Nutrient Network Observational Studies: How to Get a Big Bang for Your Research Buck

Grasslands worldwide are experiencing altered nutrient cycles and changes in the identity and abundance of vertebrate consumers. The Nutrient Network (NutNet) was established to address fundamental questions about the effects of these changes on the diversity and ecosystem function of herbaceous ecosystems. Collaborators in NutNet at 65 sites in 15 countries across 6 continents use standard methods to manipulate nutrients and large herbivores, measuring a host of response variables above and below ground. NutNet thus derives power of inference from utilizing consistently replicated data on a global scale.

While the experimental study is designed to be simple to implement and maintain, it requires ongoing investment from PIs. However, fundamental questions in grassland ecology also can be addressed with observational data from untreated plots. Last year two studies were published from these data. One explores the relationship between diversity and productivity and another examines the patterns of abundance of exotic species in their home and introduced ranges. More papers are in preparation and many potential studies remain. The power of these observational data to address long standing, fundamental ecological questions will grow as the network of sites expands. Collecting data from 30 plots using the standard protocol would be useful from nearly any natural herbaceous site, but especially from sites in areas currently underrepresented in NutNet. Sampling can be accomplished by a small crew in one or two field days, but this small effort can result in an enormous contribution to our understanding of grassland ecology. We invite any interested PIs to consider participating in NutNet, and are always open to collaboration.