Litvak Lab
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    • New Mexico Elevation Gradient >
      • Grassland - US-Seg
      • Shrubland US-Ses
      • Juniper savanna US-Wjs
      • Pinon juniper woodland US-Mpj
      • Ponderosa pine US-Vcp
      • Subalpine mixed conifer US-Vcm
      • NEW Subalpine mixed conifer US-Vcs
    • Consequences of pinon mortality for PJ woodlands
    • Hydrologic Tipping points in semi-arid biomes
    • Species range shifts with climate change
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New Mexico Elevation Gradient of Flux Towers

Funding:                   Department of Energy, Ameriflux Management Project
Research Team:   Marcy Litvak (PI), Mikael Schlumpf, Tomer Duman, Nicholas Smith, Devon Fisher-Chavez

Objective:   We are using a network of nine eddy covariance flux tower sites that my lab group  runs, distributed across a 1500 m gradient in elevation, climate and land cover that we refer to as the New Mexico elevation gradient (NMEG) to answer these questions.   These towers are distributed in 6 biomes: C4 dominant grassland, creosote shrubland,  juniper savanna, piñon‐juniper woodland, ponderosa pine forest and subalpine mixed   conifer forest, which collectively represent about 55% of the land cover of the 4 corner states in the Southwestern US. When I started at UNM in 2006,  I assumed responsibility for 4 existing flux towers: the ponderosa pine forest and mixed conifer forest towers in the Valles Caldera National Preserve,  and the desert grassland and shrubland towers at  the Sevilleta LTER. My group improved these and built and instrumented additional towers in a juniper savanna and piñon‐juniper woodland in 2008 with funding from the  NSF‐EPSCoR Hydrology program (part of my start up package), and a grant from the USFS.  We are now going on 11 years of data from the 4 original towers, and 9‐10 years in  the other two sites. The continuous multi‐year observations across this network have allowed us to quantify the mechanisms  regulating carbon, water and energy exchange  across this wide range of semi‐arid ecosystems (e.g. Anderson‐Teixera et al. 2011), as  well as more  detailed mechanisms focusing in on ecosystem processes in one or more sites (e.g. Petrie et al. 2014, 2015; Breecker et al. 2012;  He et al. 2010,  D’Odorico et al.  2010, Stielstra et al. 2014; Perdrial et al. 2014; Harpold et al. 2015; Molotch et al. 2009).  


More info on all six of these sites available by watching the YouTube video Steven Crisp put together, clicking on pictures of each biome below, or from links off of the New Mexico Elevation Gradient header, or the Ameriflux web page link below.    
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Biomes - Ameriflux core sites

Click on the pictures below to get more information on each site

Grassland US-Seg
Shrubland US-Ses
Juniper savanna US-Wjs
Piñon-juniper US-Mpj
Ponderosa pine US-Vcp
Subalpine mixed conifer US-Vcm
Interesting Links

Ameriflux Management Project
Great video explaining Eddy Covariance by NEON
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Measurements across the gradient
Open-path eddy covariance
Micromet sensors
campaign physiological meas.
litterfall along transects
Biomass increment of trees
Destructive herbaceous
phenology
phenocams
WorldView2, LiDAR, Quickbird
Sap flow in all trees
Soil respiration
insect surveys
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  • Home
  • Research
    • New Mexico Elevation Gradient >
      • Grassland - US-Seg
      • Shrubland US-Ses
      • Juniper savanna US-Wjs
      • Pinon juniper woodland US-Mpj
      • Ponderosa pine US-Vcp
      • Subalpine mixed conifer US-Vcm
      • NEW Subalpine mixed conifer US-Vcs
    • Consequences of pinon mortality for PJ woodlands
    • Hydrologic Tipping points in semi-arid biomes
    • Species range shifts with climate change
  • Publications
  • Teaching
  • People
  • Contact
  • Links
  • Outreach