led to an artificially large increase in the winter population of elk just north of the city (Figure 1; Boyce 1989). Natural elk deaths in winter have led to a concentrated supply of carrion that, in turn, has attracted a large population of ravens. But in the spring, the elk migrate northward to their summer ranges and the localized carrion disappears. The enlarged raven population also disperses northward, with individuals foraging expediently on whatever they can find, including songbird eggs and nestlings. As a consequence, nest predation is more severe in the Snake River riparian zone than it would be without winter feeding of the large, migratory elk population. Thus, an event or condition at the Elk Refuge (feeding elk) leads to propagation of nest predators across environmental space, with consequences (high nest predation) elsewhere (Dunk et al. 1994). As another example, construction of a dam characteristically leads to sediment deposition in the impoundment. By reducing the sediment load of water coming through or over the dam, the capacity of downstream water to carry new sediment increases-the river becomes more erosive. As a result, the main stem of the river below the dam is excavated, thereby accelerating tributary downcutting throughout the entire drainage network (Figure 2). Tributary incision through the network accelerates slope movement, destabilizes vegetation cover, and degrades habitat. In this way, the new condition (the upstream dam) propagates geomorphological and ecological effects throughout the terrain below the dam. These examples are two of a large variety of phenomena involving the transmission of cause and effect across environmental space. Such phenomena occur for many reasons and at many spatial and temporal scales. They clearly are ecologically important. How do ecologists address such phenomena? Surprisingly, there is no general conceptual framework for addressing these spatial phenomena in ecology. While ecologists have long claimed interest in "interactions" that occur over heterogeneous space (Gleason 1926, Leopold 1941, Redfield 1958, Margalef 1963), the problem has received little direct attention. This is curious, because Tansley (1935) formally included such phenomena in his definition of the ecosystem. The "openness" of ecosystems to energy and mat
Elsevier eBooks, 1992
Publisher Summary This chapter gives an overview on predicting the responses of the coastal zone ... more Publisher Summary This chapter gives an overview on predicting the responses of the coastal zone to global change. The coastal zone is functionally defined as “that space in which terrestrial environments influence marine (or lacustrine) environments and vice versa”. The margins of continents and oceans-where land and sea meet-are regions of high physical and biological diversity that are heavily utilized by man for residential, agricultural, commercial (including transportation), waste disposal, recreational and military purposes, as well as fishing, mariculture, and the extraction of energy and mineral resources. The dynamic nature of the interface between land and sea, makes the coastal zone particularly vulnerable to global change as a consequence of the direct (physical disturbance, pollution, and so in) and indirect (climatic) effects of man on coastal environments. Although many of the causes and consequences of change in the coastal zone are local or regional by nature, they are of global significance in terms of large-scale ecological and geomorphological processes which are likely to be altered irreversibly over decadal time-scales relevant to the future needs and impacts of human society.
Ecology, Jun 1, 1980
Page 1. Ecology, 61(3), 1980, pp. 541-550 ? 1980 by the Ecological Society of America STRUCTURE A... more Page 1. Ecology, 61(3), 1980, pp. 541-550 ? 1980 by the Ecological Society of America STRUCTURE AND BIOMASS DYNAMICS OF EPIPHYTIC LICHEN COMMUNITIES OF BALSAM FIR FORESTS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE' GERALD ...
American Midland Naturalist, 2002
The annual brome grasses, Bromus japonicus and B. tectorum, are common invaders of the Northern G... more The annual brome grasses, Bromus japonicus and B. tectorum, are common invaders of the Northern Great Plains. Our objective was to determine if these exotic plants were positively or negatively associated with particular plant species or functional types in a prairie/pine ecotone at Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota. We addressed this issue by sampling at two spatial scales-the landscape scale and the site scale. For the landscape we evaluated species associations across a 3800 ha ecotone using 90 transects. Annual bromes were positively associated with C 3 grasses, particularly Agropyron smithii and Stipa viridula, in addition to the shrub Symphoricarpos occidentalis. Annual bromes were negatively associated with trees, C 4 grasses, particularly A. gerardii, Bouteloua curtipendula and Schizachyrium scoparium, as well as the shrub Rhus aromatica. For the site scale we assessed relationships at a finer resolution within two 1 ha stands of grassland vegetation. Annual bromes were negatively associated with Poa pratensis in both stands. Results indicate that the bromes often dominate in portions of the landscape with C 3 grasses and Symphoricarpos occidentalis. Within individual sites, the bromes appear most limited by a competitive interaction with P. pratensis, resulting from phenological overlap.
