Physiological and developmental traits that vary over time are difficult to phenotype under relevant growing conditions. In this light, we developed a novel system for phenotyping dynamic traits in the field. System performance was evaluated on 25 Pima cotton (Gossypium barbadenseL.) cultivars grown in 2011 atMaricopa, Arizona. Field-grown plants were irrigated underwell watered andwater-limite...

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), which are mainly emitted by vegetation, may create either positive or negative climate forcing feedbacks. In the Subarctic, BVOC emissions are highly responsive to temperature, but the effects of climatic warming on BVOC emissions have not been assessed in more extreme arctic ecosystems. The Arctic undergoes rapid climate change, with air temperature...

The combination of GPS-Telemetry and resource selection functions is widely used to analyze animal habitat selection. Rapid large-scale assessment of vegetation structure allows bridging the requirements of habitat selection studies on grain size and extent, particularly in forest habitats. For roe deer, the cold period in winter forces individuals to optimize their trade off in searching for f...

Leaf life span is an important plant trait associated with interspecific variation in leaf, organismal, and ecosystem processes. We hypothesized that intraspecific variation in gymnosperm needle traits with latitude reflects both selection and acclimation for traits adaptive to the associated temperature and moisture gradient. This hypothesis was supported, because across 127 sites along a 2,16...

[1] Radiometric sensitivity to soil moisture at 1.4 GHz through a corn canopy at a maximum biomass of 8.0 kg m 2 (water column density of 6.3 kg m ) was much higher than expected. The magnitude of the measured sensitivity of horizontally polarized brightness temperature to the 0–3 cm volumetric soil water content was at least 1.5 K per 0.01 m m 3 and could have been as high as 2.5 K per 0.01 m ...

In Earth system modelling, a description of the energy budget of the vegetated surface layer is fundamental as it determines the meteorological conditions in the planetary boundary layer and as such contributes to the atmospheric conditions and its circulation. The energy budget in most Earth system models has been based on a big-leaf approach, with averaging schemes that represent in-canopy pr...

Although effects of forest management on amphibians are relatively well studied, few studies have examined how these practices affect egg deposition by adults, which can impact population recruitment. We quantified the effects of 4 canopy tree-retention treatments on amphibian oviposition patterns in clusters of 60-L aquatic mesocosms located in each treatment. We also related aquatic and terre...

Conducting manipulative climate change experiments in complex vegetation is challenging, given considerable temporal and spatial heterogeneity. One specific challenge involves warming of both plants and soils to depth. We describe the design and performance of an open-air warming experiment called Boreal Forest Warming at an Ecotone in Danger (B4WarmED) that addresses the potential for projecte...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The distribution of photosynthetic enzymes, or nitrogen, through the canopy affects canopy photosynthesis, as well as plant quality and nitrogen demand. Most canopy photosynthesis models assume an exponential distribution of nitrogen, or protein, through the canopy, although this is rarely consistent with experimental observation. Previous optimization schemes to derive the ...

Leaf-level isoprene and monoterpene emissions were collected and analyzed from five of the most abundant oak (Quercus) species in Central Missouri's Ozarks Region in 2012 during PINOT NOIR (Particle Investigations at a Northern Ozarks Tower - NOx, Oxidants, Isoprene Research). June measurements, prior to the onset of severe drought, showed isoprene emission rates and leaf temperature responses ...