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Ecosystem Study (ecosystem + study)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Life Sciences75%

Kinds of Ecosystem Study

  • baltimore ecosystem study
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    Selected Abstracts

    Climatology at Urban Long-Term Ecological Research Sites: Baltimore Ecosystem Study and Central Arizona,Phoenix

    GEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2009
    Anthony J. Brazel
    The Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) and Central Arizona,Phoenix (CAP) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) programs, established in 1997, are part of an international National Science Foundation long-term ecology monitoring and research network. The study sites are excellent laboratories to integrate ideas on climate of urban areas and how climate change and local variability of climate relate to social, political, economic, and ecological processes over a long time period. A large variety of research data are available online from individual LTER Web sites and a combined database called CLIMDB/HYDRODB is available for climate and ecology researchers and others, to investigate climate and hydrology in LTER study regions including those of BES and CAP. The basic program, climate aspects of these two areas, selected past research, and current ongoing work is briefly reviewed. A large benefit of this National Science Foundation program is the maintenance of support over a very long period of time. With the advent of a National Ecological Observatory Network, continuing collection of climate and environmental information over the coming decades at the local and regional scales, and maintenance of protocols of measurement, it is hoped that a more meaningfully integrated urban climatology with urban ecology will emerge. This will better prepare scientists to gage the impending rapid global warming expected not only of natural environments, but also of burgeoning urban places around the world. [source]

    Solar Ultraviolet-B Radiation in Urban Environments: The Case of Baltimore, Maryland,,

    PHOTOCHEMISTRY & PHOTOBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2004
    Gordon M. Heisler
    Ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B, 280,320 nm) has important effects in urban areas, including those on human health. Broadband UV-B radiation is monitored in Baltimore, MD, as part of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, a long-term ecological research program. We compare broadband UV-B irradiance in Baltimore with UV-B at two nearby locations: a more rural station 64 km southeast and a suburban station 42 km southwest. The monitoring station in Baltimore is on the roof of a 33-m-tall building; there are no significant obstructions to sky view. The U.S. Department of Agriculture UV-B Monitoring and Research Program provided all sensors, which were calibrated at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Central UV Calibration Facility. UV-B irradiances at the three sites generally were similar. Over all conditions, Baltimore and the suburban site measured 3.4% less irradiance than the rural site. This difference is within the anticipated ±3% calibration uncertainty of the pyranometers. On 59 days with cloud-free conditions at all three sites, average differences in measured UV-B among the three sites were even smaller; Baltimore measured 1.2% less irradiance than the rural site. High aerosol optical thickness strongly reduced daily UV-B dose, whereas [SO2] had no influence. Surface O3 increased with increasing UV-B dose when [NO2] exceeded 10 ppb. [source]

    Advancing urban ecological studies: Frameworks, concepts, and results from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study

    AUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2006
    S. T. A. PICKETT
    Abstract Urban ecological studies have had a long history, but they have not been a component of mainstream ecology until recently. The growing interest of ecologists in urban systems provides an opportunity to articulate integrative frameworks, and identify research tools and approaches that can help achieve a broader ecological understanding of urban systems. Based on our experience in the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES), Long-term Ecological Research project, located in metropolitan Baltimore, Maryland, USA, we identify several frameworks that may be useful in comparative urban studies, and may be worthy of consideration in other integrative urban ecosystem studies: (i) spatial patch dynamics of biophysical and social factors; (ii) the watershed as an integrative tool; and (iii) the human ecosystem framework. These frameworks build on empirical research investigating urban biota, nutrient and energy budgets, ecological footprints of cities, as well as biotic classifications aimed at urban planning. These frameworks bring together perspectives, measurements, and models from biophysical and social sciences. We illustrate their application in the BES, which is designed to investigate (i) the structure and change of the urban ecosystem; (ii) the fluxes of matter, energy, capital, and population in the metropolis; and (iii) how ecological information affects the quality of the local and regional environments. Exemplary results concerning urban stream nutrient flux, the ability of riparian zones to process nitrate pollution, and the lags in the relationships between vegetation structure and socio-economic factors in specific neighbourhoods are presented. The current advances in urban ecological studies have profited greatly from the variety of integrative frameworks and tools that have been tested and applied in urban areas over the last decade. The field is poised to make significant progress as a result of ongoing conceptual and empirical consolidation. [source]