Academic Appointments


Program Affiliations


  • Center for East Asian Studies
  • Center for Latin American Studies

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


Please see 'Short research description.'

2023-24 Courses


Graduate and Fellowship Programs


  • Biology (School of Humanities and Sciences) (Phd Program)

All Publications


  • Evidence for a historic change occurring in China Environmental Science and Technology Liu, X., Vitousek, P., Chang, Y., Zhang, W., Matson, P., Zhang, F. 2016; 50: 505-506

    View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.est.5b05972

  • The global nitrogen cycle in the twenty-first century PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Fowler, D., Coyle, M., Skiba, U., Sutton, M. A., Cape, J. N., Reis, S., Sheppard, L. J., Jenkins, A., Grizzetti, B., Galloway, J. N., Vitousek, P., Leach, A., Bouwman, A. F., Butterbach-Bahl, K., Dentener, F., Stevenson, D., Amann, M., Voss, M. 2013; 368 (1621)

    Abstract

    Global nitrogen fixation contributes 413 Tg of reactive nitrogen (Nr) to terrestrial and marine ecosystems annually of which anthropogenic activities are responsible for half, 210 Tg N. The majority of the transformations of anthropogenic Nr are on land (240 Tg N yr(-1)) within soils and vegetation where reduced Nr contributes most of the input through the use of fertilizer nitrogen in agriculture. Leakages from the use of fertilizer Nr contribute to nitrate (NO3(-)) in drainage waters from agricultural land and emissions of trace Nr compounds to the atmosphere. Emissions, mainly of ammonia (NH3) from land together with combustion related emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), contribute 100 Tg N yr(-1) to the atmosphere, which are transported between countries and processed within the atmosphere, generating secondary pollutants, including ozone and other photochemical oxidants and aerosols, especially ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) and ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4. Leaching and riverine transport of NO3 contribute 40-70 Tg N yr(-1) to coastal waters and the open ocean, which together with the 30 Tg input to oceans from atmospheric deposition combine with marine biological nitrogen fixation (140 Tg N yr(-1)) to double the ocean processing of Nr. Some of the marine Nr is buried in sediments, the remainder being denitrified back to the atmosphere as N2 or N2O. The marine processing is of a similar magnitude to that in terrestrial soils and vegetation, but has a larger fraction of natural origin. The lifetime of Nr in the atmosphere, with the exception of N2O, is only a few weeks, while in terrestrial ecosystems, with the exception of peatlands (where it can be 10(2)-10(3) years), the lifetime is a few decades. In the ocean, the lifetime of Nr is less well known but seems to be longer than in terrestrial ecosystems and may represent an important long-term source of N2O that will respond very slowly to control measures on the sources of Nr from which it is produced.

    View details for DOI 10.1098/rstb.2013.0164

    View details for Web of Science ID 000319502100013

    View details for PubMedID 23713126

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3682748

  • Long-term effects of agriculture on soil carbon pools and carbon chemistry along a Hawaiian environmental gradient 4th Conference on the Mechanisms of Organic Matter Stabilization and Destabilization (SOM) - Organic Matter Stabilization and Ecosystem Functions Cusack, D. F., Chadwick, O. A., Ladefoged, T., Vitousek, P. M. SPRINGER. 2013: 229–43
  • Irrigated taro (Colocasia esculenta) farming in North Kohala, Hawai'i sedimentology and soil nutrient analyses JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE McCoy, M. D., Ribeiro, A. T., Graves, M. W., Chadwick, O. A., Vitousek, P. M. 2013; 40 (3): 1528-1538
  • Enhanced nitrogen deposition over China NATURE Liu, X., Zhang, Y., Han, W., Tang, A., Shen, J., Cui, Z., Vitousek, P., Erisman, J. W., Goulding, K., Christie, P., Fangmeier, A., Zhang, F. 2013; 494 (7438): 459-462

    Abstract

    China is experiencing intense air pollution caused in large part by anthropogenic emissions of reactive nitrogen. These emissions result in the deposition of atmospheric nitrogen (N) in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, with implications for human and ecosystem health, greenhouse gas balances and biological diversity. However, information on the magnitude and environmental impact of N deposition in China is limited. Here we use nationwide data sets on bulk N deposition, plant foliar N and crop N uptake (from long-term unfertilized soils) to evaluate N deposition dynamics and their effect on ecosystems across China between 1980 and 2010. We find that the average annual bulk deposition of N increased by approximately 8 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare (P < 0.001) between the 1980s (13.2 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare) and the 2000s (21.1 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare). Nitrogen deposition rates in the industrialized and agriculturally intensified regions of China are as high as the peak levels of deposition in northwestern Europe in the 1980s, before the introduction of mitigation measures. Nitrogen from ammonium (NH4(+)) is the dominant form of N in bulk deposition, but the rate of increase is largest for deposition of N from nitrate (NO3(-)), in agreement with decreased ratios of NH3 to NOx emissions since 1980. We also find that the impact of N deposition on Chinese ecosystems includes significantly increased plant foliar N concentrations in natural and semi-natural (that is, non-agricultural) ecosystems and increased crop N uptake from long-term-unfertilized croplands. China and other economies are facing a continuing challenge to reduce emissions of reactive nitrogen, N deposition and their negative effects on human health and the environment.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/nature11917

    View details for Web of Science ID 000315661500034

    View details for PubMedID 23426264

  • Biological nitrogen fixation: rates, patterns and ecological controls in terrestrial ecosystems. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences Vitousek, P. M., Menge, D. N., Reed, S. C., Cleveland, C. C. 2013; 368 (1621): 20130119-?

    Abstract

    New techniques have identified a wide range of organisms with the capacity to carry out biological nitrogen fixation (BNF)-greatly expanding our appreciation of the diversity and ubiquity of N fixers-but our understanding of the rates and controls of BNF at ecosystem and global scales has not advanced at the same pace. Nevertheless, determining rates and controls of BNF is crucial to placing anthropogenic changes to the N cycle in context, and to understanding, predicting and managing many aspects of global environmental change. Here, we estimate terrestrial BNF for a pre-industrial world by combining information on N fluxes with (15)N relative abundance data for terrestrial ecosystems. Our estimate is that pre-industrial N fixation was 58 (range of 40-100) Tg N fixed yr(-1); adding conservative assumptions for geological N reduces our best estimate to 44 Tg N yr(-1). This approach yields substantially lower estimates than most recent calculations; it suggests that the magnitude of human alternation of the N cycle is substantially larger than has been assumed.

    View details for DOI 10.1098/rstb.2013.0119

    View details for PubMedID 23713117

  • Fungal endophyte communities reflect environmental structuring across a Hawaiian landscape PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Zimmerman, N. B., Vitousek, P. M. 2012; 109 (32): 13022-13027

    Abstract

    We surveyed endophytic fungal communities in leaves of a single tree species (Metrosideros polymorpha) across wide environmental gradients (500-5,500 mm of rain/y; 10-22 °C mean annual temperature) spanning short geographic distances on Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawai'i. Using barcoded amplicon pyrosequencing at 13 sites (10 trees/site; 10 leaves/tree), we found very high levels of diversity within sites (a mean of 551 ± 134 taxonomic units per site). However, among-site diversity contributed even more than did within-site diversity to the overall richness of more than 4,200 taxonomic units observed in M. polymorpha, and this among-site variation in endophyte community composition correlated strongly with temperature and rainfall. These results are consistent with suggestions that foliar endophytic fungi are hyperdiverse. They further suggest that microbial diversity may be even greater than has been assumed and that broad-scale environmental controls such as temperature and rainfall can structure eukaryotic microbial diversity. Appropriately constrained study systems across strong environmental gradients present a useful means to understand the environmental factors that structure the diversity of microbial communities.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1209872109

