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Title: Advancing global change biology through experimental manipulations: Where have we been and where might we go?

Abstract

Abstract This commentary summarizes the publication history of Global Change Biology for works on experimental manipulations over the past 25 years and highlights a number of key publications. The retrospective summary is then followed by some thoughts on the future of experimental work as it relates to mechanistic understanding and methodological needs. Experiments for elevated CO 2 atmospheres and anticipated warming scenarios which take us beyond historical analogs are suggested as future priorities. Disturbance is also highlighted as a key agent of global change. Because experiments are demanding of both personnel effort and limited fiscal resources, the allocation of experimental investments across Earth's biomes should be done in ecosystems of key importance. Uncertainty analysis and broad community consultation should be used to identify research questions and target biomes that will yield substantial gains in predictive confidence and societal relevance. A full range of methodological approaches covering small to large spatial scales will continue to be justified as a source of mechanistic understanding. Nevertheless, experiments operating at larger spatial scales encompassing organismal, edaphic, and environmental diversity of target ecosystems are favored, as they allow for the assessment of long‐term biogeochemical feedbacks enabling a full range of questions to be addressed. Such studiesmore » must also include adequate investment in measurements of key interacting variables (e.g., water and nutrient availability and budgets) to enable mechanistic understanding of responses and to interpret context dependency. Integration of ecosystem‐scale manipulations with focused process‐based manipulations, networks, and large‐scale observations will aid more complete understanding of ecosystem responses, context dependence, and the extrapolation of results. From the outset, these studies must be informed by and integrated with ecosystem models that provide quantitative predictions from their embedded mechanistic hypotheses. A true two‐way interaction between experiments and models will simultaneously increase the rate and robustness of Global Change research.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Institute Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge TN USA
Publication Date:
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1576645
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1576646
Grant/Contract Number:  
DE‐AC05‐1008 00OR22725
Resource Type:
Published Article
Journal Name:
Global Change Biology
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Global Change Biology Journal Volume: 26 Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 1354-1013
Publisher:
Wiley-Blackwell
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Language:
English

Citation Formats

Hanson, Paul J., and Walker, Anthony P. Advancing global change biology through experimental manipulations: Where have we been and where might we go?. United Kingdom: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1111/gcb.14894.
Hanson, Paul J., & Walker, Anthony P. Advancing global change biology through experimental manipulations: Where have we been and where might we go?. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14894
Hanson, Paul J., and Walker, Anthony P. Fri . "Advancing global change biology through experimental manipulations: Where have we been and where might we go?". United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14894.
@article{osti_1576645,
title = {Advancing global change biology through experimental manipulations: Where have we been and where might we go?},
author = {Hanson, Paul J. and Walker, Anthony P.},
abstractNote = {Abstract This commentary summarizes the publication history of Global Change Biology for works on experimental manipulations over the past 25 years and highlights a number of key publications. The retrospective summary is then followed by some thoughts on the future of experimental work as it relates to mechanistic understanding and methodological needs. Experiments for elevated CO 2 atmospheres and anticipated warming scenarios which take us beyond historical analogs are suggested as future priorities. Disturbance is also highlighted as a key agent of global change. Because experiments are demanding of both personnel effort and limited fiscal resources, the allocation of experimental investments across Earth's biomes should be done in ecosystems of key importance. Uncertainty analysis and broad community consultation should be used to identify research questions and target biomes that will yield substantial gains in predictive confidence and societal relevance. A full range of methodological approaches covering small to large spatial scales will continue to be justified as a source of mechanistic understanding. Nevertheless, experiments operating at larger spatial scales encompassing organismal, edaphic, and environmental diversity of target ecosystems are favored, as they allow for the assessment of long‐term biogeochemical feedbacks enabling a full range of questions to be addressed. Such studies must also include adequate investment in measurements of key interacting variables (e.g., water and nutrient availability and budgets) to enable mechanistic understanding of responses and to interpret context dependency. Integration of ecosystem‐scale manipulations with focused process‐based manipulations, networks, and large‐scale observations will aid more complete understanding of ecosystem responses, context dependence, and the extrapolation of results. From the outset, these studies must be informed by and integrated with ecosystem models that provide quantitative predictions from their embedded mechanistic hypotheses. A true two‐way interaction between experiments and models will simultaneously increase the rate and robustness of Global Change research.},
doi = {10.1111/gcb.14894},
journal = {Global Change Biology},
number = 1,
volume = 26,
place = {United Kingdom},
year = {Fri Nov 29 00:00:00 EST 2019},
month = {Fri Nov 29 00:00:00 EST 2019}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
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https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14894

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Cited by: 24 works
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