Achievement

IGERT Trainees are conducting a cross-scale examination of resilience in Great Plains ecosystems as a function of disturbance and change over space and time. The objective is to identify recurring themes within this biome in the spatial and temporal extent of disturbances and the capacity of different ecosystems to respond to those changes. Using the Dust Bowl as a case study of the consequences of degrading a system’s resilience, trainees are attempting to estimate our ability to forecast future responses of systems based on past events within a cross-scale framework. In this context, we can better understand how systems are likely to respond to predicted changes and therefore act to maintain critical functions and ecosystem services.