    View details for Web of Science ID 000307551700042

    View details for PubMedID 22837398

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3420199

  • Long-term carbon storage through retention of dissolved aromatic acids by reactive particles in soil GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY Kramer, M. G., Sanderman, J., Chadwick, O. A., Chorover, J., Vitousek, P. M. 2012; 18 (8): 2594-2605
  • Mineralogical controls on soil black carbon preservation GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES Cusack, D. F., Chadwick, O. A., Hockaday, W. C., Vitousek, P. M. 2012; 26
  • The Ahupua'a of Puanui: A Resource for Understanding Hawaiian Rain-Fed Agriculture PACIFIC SCIENCE Kagawa, A. K., Vitousek, P. M. 2012; 66 (2): 161-172

    View details for DOI 10.2984/66.2.6

    View details for Web of Science ID 000303625400006

  • The Climate Benefits of Better Nitrogen and Phosphorus Management ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Townsend, A. R., Vitousek, P. M., Houlton, B. Z. 2012; 28 (2): 85-91
  • Cyanolichens: a link between the phosphorus and nitrogen cycles in a Hawaiian montane forest JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY Benner, J. W., Vitousek, P. M. 2012; 28: 73-81
  • Agricultural potential and actualized development in Hawai'i: an airborne LiDAR survey of the leeward Kohala field system (Hawai'i Island) JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE Ladefoged, T. N., Mccoy, M. D., Asner, G. P., Kirch, P. V., Puleston, C. O., Chadwick, O. A., Vitousek, P. M. 2011; 38 (12): 3605-3619
  • Are patterns in nutrient limitation belowground consistent with those aboveground: results from a 4 million year chronosequence BIOGEOCHEMISTRY Reed, S. C., Vitousek, P. M., Cleveland, C. C. 2011; 106 (3): 323-336
  • Dependence of Forest Structure and Dynamics on Substrate Age and Ecosystem Development ECOSYSTEMS Kellner, J. R., Asner, G. P., Vitousek, P. M., Tweiten, M. A., Hotchkiss, S., Chadwick, O. A. 2011; 14 (7): 1156-1167
  • Integrated soil-crop system management for food security PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Chen, X., Cui, Z., Vitousek, P. M., Cassman, K. G., Matson, P. A., Bai, J., Meng, Q., Hou, P., Yue, S., Roemheld, V., Zhang, F. 2011; 108 (16): 6399-6404

    Abstract

    China and other rapidly developing economies face the dual challenge of substantially increasing yields of cereal grains while at the same time reducing the very substantial environmental impacts of intensive agriculture. We used a model-driven integrated soil-crop system management approach to develop a maize production system that achieved mean maize yields of 13.0 t ha(-1) on 66 on-farm experimental plots--nearly twice the yield of current farmers' practices--with no increase in N fertilizer use. Such integrated soil-crop system management systems represent a priority for agricultural research and implementation, especially in rapidly growing economies.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1101419108

    View details for Web of Science ID 000289680400020

    View details for PubMedID 21444818

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3080987

  • Vegetation Effects on Soil Organic Matter Chemistry of Aggregate Fractions in a Hawaiian Forest ECOSYSTEMS Stewart, C. E., Neff, J. C., Amatangelo, K. L., Vitousek, P. M. 2011; 14 (3): 382-397
  • Cellulose delta O-18 is an index of leaf-to-air vapor pressure difference (VPD) in tropical plants PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Kahmen, A., Sachse, D., Arndt, S. K., Tu, K. P., Farrington, H., Vitousek, P. M., Dawson, T. E. 2011; 108 (5): 1981-1986

    Abstract

    Cellulose in plants contains oxygen that derives in most cases from precipitation. Because the stable oxygen isotope composition, δ(18)O, of precipitation is associated with environmental conditions, cellulose δ(18)O should be as well. However, plant physiological models using δ(18)O suggest that cellulose δ(18)O is influenced by a complex mix of both climatic and physiological drivers. This influence complicates the interpretation of cellulose δ(18)O values in a paleo-context. Here, we combined empirical data analyses with mechanistic model simulations to i) quantify the impacts that the primary climatic drivers humidity (e(a)) and air temperature (T(air)) have on cellulose δ(18)O values in different tropical ecosystems and ii) determine which environmental signal is dominating cellulose δ(18)O values. Our results revealed that e(a) and T(air) equally influence cellulose δ(18)O values and that distinguishing which of these factors dominates the δ(18)O values of cellulose cannot be accomplished in the absence of additional environmental information. However, the individual impacts of e(a) and T(air) on the δ(18)O values of cellulose can be integrated into a single index of plant-experienced atmospheric vapor demand: the leaf-to-air vapor pressure difference (VPD). We found a robust relationship between VPD and cellulose δ(18)O values in both empirical and modeled data in all ecosystems that we investigated. Our analysis revealed therefore that δ(18)O values in plant cellulose can be used as a proxy for VPD in tropical ecosystems. As VPD is an essential variable that determines the biogeochemical dynamics of ecosystems, our study has applications in ecological-, climate-, or forensic-sciences.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1018906108

    View details for Web of Science ID 000286804700045

    View details for PubMedID 21245322

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3033288

  • Agriculture in Brazil: impacts, costs, and opportunities for a sustainable future CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY Martinelli, L. A., Naylor, R., Vitousek, P. M., Moutinho, P. 2010; 2 (5-6): 431-438
  • Erosion, Geological History, and Indigenous Agriculture: A Tale of Two Valleys ECOSYSTEMS Vitousek, P. M., Chadwick, O. A., Hilley, G., Kirch, P. V., Ladefoged, T. N. 2010; 13 (5): 782-793
  • Soil nutrient analysis of Rapa Nui gardening ARCHAEOLOGY IN OCEANIA Ladefoged, T. N., Stevenson, C. M., Haoa, S., Mulrooney, M., Puleston, C., Vitousek, P. M., Chadwick, O. A. 2010; 45 (2): 80-85
  • Top-Down Analysis of Forest Structure and Biogeochemistry across Hawaiian Landscapes PACIFIC SCIENCE Vitousek, P. M., Tweiten, M. A., Kellner, J., Hotchkiss, S. C., Chadwick, O. A., Asner, G. P. 2010; 64 (3): 359-366
  • Significant Acidification in Major Chinese Croplands SCIENCE Guo, J. H., Liu, X. J., Zhang, Y., Shen, J. L., Han, W. X., Zhang, W. F., Christie, P., Goulding, K. W., Vitousek, P. M., Zhang, F. S. 2010; 327 (5968): 1008-1010

    Abstract

    Soil acidification is a major problem in soils of intensive Chinese agricultural systems. We used two nationwide surveys, paired comparisons in numerous individual sites, and several long-term monitoring-field data sets to evaluate changes in soil acidity. Soil pH declined significantly (P < 0.001) from the 1980s to the 2000s in the major Chinese crop-production areas. Processes related to nitrogen cycling released 20 to 221 kilomoles of hydrogen ion (H+) per hectare per year, and base cations uptake contributed a further 15 to 20 kilomoles of H+ per hectare per year to soil acidification in four widespread cropping systems. In comparison, acid deposition (0.4 to 2.0 kilomoles of H+ per hectare per year) made a small contribution to the acidification of agricultural soils across China.