Oikos, 1972
Reiners, W. A. 1972. Nutrient content of canopy throughfall in three Minnesota forests.-Oikos 23:... more Reiners, W. A. 1972. Nutrient content of canopy throughfall in three Minnesota forests.-Oikos 23: 14-22. Copenhagen. Calcium, magnesium, nitrogen and phosphorus were measured in throughfall of an oak, marginal fen, and white cedar swamp forest in east-central Minnesota, U. S.A. Annual totals of calcium in throughfall of the oak, fen and swamp forest were 7.6, 10.5, and 10.7 kg/ha respectively. Totals for magnesium were 3.1, 3.8 and 3.7; for ammonia and organic-nitrogen, 5.5, 5.5, and 6.0; and for phosphorus, 0.7, 0.6, and 0.5 kg/ha. These totals were comparable with data in the literature. Calcium depositions in throughfall as per cents of the sum of throughfall and litter fall were 13, 10, and 10 per cent in the oak, fen and swamp forests respectively. Similar percentages for magnesium were 23, 22, and 23; for nitrogen, 11, 10, and 12; and for phosphorus, 11, 8, and 7.
Springer eBooks, 1995
Perceptions about the Great Plains of the United States and Canada have varied widely through the... more Perceptions about the Great Plains of the United States and Canada have varied widely through the historical development of the region. Emerging from the forests of Appalachia, early settlers initially noted the absence of trees in the Prairie Peninsula, where grassland extended into Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Because they viewed this as evidence of infertility, the settlers avoided the open prairies in favor of the scattered oak openings and floodplain forests of that area. In fact, some of the former glacial lake basins of the Prairie Peninsula were not drained and plowed until the early twentieth century, and draining of pothole lakes in the Northern Plains continues even now (Van der Valk 1989). As early as 1820, explorers of the western Great Plains perceived the region west of the 100th meridian as The Great American Desert and did not suppose that it would ever support much of a civilization (Frazier 1989; Lewis 1979). But, around mid-century, the Great Plains west of the Mississippi was settled rapidly, especially after the extension of railroads. As part of the commercial development by the railroads, the Great Plains was extolled as an agricultural paradise (Frazier 1989). But in the 1930s, the great drought and resulting dust storms recast the Great Plains as a dubious environment for agriculture after all—perhaps a kind of desert lurking between seductively good precipitation years.
Ecosystems, Sep 11, 2012
ABSTRACT Clearcutting is a common silvicultural practice in the deciduous forests of northern New... more ABSTRACT Clearcutting is a common silvicultural practice in the deciduous forests of northern New England. Subsequent regrowth is usually rapid, largely due to regenerative capacities of successional plants, particularly pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica L.). The forest cover of an experimental watershed (W2) in Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH was clearcut and then treated with herbicides for 3 years to prevent regrowth. This experimental treatment delayed plant growth and caused extensive nutrient losses from the watershed-ecosystem, thereby diminishing factors normally promoting revegetation. This article addresses the question of whether, or to what degree, resilience, defined here as the trajectory of recovery back to a prior state following a perturbation, was reduced by this treatment. Performance metrics for resilience were aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and biomass accumulation. Data collected over seven intervals for the first 31 years of regrowth show that a primary component of resilience—pin cherry density—was reduced, and that ANPP and biomass accumulation were initially below normal compared with other clear-cut sites. After approximately a decade of regrowth, however, trajectories for both ANPP and biomass fell within the lower margins of variability measured in other regional examples.
Ecological studies, 1983
Ecologists have traditionally been inclined to envisage the natural environment as relatively ben... more Ecologists have traditionally been inclined to envisage the natural environment as relatively benign and disturbance-free, nurturing a diversity of steady-state systems. Thus, it has been customary to view the human-dominated world as a harsh and strange place for the native biota because of the predominance of disturbance associated with human activities. In the last decade, however, the realization that disturbance was and is a natural and frequent component of unpeopled landscapes has taken firm root in our thinking. As a result, a different paradigm for natural systems is emerging: one that recognizes natural disturbance and concomitant recovery mechanisms as integrated aspects of normal ecosystem behavior (Loucks 1970; Levin and Paine 1974; Connell and Slatyer 1977; Grime 1977; Trudgill 1977; Cattelino et al. 1979; White 1979; Holling 1981; Shugart and West 1980; Vogl 1980).
