BioCON (Biodiversity, CO2, and Nitrogen) is an ecological experiment started in 1997 at the University of Minnesota's Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve. BioCON's goal is to explore the ways in which plant communities will respond to three environmental changes that are known to be occurring on a global scale: increasing nitrogen deposition, increasing atmospheric CO2, and decreasing biodiversity. Why Biodiversity, CO2, and Nitrogen? While there are many uncertainties in global change biology, there are also some well documented facts. Some of these are: 1. The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is rising. Since the industrial revolution, the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has increased from approximately 275 parts per million (ppm) to about 378 ppm today. This has been largely the result of fossil fuel burning. It is expected that CO2 levels will continue to rise, and that by the year 2050 these levels will be approximately 550 ppm. CO2 is the raw material for photosynthesis and is known to affect plant growth and development. 2. The amount of nitrogen moving through terrestrial ecosystems has increased in the recent past. While natural "background" levels of nitrogen fixation have remained constant, human additions to the system through fertilizer production and fossil fuel use have increased dramatically. Nitrogen is a key nutrient for plant growth and plays a critical role in plant community structure and composition in many environments. 3. Biodiversity levels are falling. While the research and data are not as complete as they are for CO2 and nitrogen, data indicate that the number of species globally, is being reduced. Perhaps more important for ecosystem function, diversity levels on local to regional scales have fallen due to land use change, biotic invasion and many other drivers. While much is known about how each of these factors affects ecosystem functioning, many questions remain. There is also little data on how these issues affect each other, and what emergent qualities may arise when systems are exposed to these changes simultaneously. BioCON seeks to address these issues with this multi-year study at Cedar Creek Ecosytem Science Preserve.
All Methods Available for e141
denotes a Cedar Creek Signature dataset.
Adair, E. C., P. B. Reich,* S. E. Hobbie*, and J. M. H. Knops. In press. Interactive effects of time, CO2, N and diversity on total belowground carbon allocation and ecosystem carbon storage in a grassland community. Ecosystems 2009 e141
Antonika, A.; Wolf, J.; Bowker, M.; Classen, A. T.; Johnson, N. C.; Linking above- and belowground responses to global change at community and ecosystem scales. Global Change Biology 15:914-929, 2009 2009 [Abstract] [Full Text] e141
Bassirirad, H.; Constable, J. V. H.; Lussenhop, J.; Kimball, B. A.; Norby, R. J.; Oechel, W. C.; Reich, P. B.; Schlesinger, W. H.; Zitzer, S.; Sehtiya, H. L.; Salim, S.; Widespread foliage 15N depletion under elevated CO2: inferences for the nitrogen cycle. Global Change Biology 9:1-9. 2003 [Full Text] e141
Craine, J. M.; Reich, P. B.; Elevated CO2 and nitrogen supply alter leaf longevity of grassland species. New Phytologist 150:397-403. 2001 [Full Text] e141
Craine, J. M.; Reich, P. B.; Tilman, D.; Ellsworth, D.; Fargione, J.; Knops, J.; Naeem, S.; The role of plant species in biomass production and response to elevated CO2 and N. Ecology Letters 6:623-630. 2003 [Full Text] e141
Craine, J. M.; Wedin, D. A.; Reich, P. B.; Grassland species effects on soil CO2 flux track the effects of elevated CO2 and nitrogen. New Phytologist 150:425-434. 2001 [Full Text] e141
Dijkstra, F. A.; Hobbie, S. E.; Knops, J. M. H.; Reich, P. B.; Nitrogen deposition and plant species interact to influence soil carbon stabilization. Ecology Letters 7:1192-1198. 2004 [Full Text] e141
Dijkstra, F. A.; Hobbie, S. E.; Reich, P. B.; Knops, J. M. H.; "Divergent effects of elevated CO2, N fertilization, and plant diversity on soil C and N dynamics in a grassland field experiment. Plant and Soil 272:41-52." 2005 [Full Text] e141
Dijkstra, F. A.; Hobbie, S. E.; Reich, P. B.; Soil processes affected by sixteen grassland species grown under different environmental conditions. Soil Science Society of America Journal 70:770-777. 2005 [Abstract] [Full Text] e141
