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June 30, 2009 |
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Desert dust alters ecology of Colorado alpine meadows
 A new study by a NREL researcher indicates that accelerated snowmelt by desert dust that blows into the mountains changes how plants respond to seasonal climate cues that regulate their life cycles. As a result, climate warming may have a greater influence on their annual growth cycle.
"The observed changes in plant life cycles due to desert dust synchronize plant growth and flowering across the alpine, which vary greatly in the absence of dust" said Heidi Steltzer, a Colorado State University researcher in the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, who led this study. "Synchronized growth was unexpected and may have adverse effects on plants, water quality and wildlife."
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June 29, 2009 |
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Training citizen scientists July 11-12
 In this National Science Foundation-funded research experiment, CSU scientists from the university's Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory are studying the effectiveness of different training approaches - in-person and hands-on, online training, and online multimedia presentations.
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May 19, 2009 |
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Longer growing season as climate warms may not be the boon that was expected
 A new evaluation by CSU researcher Heidi Steltzer from the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory and colleague Eric Post from Penn State University of recent research indicates that many plant species are shortening their annual growth cycle in response to climate warming. Plants that are greening and flowering earlier are also ending growth earlier in the year.
A shortened period of growth may be a result of current environmental conditions, such as a mid-season drought in a warm summer, or could be the result of years of conditioning to past environmental conditions. Many species cannot extend the period over which they grow beyond a set number of days.
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May 14, 2009 |
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Africa-U.S. Higher Ed Initiative grant awarded to CSU and University of Nairob
 The African Ecosystems and Societies Program in the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State University has been awarded a $50,000 Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative planning grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development and Higher Education for Development in Washington, D.C.
"The African Ecosystems and Societies Program at CSU will use this grant as a stepping stone to increase our collaborative relationships with African university partners, and foster increased collaboration in dryland research, education and outreach among African universities," said Niall Hanan, senior researcher scientist from CSU's Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory.
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May 04, 2009 |
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Scientists find bacteria and fungi actively grow in frozen Arctic tundra
 In a new study published this spring, Colorado State University researchers from the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory have shown that both bacteria and fungi not only survive, but actively grow in the frozen Arctic tundra - a finding that has significant implications for life on cold planets such as Mars, and for the response of Arctic soils to global climate change.
"We know that microorganisms living in permanently frozen environments may have had thousands of years to adapt to those conditions, but what about microorganisms that live in environments that are only frozen for part of the year, such as the Arctic tundra soil? Are these microorganisms able to perform cellular maintenance or grow under frozen conditions?" said Shawna McMahon, co-author of the study and post-doctoral researcher in CSU's Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, or NREL.
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