    View details for DOI 10.1126/science.1182570

    View details for Web of Science ID 000274625800043

    View details for PubMedID 20150447

  • Terrestrial phosphorus limitation: mechanisms, implications, and nitrogen-phosphorus interactions ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS Vitousek, P. M., Porder, S., Houlton, B. Z., Chadwick, O. A. 2010; 20 (1): 5-15

    Abstract

    Nutrient limitation to primary productivity and other biological processes is widespread in terrestrial ecosystems, and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are the most common limiting elements, both individually and in combination. Mechanisms that drive P limitation, and their interactions with the N cycle, have received less attention than mechanisms causing N limitation. We identify and discuss six mechanisms that could drive P limitation in terrestrial ecosystems. The best known of these is depletion-driven limitation, in which accumulated P losses during long-term soil and ecosystem development contribute to what Walker and Syers termed a "terminal steady state" of profound P depletion and limitation. The other mechanisms are soil barriers that prevent access to P; transactional limitation, in which weathering of P-containing minerals does not keep pace with the supply of other resources; low-P parent materials; P sinks; and anthropogenic changes that increase the supply of other resources (often N) relative to P. We distinguish proximate nutrient limitation (which occurs where additions of a nutrient stimulate biological processes, especially productivity) from ultimate nutrient limitation (where additions of a nutrient can transform ecosystems). Of the mechanisms that drive P limitation, we suggest that depletion, soil barriers, and low-P parent material often cause ultimate limitation because they control the ecosystem mass balance of P. Similarly, demand-independent losses and constraints to N fixation can control the ecosystem-level mass balance of N and cause it to be an ultimate limiting nutrient.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000275358100002

    View details for PubMedID 20349827

  • Prevalence of Tree Regeneration by Sprouting and Seeding Along a Rainfall Gradient in Hawai'i BIOTROPICA Busby, P. E., Vitousek, P., Dirzo, R. 2010; 42 (1): 80-86
  • Landscape-level variation in forest structure and biogeochemistry across a substrate age gradient in Hawaii ECOLOGY Vitousek, P., Asner, G. P., Chadwick, O. A., Hotchkiss, S. 2009; 90 (11): 3074-3086

    Abstract

    We compared forest canopy heights and nitrogen concentrations in long-term research sites and in 2 x 2 km landscapes surrounding these sites along a substrate age gradient in the Hawaiian Islands. Both remote airborne and ground-based measurements were used to characterize processes that control landscape-level variation in canopy properties. We integrated a waveform light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system, a high-resolution imaging spectrometer, and a global positioning system/inertial measurement unit to provide highly resolved images of ground topography, canopy heights, and canopy nitrogen concentrations (1) within a circle 50 m in radius focused on a long-term study site in the center of each landscape; (2) for the entire 2 x 2 km landscape regardless of land cover; and (3) after stratification, for our target cover class, native-dominated vegetation on constructional geomorphic surfaces throughout each landscape. Remote measurements at all scales yielded the same overall patterns as did ground-based measurements in the long-term sites. The two younger landscapes supported taller trees than did older landscapes, while the two intermediate-aged landscapes had higher canopy nitrogen (N) concentrations than did either young or old landscapes. However, aircraft-based analyses detected substantial variability in canopy characteristics on the landscape level, even within the target cover class. Canopy heights were more heterogeneous on the older landscapes, with coefficients of variation increasing from 23-41% to 69-78% with increasing substrate age. This increasing heterogeneity was associated with a larger patch size of canopy turnover and with dominance of most secondary successional stands by the mat-forming fern Dicranopteris linearis in the older landscapes.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000271457300011

    View details for PubMedID 19967863

  • Opportunities and constraints for intensive agriculture in the Hawaiian archipelago prior to European contact JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE Ladefoged, T. N., Kirch, P. V., Gon, S. M., Chadwick, O. A., Hartshorn, A. S., Vitousek, P. M. 2009; 36 (10): 2374-2383
  • Changing sources of strontium to soils and ecosystems across the Hawaiian Islands Annual Fall American-Geophysical-Union Meeting Chadwick, O. A., Derry, L. A., Bern, C. R., Vitousek, P. M. ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. 2009: 64–76
  • Sources of nutrients to windward agricultural systems in pre-contact Hawai'i ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS Palmer, M. A., Graves, M., Ladefoged, T. N., Chadwick, O. A., Duarte, T. K., Porder, S., Vitousek, P. M. 2009; 19 (6): 1444-1453

    Abstract

    Prior to European contact in 1778, Hawaiians developed intensive irrigated pondfield agricultural systems in windward Kohala, Hawai'i. We evaluated three potential sources of nutrients to windward systems that could have sustained intensive agriculture: (1) in situ weathering of primary and secondary minerals in upland soils; (2) rejuvenation of the supply of rock-derived nutrients on eroded slopes and in alluvium; and (3) transport of rock-derived nutrients to crops via irrigation water. Our results show that most windward soils are infertile and suggest that weathering of minerals within upland soils was insufficient to sustain intensive agriculture without substantial cultural inputs. Erosion enhances weathering and so increases nutrient supply, with soils of the largest alluvial valleys (>200 m deep) retaining 37% of calcium from parent material (compared to 2% in upland sites). However, soils of smaller valleys that also supported pre-contact agricultural systems are substantially less enriched. Isotopic 87Sr/86Sr analyses of stream water demonstrate that at low to moderate stream flow over 90% of dissolved strontium derives from weathering of basalt rather than deposition of atmospheric sources; most other dissolved cations also derive from basalt weathering. We calculate that irrigation water could have supplied approximately 200 kg ha(-1) yr(-1) of calcium to pondfield systems, nearly 100 times more than was supplied by weathering in soils on stable geomorphic surfaces. In effect, irrigation waters brought nutrients from rocks to the windward crops.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000269075200007

    View details for PubMedID 19769093

  • Agriculture. Nutrient imbalances in agricultural development. Science Vitousek, P. M., Naylor, R., Crews, T., David, M. B., Drinkwater, L. E., Holland, E., Johnes, P. J., KATZENBERGER, J., Martinelli, L. A., Matson, P. A., Nziguheba, G., Ojima, D., Palm, C. A., Robertson, G. P., Sanchez, P. A., Townsend, A. R., Zhang, F. S. 2009; 324 (5934): 1519-1520

    View details for DOI 10.1126/science.1170261

    View details for PubMedID 19541981

  • Contrasting Predictors of Fern versus Angiosperm Decomposition in a Common Garden BIOTROPICA Amatangelo, K. L., Vitousek, P. M. 2009; 41 (2): 154-161
  • Nitrogen in Agriculture: Balancing the Cost of an Essential Resource ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCES Robertson, G. P., Vitousek, P. M. 2009; 34: 97-125
  • Stoichiometry of ferns in Hawaii: implications for nutrient cycling OECOLOGIA Amatangelo, K. L., Vitousek, P. M. 2008; 157 (4): 619-627

    Abstract

    We asked if element concentrations in ferns differ systematically from those in woody dicots in ways that could influence ecosystem properties and processes. Phylogenetically, ferns are deeply separated from angiosperms; for our analyses we additionally separated leptosporangiate ferns into polypod ferns, a monophyletic clade of ferns which radiated after the rise of angiosperms, and all other leptosporangiate (non-polypod) ferns. We sampled both non-polypod and polypod ferns on a natural fertility gradient and within fertilized and unfertilized plots in Hawaii, and compared our data with shrub and tree samples collected previously in the same plots. Non-polypod ferns in particular had low Ca concentrations under all conditions and less plasticity in their N and P stoichiometry than did polypod ferns or dicots. Polypod ferns were particularly rich in N and P, with low N:P ratios, and their stoichiometry varied substantially in response to differences in nutrient availability. Distinguishing between these two groups has the potential to be useful both in and out of Hawaii, as they have distinct properties which can affect ecosystem function. These differences could contribute to the widespread abundance of polypod ferns in an angiosperm-dominated world, and to patterns of nutrient cycling and limitation in sites where ferns are abundant.

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s00442-008-1108-9

    View details for Web of Science ID 000259191000007

    View details for PubMedID 18649088

  • A unifying framework for dinitrogen fixation in the terrestrial biosphere NATURE Houlton, B. Z., Wang, Y., Vitousek, P. M., Field, C. B. 2008; 454 (7202): 327-U34

    Abstract

    Dinitrogen (N(2)) fixation is widely recognized as an important process in controlling ecosystem responses to global environmental change, both today and in the past; however, significant discrepancies exist between theory and observations of patterns of N(2) fixation across major sectors of the land biosphere. A question remains as to why symbiotic N(2)-fixing plants are more abundant in vast areas of the tropics than in many of the mature forests that seem to be nitrogen-limited in the temperate and boreal zones. Here we present a unifying framework for terrestrial N(2) fixation that can explain the geographic occurrence of N(2) fixers across diverse biomes and at the global scale. By examining trade-offs inherent in plant carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus capture, we find a clear advantage to symbiotic N(2) fixers in phosphorus-limited tropical savannas and lowland tropical forests. The ability of N(2) fixers to invest nitrogen into phosphorus acquisition seems vital to sustained N(2) fixation in phosphorus-limited tropical ecosystems. In contrast, modern-day temperatures seem to constrain N(2) fixation rates and N(2)-fixing species from mature forests in the high latitudes. We propose that an analysis that couples biogeochemical cycling and biophysical mechanisms is sufficient to explain the principal geographical patterns of symbiotic N(2) fixation on land, thus providing a basis for predicting the response of nutrient-limited ecosystems to climate change and increasing atmospheric CO(2).