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Dec 1, 2001
Our research objective was to estimate contemporary, historical and scenario-based future N2O and... more Our research objective was to estimate contemporary, historical and scenario-based future N2O and NO emissions over a 391,000 ha area of northeastern Costa Rica. This is a region of lowland terrain, wet tropical climate and relatively fertile soils. It has undergone rapid change in land use from forest to pasture and various kinds of crops, mostly since since 1950. Field
Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, Jul 1, 2014
Ecologists have individualistic perspectives on how nature works because our personal interests i... more Ecologists have individualistic perspectives on how nature works because our personal interests in nature (plants, birds, soils) subsequently become modified by our encounters with teachers, historical events, individuals, and ideas. I suspect that, upon reflection, most of us could name a dozen or so persons, courses, papers or books that have had a special influence on our career trajectories. The ESA Bulletin’s editor, through this Paper Trail series, has given us the opportunity to reflect upon particularly influential papers as a way for us to understand the intellectual fabric of our discipline. This is especially germane on the eve of ESA’s Centennial. I describe here a seminal paper that shaped my thinking which has led, in turn, to other developments in ecology.
Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting Abstracts, Feb 13, 2002
American Midland Naturalist, Jul 1, 1968
CO2 concentrations and air temperatures were measured at seven levels at 2-hr intervals for 24 hr... more CO2 concentrations and air temperatures were measured at seven levels at 2-hr intervals for 24 hrs at stations along a slope leading from an upland oak forest into a cedar swamp. Skies were clear and the winds light over the period. Although there was evidence for cold air drainage downslope and concentration of CO2 in low sites during the early evening hours, temperatures tended to become isothermal at all stations along the gradient later in the night while CO-2 concentrations were higher near the ground on the slope but vertically uniform in the swamp. There was little evidence that CO2 concentrations were significantly higher through most of the night in the swamp than on the upland.
Springer eBooks, 1988
This historical review begins at a benchmark year and occasion—the refresher course on energy flo... more This historical review begins at a benchmark year and occasion—the refresher course on energy flow and ecological systems organized by Frederick Turner for the AIBS meetings in College Station, Texas in 1967 and published in the American Zoologist in 1968. The leading presentation was by Eugene P. Odum and was titled “Energy flow in ecosystems: a historical review.” In that paper, Odum succinctly sketched the development of our thinking on ecological energetics. Beginning with Forbes’s classical ideas on “The lake as a microcosm,” Odum proceeded with the contributions of Thienemann and Elton on the concepts of niche and pyramids. He showed the beginnings of thermodynamics in the writings of Lotka and the first conceptions of energy budgets and primary production among limnologists such as Birge and Juday in the 1930s. Odum noted that it was limnologists who were the first to employ these ideas, perhaps because of the convenience of aquatic systems for measurement. The trophicdynamic concepts of Lindeman, with contributions by Hutchinson, Clarke, and MacFadyen, were keystone writings of the 1940s. Odum also introduced the energy flow diagram and measures of community metabolism which he and his brother, H. T. Odum, conceived of in the 1950s. He cited a number of studies on secondary production and energy flow in populations, and the use of laboratory studies. Finally, he pointed to the growing attention paid to energetics in the areas of succession and more formalized systems ecology.
Annual review of ecology and systematics, 1979
Page 1. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 1979. 10:53-84 Copyright 0 1979 by Annual Reviews Inc. All rights r... more Page 1. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 1979. 10:53-84 Copyright 0 1979 by Annual Reviews Inc. All rights reserved THE REGULATION *4155 OF CHEMICAL BUDGETS OVER THE COURSE OF TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM SUCCESSION Eville Gorham ...