Dijkstra, F.A.; West, J.B.; Hobbie, S.E.; Reich, P.B.; Trost, J.; Plant diversity, CO2, and N influence inorganic and organic n leaching in grasslands. ECOLOGY 88:490-500. 2007 [Abstract] [Full Text] e141
Ellsworth, D. S.; Reich, P. B.; Naumburg, E. S.; Koch, G. W.; Kubiske, M.; Smith, S.; "Photosynthesis, carboxylation and leaf nitrogen responses of 16 species to elevated pCO2 across four free-air CO2 enrichment experiments in forest, grassland and desert. Global Change Biology 10:2121-2138." 2004 [Full Text] e141
HilleRisLambers, J., W.S. Harpole, S. Schnitzer, D. Tilman and P.B. Reich, "CO2, nitrogen and diversity differentially affect seed production of prairie grasses", Ecology, p. , vol. Accepted 2008 e141
Knops, J.M.H.; Koenig, W.D.; Carmen, W.J.; Negative correlation does not imply a tradeoff between growth and reproduction in California oaks. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 104:16982-16985. 2007 [Abstract] [Full Text] e141
Lau, J. A.; Tiffin, P.; Elevated carbon dioxide concentrations indirectly affect plant fitness by altering plant tolerance to herbivory. Oecologia 161:401-410. 2009 [Abstract] [Full Text] e141
Lau, J.; Shaw, R.; Reich, P.; Tiffin, P.; Elevated atmospheric CO2 has little effect on the evolution of ecologically important traits in Arabidopsis thaliana. New Phytologist. 2007 e141
Lau, J.; Strengbom, J.; Stone, L.; Reich, P.; Tiffin, P.; Global environmental changes alter plant-enemy interactions via effects on plant traits. Ecology. 2007 e141
Lee, T. D.; Reich, P. B.; Tjoelker, M. G.; Legume presence increases photosynthesis and N concentrations of co-occurring non-fixers but does not modulate their responsiveness to carbon dioxide enrichment. Oecologia 137:22-31. 2003 [Full Text] e141
Lee, T. D.; Tjoelker, M. G.; Ellsworth, D. S.; Reich, P. B.; Leaf gas exchange responses of 13 prairie grassland species to elevated CO2 and increased nitrogen supply. New Phytologist 150(2):405-418. 2001 [Full Text] e141
Mitchell, C.; Reich, P. B.; Assessing environmental changes in grasslands. Science 299:1844 2003 [Full Text] e141
Mitchell, C.; Reich, P. B.; Tilman, D.; Groth, J. V.; "Effects of elevated CO2, nitrogen deposition, and decreased species diversity on foliar fungal plant disease. Global Change Biology 9:438-451" 2003 [Full Text] e141
Naeem, S.; Disentangling the impacts of functional and taxonomic diversity on ecosystem functioning in synthetic-community experiments. Ecology 83:2925-2935. 2002 [Full Text] e141
Reich, P.; Hobbie, S.E.; Lee, T.; Ellsworth, D.S.; West, J.B.; Tilman, D.; Knops, J.M.H.; Naeem, S.; Trost, J.; Nitrogen limitation constrains sustainability of ecosystem response to CO2. NATURE 440:922-925. 2006 [Abstract] [Full Text] e141
Reich, P.; Knops, J.; Tilman, D.; Craine, J.; Ellsworth, D.; Tjoelker, M.; Lee, T.; Wedin, D.; Naeem, S.; Bahauddin, D.; Hendrey, G.; Jose, S.; Wrage, K.; Goth, J.; Bengston, W.; Plant diversity enhances ecosystem responses to elevated CO2 and nitrogen deposition. Nature 410:809-812. 2001 [Full Text] e141
Reich, P.; Knops, J.; Tilman, D.; Craine, J.; Ellsworth, D.; Tjoelker, M.; Lee, T.; Wedin, D.; Naeem, S.; Bahauddin, D.; Hendrey, G.; Jose, S.; Wrage, K.; Goth, J.; Bengston, W.; Plant diversity enhances ecosystem responses to elevated CO2 and nitrogen deposition. Nature 410:809-812. 2001 [Full Text] e141
Reich, P.; Tilman, D.; Craine, J.; Ellsworth, D.; Tjoelker, M. G.; Knops, J.; Wedin, D.; Naeem, S.; Bahauddin, D.; Goth, J.; Bengtson, W.; Lee, T. D.; "Do species and functional groups differ in acquisition and use of C, N and water under varying atmospheric CO2 and N availability regimes? A field test with 16 grassland species. New Phytologist 150:435-448." 2001 [Full Text] e141
Reich, P.; Tilman, D.; Naeem, S.; Ellsworth, D.; Knops, J.; Craine, J.; Wedin, D.; Trost, J.; Species and functional group diversity independently influence biomass accumulation and its response to CO2 and N. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101:10101-10106 ?? 2004 [Full Text] e141
West, J.; Hobbie, S.E.; Reich, P.B.; "Effects of plant species diversity, atmospheric [CO2], and N addition on gross rates of inorganic N release from soil organic matter. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 12:1400-1408." 2006 [Abstract] [Full Text] e141
Wolf, J.; Johnson, N. C.; Rowland, D. L.; Reich, P. B.; Elevated CO2 and plant species richness impact arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal spore communities. New Phytologist 157:579-588. 2003 [Full Text] e141