    View details for DOI 10.1038/nature07028

    View details for Web of Science ID 000257665300037

    View details for PubMedID 18563086

  • Invasive plants transform the three-dimensional structure of rain forests PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Asner, G. P., Hughes, R. F., Vitousek, P. M., Knapp, D. E., Kennedy-Bowdoin, T., Boardman, J., Martin, R. E., Eastwood, M., Green, R. O. 2008; 105 (11): 4519-4523

    Abstract

    Biological invasions contribute to global environmental change, but the dynamics and consequences of most invasions are difficult to assess at regional scales. We deployed an airborne remote sensing system that mapped the location and impacts of five highly invasive plant species across 221,875 ha of Hawaiian ecosystems, identifying four distinct ways that these species transform the three-dimensional (3D) structure of native rain forests. In lowland to montane forests, three invasive tree species replace native midcanopy and understory plants, whereas one understory invader excludes native species at the ground level. A fifth invasive nitrogen-fixing tree, in combination with a midcanopy alien tree, replaces native plants at all canopy levels in lowland forests. We conclude that this diverse array of alien plant species, each representing a different growth form or functional type, is changing the fundamental 3D structure of native Hawaiian rain forests. Our work also demonstrates how an airborne mapping strategy can identify and track the spread of certain invasive plant species, determine ecological consequences of their proliferation, and provide detailed geographic information to conservation and management efforts.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.0710811105

    View details for Web of Science ID 000254263300079

    View details for PubMedID 18316720

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2393775

  • Amplified temperature dependence in ecosystems developing on the lava flows of Mauna Loa, Hawai'i PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Anderson-Teixeira, K. J., Vitousek, P. M., Brown, J. H. 2008; 105 (1): 228-233

    Abstract

    Through its effect on individual metabolism, temperature drives biologically controlled fluxes and transformations of energy and materials in ecological systems. Because primary succession involves feedbacks among multiple biological and abiotic processes, we expected it to exhibit complex dynamics and unusual temperature dependence. We present a model based on first principles of chemical kinetics to explain how biologically mediated temperature dependence of "reactant" concentrations can inflate the effective temperature dependence of such processes. We then apply this model to test the hypothesis that the temperature dependence of early primary succession is amplified due to more rapid accumulation of reactants at higher temperatures. Using previously published data from the lava flows of Mauna Loa, HI, we show that rates of vegetation and soil accumulation as well as rates of community compositional change all display amplified temperature dependence (Q(10) values of approximately 7-50, compared with typical Q(10) values of 1.5-3 for the constituent biological processes). Additionally, in young ecosystems, resource concentrations increase with temperature, resulting in inflated temperature responses of biogeochemical fluxes. Mauna Loa's developing ecosystems exemplify how temperature-driven, biologically mediated gradients in resource availability can alter the effective temperature dependence of ecological processes. This mechanistic theory should contribute to understanding the complex effects of temperature on the structure and dynamics of ecological systems in a world where regional and global temperatures are changing rapidly.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.0710214104

    View details for Web of Science ID 000252435300044

    View details for PubMedID 18156366

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2224191

  • Morella cerifera invasion and nitrogen cycling on a lowland Hawaiian lava flow BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS Kurten, E. L., Snyder, C. P., Iwata, T., Vitousek, P. M. 2008; 10 (1): 19-24
  • Development of a diverse epiphyte community in response to phosphorus fertilization ECOLOGY LETTERS Benner, J. W., Vitousek, P. M. 2007; 10 (7): 628-636

    Abstract

    The role of terrestrial soil nutrient supply in determining the composition and productivity of epiphyte communities has been little investigated. In a montane Hawaiian rainforest, we documented dramatic increases in the abundance and species richness of canopy epiphytes in a forest that had been fertilized annually with phosphorus (P) for 15 years; there was no response in forest that had been fertilized with nitrogen (N) or other nutrients. The response of N-fixing lichens to P fertilization was particularly strong, although mosses and non-N-fixing lichens also increased in abundance and diversity. We show that enhancement of canopy P availability is the most likely factor driving the bloom in epiphytes. These results provide strong evidence that terrestrial soil fertility may structure epiphyte communities, and in particular that the abundance of N-fixing lichens--a functionally important epiphyte group--may be particularly sensitive to ecosystem P availability.

    View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01054.x

    View details for Web of Science ID 000247123900009

    View details for PubMedID 17542941

  • Soil phosphorus and agricultural development in the leeward Kohala Field System, Island of Hawai'i PACIFIC SCIENCE Meyer, M., Ladefoged, T. N., Vitousek, P. M. 2007; 61 (3): 347-353
  • Resource-use efficiency and plant invasion in low-resource systems NATURE Funk, J. L., Vitousek, P. M. 2007; 446 (7139): 1079-1081

    Abstract

    No species can maximize growth, reproduction and competitive ability across all environments, so the success of invasive species is habitat-dependent. Nutrient-rich habitats often experience more invasion than resource-poor habitats, a pattern consistent with traits generally associated with successful invaders (high growth rates, early reproduction and many offspring). However, invaders do colonize resource-poor environments, and the mechanisms that allow their success in these systems are poorly understood. Traits associated with resource conservation are widespread among species adapted to resource-poor environments, and invasive species may succeed in low-resource environments by employing resource conservation traits such as high resource-use efficiency (RUE; carbon assimilation per unit of resource). We investigated RUE in invasive and native species from three habitats in Hawaii where light, water or nutrient availability was limiting to plant growth. Here we show that across multiple growth forms and broad taxonomic diversity invasive species were generally more efficient than native species at using limiting resources on short timescales and were similarly efficient when RUE measures were integrated over leaf lifespans. Our data challenge the idea that native species generally outperform invasive species under conditions of low resource availability, and suggest that managing resource levels is not always an effective strategy for invasive species control.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/nature05719

    View details for Web of Science ID 000245950400049

    View details for PubMedID 17460672

  • Risky business: Temporal and spatial variation in preindustrial dryland agriculture HUMAN ECOLOGY Lee, C. T., Tuljapurkar, S., Vitousek, P. M. 2006; 34 (6): 739-763
  • Interactive effects of fire, elevated carbon dioxide, nitrogen deposition, and precipitation on a California annual grassland ECOSYSTEMS Henry, H. A., Chiariello, N. R., Vitousek, P. M., Mooney, H. A., Field, C. B. 2006; 9 (7): 1066-1075
  • Prehistoric agricultural depletion of soil nutrients in Hawai'i PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Hartshorn, A. S., Chadwick, O. A., Vitousek, P. M., Kirch, P. V. 2006; 103 (29): 11092-11097

    Abstract

    We investigated the fate of soil nutrients after centuries of indigenous dryland agriculture in Hawai'i using a coupled geochemical and archaeological approach. Beginning approximately 500 years ago, farmers began growing dryland taro and sweet potato on the leeward slopes of East Maui. Their digging sticks pierced a subsurface layer of cinders, enhancing crop access to the soil water stored below the intact cinders. Cultivation also catalyzed nutrient losses, directly by facilitating leaching of mobile nutrients after disturbing a stratigraphic barrier to vertical water movement, and indirectly by increasing mineral weathering and subsequent uptake and harvest. As a result, centuries of cultivation lowered volumetric total calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and phosphorus content by 49%, 28%, 75%, 37%, and 32%, respectively. In the absence of written records, we used the difference in soil phosphorus to estimate that prehistoric yields were sufficient to meet local demand over very long time frames, but the associated acceleration of nutrient losses could have compromised subsequent yields.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.0604594103

    View details for Web of Science ID 000239327200049

    View details for PubMedID 16832047

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC1544177

  • Business strategies for conservation on private lands: Koa forestry as a case study PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Goldstein, J. H., Daily, G. C., Friday, J. B., Matson, P. A., Naylor, R. A. 2006; 103 (26): 10140-10145

