Nutrient responses to ecosystem disturbances from annual to multi-millennial timescales

Novus Research Coordination Network annual meeting report, May 2013

The Novus Network annual meeting was held at H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest in Oregon, USA, from 22 May to 24 May 2013. The topic was: ‘Nutrient responses to ecosystem disturbances from annual to multi-millennial timescales’. The 2013 workshop brought together 28 researchers from 21 institutions spread across three continents. The participants – 17 faculty members, five postdoctoral researchers and four graduate students – were chosen for variety in background, methods and research programs. All those involved focus on the questions of plant and ecosystem response to disturbance, but at a variety of temporal scales – ranging from one to million year spans. The network is open to any individual with an interest in ecosystem response to disturbance.

The goals of the network are: (1) to unify research and records of ecosystem disturbance and response across multiple timescales, from initial seasonal responses to long-term, millennial dynamics and longer; (2) to synthesize current conceptual research in the area of ecosystem disturbance and biogeochemical response; (3) to propose new methodologies; and (4) to guide young scientists.

Key words: biogeochemistry, disturbance, ecosystem dynamics, fire, pollen,
resilience, sediment.