Changes in precipitation amount and variability have the potential to alter the structure and function of grasslands, but we know little about how changes in the timing of precipitation might aff ect grasslands. Here, we analyze long-term records from a tallgrass prairie to show that shifts in the timing of precipitation during the growing season have little eff ect on primary productivity or g...

The Subarctic comprises the higher mid-latitudinal regions with short, cool, moist summers and long, cold, dry winters. Indeed, the short, cool growing season is often thought of as a barrier to crop growth and diversity in these regions. Little is known, however, concerning the impact of the Subarctic climate on crop production. This study aimed to identify the climatic factors that are most i...

A hydroclimatology, or description of long-term means and interannual variation, that focuses on soil moisture deficits was constructed for the period of 1895–1998 for a six-state region composing the Ohio Valley. The term ‘‘deficit’’ is considered from an agricultural point of view whereby moisture-induced crop stress is a combination of insufficient precipitation and soil moisture. Of particu...

Leaf-wax n-alkanes (2)H/(1)H ratios are widely used as a proxy in climate reconstruction. Although the broad nature of the relationship between n-alkanes δ(2)H values and climate is appreciated, the quantitative details of the proxy remain elusive. To examine these details under natural environmental conditions, we studied a riparian broadleaf angiosperm species, Populus angustifolia, growing o...

Nitrate can carry over in many medium and fine textured Wisconsin soils especially when growing season rainfall is below normal and yields are lowered by moisture stress. Most areas of Wisconsin received below normal precipitation during the 2003 growing season, and nitrate carryover could be an important factor affecting nitrogen needs in 2004. Taking carryover nitrate into consideration may b...

A changing precipitation regime and increasing nitrogen deposition are likely to have profound impacts on arid and semiarid ecosystem C cycling, which is often constrained by the timing and availability of water and nitrogen. However, little is known about the effects of altered precipitation and nitrogen addition on grassland ecosystem C exchange. We conducted a 3-year field experiment to asse...

The ecohydrologic effects of urbanization that is dominated by forests clearing are not well understood in the southeastern United States. We utilized long-term monitoring data to quantify the annual water balance, stormflow characteristics, and seasonal flow patterns of an urbanized watershed (UR) (0Ð70 km2) and compared it to a fully forested watershed (FOR) (2Ð95 km2) in central North Caroli...

Annuals are an important component part of plant communities in arid and semiarid grassland ecosystems. Although it is well known that precipitation has a significant impact on productivity and species richness of community or perennials, nevertheless, due to lack of measurements, especially long-term experiment data, there is little information on how quantity and patterns of precipitation aff...