    Abstract

    Innovative financial instruments are being created to reward conservation on private, working lands. Major design challenges remain, however, to make investments in biodiversity and ecosystem services economically attractive and commonplace. From a business perspective, three key financial barriers for advancing conservation land uses must frequently be addressed: high up-front costs, long time periods with no revenue, and high project risk due to long time horizons and uncertainty. We explored ways of overcoming these barriers on grazing lands in Hawaii by realizing a suite of timber and conservation revenue streams associated with their (partial) reforestation. We calculated the financial implications of alternative strategies, focusing on Acacia koa ("koa") forestry because of its high conservation and economic potential. Koa's timber value alone creates a viable investment (mean net present value = $453/acre), but its long time horizon and poor initial cash flow pose formidable challenges for landowners. At present, subsidy payments from a government conservation program targeting benefits for biodiversity, water quality, and soil erosion have the greatest potential to move landowners beyond the tipping point in favor of investments in koa forestry, particularly when combined with future timber harvest (mean net present value = $1,661/acre). Creating financial mechanisms to capture diverse ecosystem service values through time will broaden opportunities for conservation land uses. Governments, nongovernmental organizations, and private investors have roles to play in catalyzing this transition by developing new revenue streams that can reach a broad spectrum of landowners.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.0600391103

    View details for Web of Science ID 000238872900070

    View details for PubMedID 16782816

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC1502519

  • Agricultural intensification: Will land spared from farming be land spared for nature? CONSERVATION BIOLOGY Matson, P. A., Vitousek, P. M. 2006; 20 (3): 709-710
  • Persistence of rock-derived nutrients in the wet tropical forests of La Selva, Costa Rica ECOLOGY Porder, S., Clark, D. A., Vitousek, P. M. 2006; 87 (3): 594-602

    Abstract

    We used strontium isotopes and analysis of foliar and soil nutrients to test whether erosion can rejuvenate the supply of rock-derived nutrients in the lowland tropical rain forest of La Selva, Costa Rica. We expected that these nutrients would be depleted from soils on stable surfaces, a result of over one million years of weathering in situ. In fact, trees and palms in all landscape positions derive a relatively high percentage (> or =40%) of their strontium from bedrock, rather than atmospheric, sources. The fraction that is rock-derived increases on slopes, but with no detectable effect on plant macronutrient concentrations. These results differ from those in a similar ecosystem on Kauai, Hawaii, where plants on uneroded surfaces derive almost all of their foliar Sr from atmospheric, rather than bedrock, sources. The results from La Selva challenge the assumption that tropical Oxisols in general have low nutrient inputs from bedrock, and support the hypothesis that erosion can increase the supply of these nutrients in lower landscape positions.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000236289600008

    View details for PubMedID 16602289

  • Interactive effects of elevated CO2, N deposition and climate change on extracellular enzyme activity and soil density fractionation in a California annual grassland GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY Henry, H. A., Juarez, J. D., Field, C. B., Vitousek, P. M. 2005; 11 (10): 1808-1815
  • Ground-based and remotely sensed nutrient availability across a tropical landscape PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Porder, S., Asner, G. P., Vitousek, P. M. 2005; 102 (31): 10909-10912

    Abstract

    Tropical soils often are assumed to be highly weathered and thus nutrient-depleted, but this prediction applies primarily to geomorphically stable surfaces. Topography complicates the assumption of nutrient depletion, because erosion can enhance the supply of nutrients to tropical ecosystems. Consequently, understanding nutrient availability across landscapes requires a spatially explicit assessment of the relative strength of depletion and enhancement. We document the relationship between foliar nutrients and topographic position across a 20-km(2), 4- to 5-million-year-old eroded landscape in Kaua'i, Hawai'i, and use this relationship to build a bottom-up map of predicted nutrient availability across this landscape. Only approximately 17% of the landscape is nutrient-poor, mostly on stable uplands; nutrient availability on slopes and valley bottoms is much higher, in some cases similar to the most fertile montane forests in the Hawaiian Islands. This pattern was corroborated by top-down remote sensing of area-integrated canopy phosphorus concentrations.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.0504929102

    View details for Web of Science ID 000231102400033

    View details for PubMedID 16040798

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC1182458

  • Ca cycling and isotopic fluxes in forested ecosystems in Hawaii GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Wiegand, B. A., Chadwick, O. A., Vitousek, P. M., Wooden, J. L. 2005; 32 (11)
  • Remote analysis of biological invasion and biogeochemical change PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Asner, G. P., Vitousek, P. M. 2005; 102 (12): 4383-4386

    Abstract

    We used airborne imaging spectroscopy and photon transport modeling to determine how biological invasion altered the chemistry of forest canopies across a Hawaiian montane rain forest landscape. The nitrogen-fixing tree Myrica faya doubled canopy nitrogen concentrations and water content as it replaced native forest, whereas the understory herb Hedychium gardnerianum reduced nitrogen concentrations in the forest overstory and substantially increased aboveground water content. This remote sensing approach indicates the geographic extent, intensity, and biogeochemical impacts of two distinct invaders; its wider application could enhance the role of remote sensing in ecosystem analysis and management.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.0500823102

    View details for Web of Science ID 000227854800030

    View details for PubMedID 15761055

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC554001

  • Erosion and landscape development affect plant nutrient status in the Hawaiian Islands OECOLOGIA Porder, S., Paytan, A., Vitousek, P. M. 2005; 142 (3): 440-449

    Abstract

    We quantified variation in plant nutrient concentrations and provenance along catenas in landscapes of three different ages (0.15, 1.4, and 4.1 ma) in the Hawaiian Islands. Strontium (Sr) isotopes demonstrate that erosion provides a renewed source of rock-derived nutrients to slopes in landscapes of all ages, in some cases reversing a million years of ecosystem development in a distance of 100 m. However the effects of this input vary with landscape age. Plants on uneroded surfaces in a 0.15-ma landscape derive approximately 20% of their Sr from local bedrock (foliar 87Sr/86Sr approximately 0.7085), while on adjacent slopes this increases to approximately 80% (foliar 87Sr/86Sr approximately 0.7045). Despite this shift in provenance, foliar N and P do not vary systematically with slope position. Conversely, eroded slopes in a 4.1-ma landscape show smaller increases in rock-derived cations relative to stable uplands (foliar 87Sr/86Sr approximately 0.7075 vs 0.7090), but have >50% higher foliar N and P. These results demonstrate both that erosion can greatly increase nutrient availability in older landscapes, and that the ecological effects of erosion vary with landscape age. In addition, there can be as much biogeochemical variation on fine spatial scales in eroding landscapes as there is across millions of years of ecosystem development on stable surfaces.

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s00442-004-1743-8

    View details for Web of Science ID 000226357400012

    View details for PubMedID 15538635

  • Interactive effects of elevated CO2, N deposition and climate change on plant litter quality in a California annual grassland OECOLOGIA Henry, H. A., Cleland, E. E., Field, C. B., Vitousek, P. M. 2005; 142 (3): 465-473

    Abstract

    Although global changes can alter ecosystem nutrient dynamics indirectly as a result of their effects on plant litter quality, the interactive effects of global changes on plant litter remain largely unexplored in natural communities. We investigated the effects of elevated CO2, N deposition, warming and increased precipitation on the composition of organic compounds in plant litter in a fully-factorial experiment conducted in a California annual grassland. While lignin increased within functional groups under elevated CO2, this effect was attenuated by warming in grasses and by water additions in forbs. CO2-induced increases in lignin within functional groups also were counteracted by an increase in the relative biomass of forbs, which contained less lignin than grasses. Consequently, there was no net change in the overall lignin content of senesced tissue at the plot level under elevated CO2. Nitrate additions increased N in both grass and forb litter, although this effect was attenuated by water additions. Relative to changes in N within functional groups, changes in functional group dominance had a minor effect on overall litter N at the plot level. Nitrate additions had the strongest effect on decomposition, increasing lignin losses from Avena litter and interacting with water additions to increase decomposition of litter of other grasses. Increases in lignin that resulted from elevated CO2 had no effect on decomposition but elevated CO2 increased N losses from Avena litter. Overall, the interactions among elements of global change were as important as single-factor effects in influencing plant litter chemistry. However, with the exception of variation in N, litter quality had little influence on decomposition over the short term.

