Re: [Geology2] Granite bedrock and sequoia forests 'communicate' in the Sierra Nevada

It is appaling that our NSF funds are going to fund this new age _____ <--Your pejorative word here.  Claiming that they "Communicate" is an anthropomorphization ( if that wasn't a word it is now) of what are  physical supply and demand feedbacks in every given eco-system).  These were long known before this study tried to make rocks talk to trees and vice versa about whom was responsible for soiling up the place.

The entire article is focused on making the reader "believe" that there is a basis of "proof" in the hypothesis of this paper as to plant and rocks carrying on a conversation about who is going to grow where. It is something of a bait and switch headline and the entire summary is a "stump" speech to justify their waste of taxpayer money and hoping to get the NSF to fund their next new-age faery-tale.

Yes, there is some evidence that some plants do communicate (via chemical messenger re: synchronized blooming) but nothing in this abstract proves that the soil and plants have a "chat" about how the adjacent "plot" is going to be planted.  We know that far more seeds get scattered than ever germinate. If they germinate in scant soil then they are less-likely to grow to maturity depending on drought/freeze cycles in meager soil and how well that species is adapted for life on the edge.  This is NOT communication it is competition over scarce resources.  The tree nor the soil have a team building faculty nor could they have a say about it.  This is California not Middle Earth althought sometimes it is "Hobbit's Choice" for the difference.

As always I am happy with anything Lynn posts and for the opportunity to chime in when I think their is an defect in the content.

Eman

On Wednesday, April 16, 2014 10:32 AM, Lin Kerns <linkerns@gmail.com> wrote:

 

Granite bedrock and sequoia forests 'communicate' in the Sierra Nevada Research reveals the coevolution of life and landscapes Bald Mountain: Granite domes and conifer trees are linked in the Sierra Nevada's ecosystem. Credit and Larger Version April 3, 2014 The following is part eight in a series on the National Science Foundation's Critical Zone Observatories (CZO) Network. Parts one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven are posted on the NSF website. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? If it lands on granite bedrock, it does. But beyond the crash of timber onto rock, scientists have found that bedrock and the trees that grow from its weathered soils are, in a sense, communicating. Bedrock influences forests--and the landscapes of which they are a part--more than was thought, according to researchers funded through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Critical Zone Observatories (CZO) network. The scientists investigated the factors that influence forest cover in California's Sierra Nevada. Bedrock may be as important as temperature and moisture, they found, in regulating the distribution of trees and other vegetation across mountain slopes. Geoscientists Cliff Riebe, Jesse Hahm, Claire Lukens and Sayaka Araki of the University of Wyoming recently published results of their study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Bedrock and trees in the critical zone The research took place at the Southern Sierra CZO, one of ten NSF CZOs funded to unearth the secrets of Earth's critical zone. Critical zone research looks at how water, life, rock and air interact from the base of the soil to the top of the vegetation canopy. "The CZOs are providing scientists with new knowledge of the critical zone and its response to climate and land-use change," says Enriqueta Barrera, a program director in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences, which funds the CZO network. "They're the first systems-based observatories dedicated to understanding how Earth's surface processes are coupled," says Barrera. "The results will help us predict how the critical zone affects the ecosystem services on which society depends." The water cycle, the breakdown of rocks and eventual formation of soil, the evolution of rivers and valleys, patterns of plant growth and landforms that people see all result from processes that take place in the critical zone. CZO scientists are investigating the integration and coupling of Earth surface processes, and how they are affected by the presence of fresh water. The researchers are using field and analytical methods, space-based remote sensing and theoretical techniques. The CZOs add to the environmental sensor networks in place and planned by NSF, including EarthScope, the National Ecological Observatory Network and the Ocean Observatories Network. Scientists have known that the critical zone is a complex system in which different components interact at various space and time scales, and in which the rates of processes depend on the nature of those interactions. Until now, however, researchers have looked at the components individually, especially in the field. The CZOs allow for investigation of the critical zone as a holistic system, rather than as isolated parts. NSF CZOs are located in watersheds in the Southern Sierra Nevada; Boulder Creek in the Colorado Rockies; Susquehanna Shale Hills in Pennsylvania; Christina River Basin on the border of Delaware and Pennsylvania; Luquillo riparian zone in Puerto Rico; Jemez River and Santa Catalina Mountains in New Mexico and Arizona; Piedmont region of South Carolina; Reynolds Creek in Southwest Idaho; Eel River in Northern California; and linked Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota watersheds. Composition of bedrock limits plant growth The Southern Sierra CZO is home to extensive forests and huge exposures of granite bedrock. "We were puzzled by the patchiness of vegetation on mountain slopes," Hahm says. "Densely forested areas are right next to places with little or no trees and soil. "Strikingly, these bare areas sometimes occur side-by-side with groves of the largest trees on Earth, giant sequoias." The researchers determined that bedrock composition acts to limit plant growth. "Unexpectedly, we found that differences in bedrock composition are just as important in this ecosystem as climate," Riebe says. "That's hard to see without spatial analysis tools and integrated datasets on how vegetation and bedrock change across the landscape." Plants get some of their nutrients from weathering of minerals as bedrock breaks down into soil. Granite rock, it turns out, contains plant-essential nutrients such as phosphorus. "The results are important because they demonstrate that bedrock geochemistry is on par with climate as a regulator of vegetation in the Sierra Nevada--and likely in other granite mountain ranges around the world," Riebe says. Geology of 100 million years ago linked with biology of today Subtle differences in the cooling history of granite 100 million years ago are likely fueling the biogeochemical interactions that produce today's forest patterns. Understanding these links is at the heart of critical zone science, says Riebe. The findings also show that variations in forest cover correspond with differences in erosion rates. They appear to affect the pace at which the Sierra Nevada is wearing down due to the action of water, wind and biological processes. The results will help efforts to learn how mountain forests are responding to climate-linked changes in temperature and precipitation. "Most studies point to a shift in vegetation toward higher, cooler elevations," Riebe says. "But changes in climate may be just part of the story. "Any changes in tree distribution will occur only with the consent of the underlying bedrock." In the Sierra Nevada, rock meets life meets rock. Or life meets rock meets life. --  Cheryl Dybas, NSF (703) 292-7734 cdybas@nsf.gov Investigators Jan Hopmans Roger Bales Steven Glaser Clifford Riebe James Kirchner Martha Conklin Christina Tague Elizabeth Boyer Michael Goulden Related Institutions/Organizations University of California - Merced Related Awards #0725097 CZO: Critical Zone Observatory--Snowline Processes in the Southern Sierra Nevada Total Grants $5,853,286 Related Websites NSF awards grants for four new critical zone observatories to study Earth surface processes: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=130115 NSF Publication: Discoveries in the Critical Zone: Where Life Meets Rock: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13112/nsf13112.pdf NSF Critical Zone Observatories Network: http://criticalzone.org/national/ NSF Discovery Article: A Tree Stands in the Sierra Nevada: http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=125091&org=NSF The western Sierra Nevada has extensive forests of conifers and other trees. Credit and Larger Version Researcher Jesse Hahm collects a tree core for forest productivity analysis. Credit and Larger Version Patchiness in forest cover, scientists have discovered, is explained by bedrock geochemistry. Credit and Larger Version A granite core is extracted for geochemical analysis. Credit and Larger Version Samples of bedrock are obtained using a gas-powered, water-cooled drill. Credit and Larger Version

http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=130991&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click
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