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, May 1, 2013
Ecological Monographs, Feb 16, 2017
On the occasion of the Ecological Society of America's centennial, we sought to learn which e... more On the occasion of the Ecological Society of America's centennial, we sought to learn which ecological concepts members value in terms of their utility. This required defining “concept,” and selecting concepts from current ecology textbooks that might arguably belong to a normative set. All ESA members were invited to participate in an online survey in October 2014 in which they rated 70, randomly selected concepts (out of a total set of 131) in terms of utility. Alternative to rating, respondents could mark the concept as unfamiliar. Respondents were also able list concepts that were important to them that were not encountered in the survey. Fifteen percent (1324) of the ESA membership participated in the survey. Of these, 89% were addressed in North America, 62% were male, 77% held Ph.D. degrees, 67% were involved in academia through employment or as students, and about one-half of the total were divided between community and ecosystem ecology domains of interest. The 10 highest ranked concepts (in descending order) for utility were scales (small, local, regional, global, etc.), ecosystem, habitat, species, disturbance/perturbation, organism, population, community, competition, and species life history. The 10 lowest ranked concepts (in descending order) for utility were Lotka-Volterra predator–prey/competition models, Allee effect, nutrient spiraling, character displacement, doubling time, climax, Hardy-Weinberg equation, red queen hypothesis, chemoautotroph/chemoautotrophy, and mimicry. Respondents entered 2800 terms not encountered in the survey. After parsing for concepts missed due to the survey's random presentation process, for semantic redundancy and for terms deemed non-concepts, 119 candidate concepts emerged. Many of these deserve consideration for inclusion in a normative set and introduction in textbooks. This research provides a well-considered definition of “concept,” a basis for defining a normative set of concepts expected to be known to all ecologists, and a measure of familiarity but, more importantly, a measure of usage by contemporary ecologists who were members of ESA. These results help us to understand ourselves and our science, to better teach ecology, to guide the initiatives of the collective ecological community, and to further explore the extent and intellectual structure of the principal concepts by which ecologists pursue their work.
Ecology, 1972
Ash was determined in a variety of plant and organic soil samples by oxygenbomb combustion and by... more Ash was determined in a variety of plant and organic soil samples by oxygenbomb combustion and by a simple muffle-furnace technique. The influence of using different drying temperatures was also assessed. Bomb combustion produced a systematic error of underestimate and a random error of variation between trials. These errors varied among the different types of material tested, but in general both types of error increased with the ash content of the material. The average systematic error of underestimate of ash content for all samples was 1.46%, which led to an error of 1.56% when adjusting caloric coefficients to an ash-free basis. Lower drying temperatures had an insignificant effect on adjusted caloric coefficients. Independent ash determinations are recommended for materials with ash content greater than 5% to restrict the error of adjusted coefficients below 1%. The mufflefurnace technique is recommended for close approximations of absolute ash content.
Ecological Applications, Jul 1, 2013
This article reports the results of a survey of 1215 nonstudent Ecological Society of America (ES... more This article reports the results of a survey of 1215 nonstudent Ecological Society of America (ESA) members. The results pertain to three series of questions designed to assess ecologists' engagement in various advocacy activities, as well as attitudes on the relationship between environmental advocacy, values, and science. We also analyzed the effects of age, gender, and employment categories on responses. While many findings are reported, we highlight six here. First, ecologists in our sample do not report particularly high levels of engagement in advocacy activities. Second, ecologists are not an ideologically unified group. Indeed, there are cases of significant disagreement among ecologists regarding advocacy, values, and science. Third, despite some disagreement, ecologists generally believe that values consistent with environmental advocacy are more consonant with ecological pursuits than values based on environmental skepticism. Fourth, compared to males, female ecologists tend to be more supportive of advocacy and less convinced that environmentally oriented values perturb the pursuit of science. Fifth, somewhat paradoxically, ecologists in higher age brackets indicate higher engagement in advocacy activities as well as a higher desire for scientific objectivity. Sixth, compared to ecologists in other employment categories, those in government prefer a greater separation between science and the influences of environmental advocacy and values.
American Midland Naturalist, 2003
... STEPHEN M. OGLE1, WILLIAM A. REINERS, KENNETH G. GEROW. ... In principle, plants affect decom... more ... STEPHEN M. OGLE1, WILLIAM A. REINERS, KENNETH G. GEROW. ... In principle, plants affect decomposition through differences in litter quality (Melillo et al., 1982; Wedin and Tilman, 1990;Wedin and Pastor, 1993; Austin and Vitousek, 2000) or through modifications to the ...
Uploads
Papers by William Reiners