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s00442-004-1713-1

    View details for PubMedID 15558326

  • Imaging spectroscopy studies of Hawaniian ecosystems, carbon properties, and disturbance Conference on Image Processing and Pattern Recognition in Remote Sensing II Asner, G. P., Vitousek, P. M. SPIE-INT SOC OPTICAL ENGINEERING. 2005: 1–8

    View details for DOI 10.1117/12.588738

    View details for Web of Science ID 000227661700001

  • Rapid nutrient cycling in leaf litter from invasive plants in Hawai'i OECOLOGIA Allison, S. D., Vitousek, P. M. 2004; 141 (4): 612-619

    Abstract

    Physiological traits that contribute to the establishment and spread of invasive plant species could also have impacts on ecosystem processes. The traits prevalent in many invasive plants, such as high specific leaf areas, rapid growth rates, and elevated leaf nutrient concentrations, improve litter quality and should increase rates of decomposition and nutrient cycling. To test for these ecosystem impacts, we measured initial leaf litter properties, decomposition rates, and nutrient dynamics in 11 understory plants from the Hawaiian islands in control and nitrogen + phosphorus fertilized plots. These included five common native species, four of which were ferns, and six aggressive invasive species, including five angiosperms and one fern. We found a 50-fold variation in leaf litter decay rates, with natives decaying at rates of 0.2-2.3 year(-1) and invaders at 1.4-9.3 year(-1). This difference was driven by very low decomposition rates in native fern litter. Fertilization significantly increased the decay rates of leaf litter from two native and two invasive species. Most invasive litter types lost nitrogen and phosphorus more rapidly and in larger quantities than comparable native litter types. All litter types except three native ferns lost nitrogen after 100 days of decomposition, and all litter types except the most recalcitrant native ferns lost >50% of initial phosphorus by the end of the experiment (204-735 days). If invasive understory plants displace native species, nutrient cycling rates could increase dramatically due to rapid decomposition and nutrient release from invasive litter. Such changes are likely to cause a positive feedback to invasion in Hawai'i because many invasive plants thrive on nutrient-rich soils.

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s00442-004-1679-z

    View details for Web of Science ID 000224999800007

    View details for PubMedID 15549401

  • Environment, agriculture, and settlement patterns in a marginal Polynesian landscape PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Kirch, P. V., Hartshorn, A. S., Chadwick, O. A., Vitousek, P. M., Sherrod, D. R., Coil, J., Holm, L., Sharp, W. D. 2004; 101 (26): 9936-9941

    Abstract

    Beginning ca. A.D. 1400, Polynesian farmers established permanent settlements along the arid southern flank of Haleakala Volcano, Maui, Hawaiian Islands; peak population density (43-57 persons per km(2)) was achieved by A.D. 1700-1800, and it was followed by the devastating effects of European contact. This settlement, based on dryland agriculture with sweet potato as a main crop, is represented by >3,000 archaeological features investigated to date. Geological and environmental factors are the most important influence on Polynesian farming and settlement practices in an agriculturally marginal landscape. Interactions between lava flows, whose ages range from 3,000 to 226,000 years, and differences in rainfall create an environmental mosaic that constrained precontact Polynesian farming practices to a zone defined by aridity at low elevation and depleted soil nutrients at high elevation. Within this productive zone, however, large-scale agriculture was concentrated on older, tephra-blanketed lava flows; younger flows were reserved for residential sites, small ritual gardens, and agricultural temples.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.0403470101

    View details for Web of Science ID 000222405600075

    View details for PubMedID 15210963

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC470777

  • Soils, agriculture, and society in precontact Hawai SCIENCE Vitousek, P. M., Ladefoged, T. N., Kirch, P. V., Hartshorn, A. S., Graves, M. W., Hotchkiss, S. C., Tuljapurkar, S., Chadwick, O. A. 2004; 304 (5677): 1665-1669

    Abstract

    Before European contact, Hawai'i supported large human populations in complex societies that were based on multiple pathways of intensive agriculture. We show that soils within a long-abandoned 60-square-kilometer dryland agricultural complex are substantially richer in bases and phosphorus than are those just outside it, and that this enrichment predated the establishment of intensive agriculture. Climate and soil fertility combined to constrain large dryland agricultural systems and the societies they supported to well-defined portions of just the younger islands within the Hawaiian archipelago; societies on the older islands were based on irrigated wetland agriculture. Similar processes may have influenced the dynamics of agricultural intensification across the tropics.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000221934300049

    View details for PubMedID 15192228

  • Erosion and the rejuvenation of weathering-derived nutrient supply in an old tropical landscape ECOSYSTEMS Vitousek, P., Chadwick, O., Matson, P., Allison, S., Derry, L., Kettley, L., Luers, A., Mecking, E., Monastra, V., Porder, S. 2003; 6 (8): 762-772
  • Polyphenols in litter from tropical montane forests across a wide range in soil fertility BIOGEOCHEMISTRY Hattenschwiler, S., Hagerman, A. E., Vitousek, P. M. 2003; 64 (1): 129-148
  • Nitrogen fixation in bryophytes, lichens, and decaying wood along a soil-age gradient in Hawaiian montane rain forest BIOTROPICA Matzek, V., Vitousek, P. 2003; 35 (1): 12-19
  • An unexpected nitrate decline in New Hampshire streams ECOSYSTEMS Goodale, C. L., Aber, J. D., Vitousek, P. M. 2003; 6 (1): 75-86
  • Stoichiometry and flexibility in the Hawaiian model system Conference on Element Interactions Vitousek, P. M. ISLAND PRESS. 2003: 117–133
  • Interactions of climate change with biological invasions and land use in the Hawaiian Islands: Modeling the fate of endemic birds using a geographic information system PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Benning, T. L., Lapointe, D., Atkinson, C. T., Vitousek, P. M. 2002; 99 (22): 14246-14249

    Abstract

    The Hawaiian honeycreepers (Drepanidae) represent a superb illustration of evolutionary radiation, with a single colonization event giving rise to 19 extant and at least 10 extinct species [Curnutt, J. & Pimm, S. (2001) Stud. Avian Biol. 22, 15-30]. They also represent a dramatic example of anthropogenic extinction. Crop and pasture land has replaced their forest habitat, and human introductions of predators and diseases, particularly of mosquitoes and avian malaria, has eliminated them from the remaining low- and mid-elevation forests. Landscape analyses of three high-elevation forest refuges show that anthropogenic climate change is likely to combine with past land-use changes and biological invasions to drive several of the remaining species to extinction, especially on the islands of Kauai and Hawaii.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000178967400052

    View details for PubMedID 12374870

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC137869

  • Soil phosphorus fractions and symbiotic nitrogen fixation across a substrate-age gradient in Hawaii ECOSYSTEMS Pearson, H. L., Vitousek, P. M. 2002; 5 (6): 587-596
  • Towards an ecological understanding of biological nitrogen fixation BIOGEOCHEMISTRY Vitousek, P. M., Cassman, K., Cleveland, C., Crews, T., Field, C. B., Grimm, N. B., Howarth, R. W., Marino, R., Martinelli, L., Rastetter, E. B., SPRENT, J. I. 2002; 57 (1): 1-45
  • Nitrogen and nature 2nd International Nitrogen Conference Vitousek, P. M., Hattenschwiler, S., Olander, L., Allison, S. ROYAL SWEDISH ACAD SCIENCES. 2002: 97–101

    Abstract

    Anthropogenic changes to the global N cycle are important in part because added N alters the composition, productivity, and other properties of many natural ecosystems substantially. Why does added N have such a large impact? Why is N in short supply in so many natural ecosystems? Processes that slow the cycling of N relative to other elements and processes that control ecosystem-level inputs and outputs of N could cause N supply to limit the dynamics of ecosystems. We discuss stoichiometric differences between terrestrial plants and other organisms, the abundance of protein-precipitating plant defenses, and the nature of the C-N bond in soil organic matter as factors that can slow N cycling. For inputs, the energetic costs of N fixation and their consequences, the supply of nutrients other than N, and preferential grazing on N-fixers all could constrain the abundance and/or activity of biological N-fixers. Together these processes drive and sustain N limitation in many natural terrestrial ecosystems.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000175937500007

