An International Drought Experiment (IDE) Network: The Role of LTER and ILTER

Forecast climate changes, such as warming, changes in precipitation regimes, and increased intensity and frequency of climate extremes (drought, heat waves), are expected to impact virtually all natural and managed ecosystems. Based on past research, it is clear that some ecosystems will respond more than others to these forecast climate changes, but it is unclear why ecosystems may differ in their sensitivity to climate change. Ecosystem responses to climate change have been studied primarily at individual sites, with site-specific approaches (unique methods and experimental infrastructure). Thus, our gap in understanding of why ecosystems respond differently than others to climate change may, in part, be due to a lack of truly comparable data being collected. Recently, a network of coordinated climate change (drought) experiments was proposed by Fraser et al. (Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, in press) to address the following question: “Are the effects of drought on temperate ecosystems different across study sites?” The purpose of this working group is to discuss LTER and ILTER’s potential role is such a network and to extend planning for an IDE Network.  This workshop will be open to all interested parties.