    View details for PubMedID 12078015

  • Stand dynamics, nitrogen accumulation, and symbiotic nitrogen fixation in regenerating stands of Acacia koa ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS Pearson, H. L., Vitousek, P. M. 2001; 11 (5): 1381-1394
  • Resource optimization and symbiotic nitrogen fixation ECOSYSTEMS Rastetter, E. B., Vitousek, P. M., Field, C., Shaver, G. R., Herbert, D., AGREN, G. I. 2001; 4 (4): 369-388
  • Organic matter and nitrogen accumulation and nitrogen fixation during early ecosystem development in Hawaii BIOGEOCHEMISTRY Crews, T. E., Kurina, L. M., Vitousek, P. M. 2001; 52 (3): 259-279
  • Potential ecosystem-level effects of genetic variation among populations of Metrosideros polymorpha from a soil fertility gradient in Hawaii OECOLOGIA Treseder, K. K., Vitousek, P. M. 2001; 126 (2): 266-275

    Abstract

    This study assessed intrinsic differences in tissue quality and growth rate among populations of Metrosideros polymorpha native to sites with a range of soil fertilities. We collected seedlings from three Hawaiian mesic forests that were either phosphorus-limited, nitrogen-limited, or relatively fertile. These individuals were grown in a common garden under a factorial high/low, N/P fertilization regime for 1.5 years and then harvested to determine genetic divergence; aboveground growth rate; and lignin, N, and P concentrations in leaves and roots. Allozyme analyses indicated that the three groups had genetically diverged to some degree (genetic distance = 0.036-0.053 among populations). Relative growth rate did not differ significantly among the populations. Senescent leaves from the fertile-site population had the highest N concentrations (due to low N resorption) and had lower lignin concentrations than plants from the N-limited site. Across treatments, P concentrations in senescent leaves were highest in plants from the fertile and P-limited site. Root tissue quality did not generally differ significantly among populations. Since decomposition rate of senescent leaves in this system is related positively to N concentration and negatively to lignin concentration, senescent leaves from the fertile-site population may have a genetic tendency toward faster decay than the others. The intrinsic qualities of the three populations may provide positive feedbacks on nutrient cycling at each site-nutrient availability may be raised to some degree at the fertile site, and reduced at the N- or P-limited sites. Our results suggest that even a small degree of genetic differentiation among groups can influence traits related to nutrient cycling.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000166494800015

  • Morphological and physiological adjustment to N and P fertilization in nutrient-limited Metrosideros polymorpha canopy trees in Hawaii TREE PHYSIOLOGY Cordell, S., Goldstein, G., Meinzer, F. C., Vitousek, P. M. 2001; 21 (1): 43-50

    Abstract

    Leaf-level studies of Metrosideros polymorpha Gaud. (Myrtaceae) canopy trees at both ends of a substrate age gradient in the Hawaiian Islands pointed to differential patterns of adjustment to both nutrient limitation and removal of this limitation by long-term (8-14 years) nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and N + P fertilizations. The two study sites were located at the same elevation, had similar annual precipitation, and supported forests dominated by M. polymorpha, but differed in the age of the underlying volcanic substrate, and in soil nutrient availability, with relatively low N at the young site (300 years, Thurston, Hawaii) and relatively low P at the oldest site (4,100,000 years, Kokee, Kauai). Within each site, responses to N and P fertilization were similar, regardless of the difference in soil N and P availability between sites. At the young substrate site, nutrient addition led to a larger mean leaf size (about 7.4 versus 4.8 cm2), resulting in a larger canopy leaf surface area. Differences in foliar N and P content, chlorophyll concentrations and carboxylation capacity between the fertilized and control plots were small. At the old substrate site, nutrient addition led to an increase in photosynthetic rate per unit leaf surface area from 4.5 to 7.6 micromol m(-2) s(-1), without a concomitant change in leaf size. At this site, leaves had substantially greater nutrient concentrations, chlorophyll content and carboxylation capacity in the fertilized plots than in the control plots. These contrasting acclimation responses to fertilization at the young and old sites led to significant increases in total carbon gain of M. polymorpha canopy trees at both sites. At the young substrate site, acclimation to fertilization was morphological, resulting in larger leaves, whereas at the old substrate site, physiological acclimation resulted in higher leaf carboxylation capacity and chlorophyll content.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000166771400006

    View details for PubMedID 11260823

  • Cattle grazing, forest loss, and fuel loading in a dry forest ecosystem at Pu'u Wa'aWa'a ranch, Hawai'i BIOTROPICA Blackmore, M., Vitousek, P. M. 2000; 32 (4): 625-632
  • Climate cycles, geomorphological change, and the interpretation of soil and ecosystem development ECOSYSTEMS Hotchkiss, S., Vitousek, P. M., Chadwick, O. A., Price, J. 2000; 3 (6): 522-533
  • Changes in asymbiotic, heterotrophic nitrogen fixation on leaf litter of Metrosideros polymorpha with long-term ecosystem development in Hawaii ECOSYSTEMS Crews, T. E., Farrington, H., Vitousek, P. M. 2000; 3 (4): 386-395
  • Nutrient limitation of decomposition in Hawaiian forests ECOLOGY Hobbie, S. E., Vitousek, P. M. 2000; 81 (7): 1867-1877
  • The role of polyphenols in terrestrial ecosystem nutrient cycling TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION Hattenschwiler, S., Vitousek, P. M. 2000; 15 (6): 238-243

    Abstract

    Interspecific variation in polyphenol production by plants has been interpreted in terms of defense against herbivores. Several recent lines of evidence suggest that polyphenols also influence the pools and fluxes of inorganic and organic soil nutrients. Such effects could have far-ranging consequences for nutrient competition among and between plants and microbes, and for ecosystem nutrient cycling and retention. The significance of polyphenols for nutrient cycling and plant productivity is still uncertain, but it could provide an alternative or complementary explanation for the variability in polyphenol production by plants.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000087160800008

  • Consequences of changing biodiversity NATURE Chapin, F. S., Zavaleta, E. S., Eviner, V. T., Naylor, R. L., Vitousek, P. M., Reynolds, H. L., Hooper, D. U., Lavorel, S., Sala, O. E., Hobbie, S. E., Mack, M. C., Diaz, S. 2000; 405 (6783): 234-242

    Abstract

    Human alteration of the global environment has triggered the sixth major extinction event in the history of life and caused widespread changes in the global distribution of organisms. These changes in biodiversity alter ecosystem processes and change the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change. This has profound consequences for services that humans derive from ecosystems. The large ecological and societal consequences of changing biodiversity should be minimized to preserve options for future solutions to global environmental problems.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000087080100061

    View details for PubMedID 10821284

  • Precipitation, decomposition and litter decomposability of Metrosideros polymorpha in native forests on Hawai'i JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY Austin, A. T., Vitousek, P. M. 2000; 88 (1): 129-138
  • Global change and wilderness science Wilderness Science in a Time of Change Conference Vitousek, P. M., Aber, J. D., Goodale, C. L., Aplet, G. H. US DEPT AGR, FOREST SERV ROCKY MT FOREST & RANGE EXPTL STN. 2000: 5–9
  • Decomposition of Metrosideros polymorpha leaf litter along elevational gradients in Hawaii GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY Scowcroft, P. G., Turner, D. R., Vitousek, P. M. 2000; 6 (1): 73-85
  • Deliberate introductions of species: Research needs - Benefits can be reaped, but risks are high BIOSCIENCE Ewel, J. J., O'Dowd, D. J., Bergelson, J., Daehler, C. C., D'Antonio, C. M., Gomez, L. D., Gordon, D. R., Hobbs, R. J., Holt, A., Hopper, K. R., Hughes, C. E., LaHart, M., Leakey, R. R., Lee, W. G., Loope, L. L., Lorence, D. H., Louda, S. M., Lugo, A. E., McEvoy, P. B., Richardson, D. M., Vitousek, P. M. 1999; 49 (8): 619-630
  • The globalization of N deposition: ecosystem consequences in tropical environments BIOGEOCHEMISTRY Matson, P. A., McDowell, W. H., Townsend, A. R., Vitousek, P. M. 1999; 46 (1-3): 67-83
  • Ecosystem constraints to symbiotic nitrogen fixers: a simple model and its implications BIOGEOCHEMISTRY Vitousek, P. M., Field, C. B. 1999; 46 (1-3): 179-202
  • Changing sources of nutrients during four million years of ecosystem development NATURE Chadwick, O. A., Derry, L. A., Vitousek, P. M., Huebert, B. J., Hedin, L. O. 1999; 397 (6719): 491-497
  • Microclimate change and effect on fire following forest-grass conversion in seasonally dry tropical woodland BIOTROPICA Freifelder, R. R., Vitousek, P. M., D'Antonio, C. M. 1998; 30 (2): 286-297
  • Nutrient dynamics on a precipitation gradient in Hawai'i OECOLOGIA Austin, A. T., Vitousek, P. M. 1998; 113 (4): 519-529
  • Ecosystem development on Hawaiian lava flows: biomass and species composition JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE Aplet, G. H., Hughes, R. F., Vitousek, P. M. 1998; 9 (1): 17-26
  • Experimental investigation of nutrient limitation of forest growth on wet tropical mountains ECOLOGY Tanner, E. V., Vitousek, P. M., Cuevas, E. 1998; 79 (1): 10-22
  • The effects of plant composition and diversity on ecosystem processes SCIENCE Hooper, D. U., Vitousek, P. M. 1997; 277 (5330): 1302-1305
  • Human domination of Earth's ecosystems SCIENCE Vitousek, P. M., Mooney, H. A., Lubchenco, J., Melillo, J. M. 1997; 277 (5325): 494-499
  • After the volcano NATURAL HISTORY Vitousek, P. M. 1997; 106 (5): 48-53
  • On regression and residuals: Response to Knops et al. OECOLOGIA Vitousek, P. M. 1997; 110 (4): 557-559
  • Process modeling of controls on nitrogen trace gas emissions from soils worldwide JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES Potter, C. S., Matson, P. A., Vitousek, P. M., Davidson, E. A. 1996; 101 (D1): 1361-1377
  • SUCCESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF A HAWAIIAN MONTANE GRASSLAND BIOTROPICA KARPA, D. M., Vitousek, P. M. 1994; 26 (1): 2-11
  • LEAF MORPHOLOGY ALONG ENVIRONMENTAL GRADIENTS IN HAWAIIAN METROSIDEROS-POLYMORPHA BIOTROPICA GEESKE, J., Aplet, G., Vitousek, P. M. 1994; 26 (1): 17-22
  • FACTORS CONTROLLING ECOSYSTEM STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION Symposium on Factors of Soil Formation: A 50th Anniversary Retrospective, held during the 1991 Annual Meeting of the Soil-Science-Society-of-America Vitousek, P. M. SOIL SCIENCE SOC AMER. 1994: 87–97
  • TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM PRODUCTION - A PROCESS MODEL-BASED ON GLOBAL SATELLITE AND SURFACE DATA GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES Potter, C. S., Randerson, J. T., Field, C. B., Matson, P. A., Vitousek, P. M., Mooney, H. A., Klooster, S. A. 1993; 7 (4): 811-841
  • BARRIERS TO SHRUB REESTABLISHMENT FOLLOWING FIRE IN THE SEASONAL SUBMONTANE ZONE OF HAWAII OECOLOGIA Hughes, F., Vitousek, P. M. 1993; 93 (4): 557-563

    Abstract

    Introduced grass species have invaded extensive areas of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and increased the size and frequency of fire. Following fire, grass cover is enhanced while native shrub cover is reduced; the reduction in most shrubs persists for at least 20 years even in the absence of fire. Shrub seedlings were planted in burned and unburned plots with and without grass cover. Biomass of 14 month old shrub seedlings was generally highest in recently burned/grass removed plots, intermediate in old burn/grass removed plots, and lowest in unburned/grass removed plots. In contrast, shrub biomass in plots with grass cover was low and did not differ significantly among burn treatments. Light competition is likely to be responsible for differences in shrub growth rates; grass cover reduced light to 1-10% of background levels. In addition, pool sizes of available soil N were highest in recently burned, intermediate in old burn, and lowest in unburned areas.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1993KW41400014

  • BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM BIOGEOCHEMISTRY Symposium on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function Vitousek, P. M., Hooper, D. U. SPRINGER-VERLAG BERLIN. 1993: 3–14
  • NUTRIENT LIMITATIONS TO PLANT-GROWTH DURING PRIMARY SUCCESSION IN HAWAII-VOLCANOS-NATIONAL-PARK BIOGEOCHEMISTRY Vitousek, P. M., Walker, L. R., WHITEAKER, L. D., Matson, P. A. 1993; 23 (3): 197-215
  • PROCESSES REGULATING SOIL EMISSIONS OF NO AND N2O IN A SEASONALLY DRY TROPICAL FOREST ECOLOGY Davidson, E. A., Matson, P. A., Vitousek, P. M., Riley, R., Dunkin, K., GARCIAMENDEZ, G., Maass, J. M. 1993; 74 (1): 130-139
  • TROPICAL SOILS COULD DOMINATE THE SHORT-TERM CARBON-CYCLE FEEDBACKS TO INCREASED GLOBAL TEMPERATURES CLIMATIC CHANGE Townsend, A. R., Vitousek, P. M., Holland, E. A. 1992; 22 (4): 293-303
  • TROPICAL FORESTS AND TRACE GASES - POTENTIAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN TROPICAL BIOLOGY AND THE ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES BIOTROPICA Vitousek, P. M., Matson, P. A. 1992; 24 (2): 233-239
  • THE MAUNA-LOA ENVIRONMENTAL MATRIX - FOLIAR AND SOIL NUTRIENTS OECOLOGIA Vitousek, P. M., Aplet, G., Turner, D., LOCKWOOD, J. J. 1992; 89 (3): 372-382

    Abstract

    The accumulation of total carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in soils, available soil nutrients, and foliar nutrients in the native dominant Metrosideros polymorpha were determined across a wide elevational range on 9 lava flows on Mauna Loa, Hawai'i. The flows included a young (<140 y) and an old (>2800 y) áá (rough surface texture) and pāhoehoe (smooth) flow on the wet east and dry northwest side of the mountain. Soil element pools and nutrient availability increased with flow age independent of climate. The dry sites accumulated organic matter and nutrients more slowly than comparable wet sites, but relative nutrient availability to plants (as indicated by soil assays and foliar nutrients) was greater in the dry sites. Accumulation of soil organic matter and nutrients occurred most rapidly in lowerelevation sites on the young flows, but the largest accumulations occurred at higher elevations on old flows. The range of sites sampled represents a complete and largely independent matrix of major factors governing ecosystem structure and function.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1992HJ15300010

  • ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION AND NUTRIENT BUDGETS - A CITATION-CLASSIC COMMENTARY ON ECOSYSTEM SUCCESSION AND NUTRIENT RETENTION - A HYPOTHESIS BY VITOUSEK,P.M. AND REINERS,W.A. CURRENT CONTENTS/AGRICULTURE BIOLOGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Vitousek, P. M., Reiners, W. A. 1991: 10-10
  • SOIL EMISSIONS OF NITRIC-OXIDE IN A SEASONALLY DRY TROPICAL FOREST OF MEXICO JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES Davidson, E. A., Vitousek, P. M., Matson, P. A., Riley, R., GARCIAMENDEZ, G., Maass, J. M. 1991; 96 (D8): 15439-15445
  • NITROGEN TRANSFORMATIONS AND NITROUS-OXIDE FLUX IN A TROPICAL DECIDUOUS FOREST IN MEXICO OECOLOGIA GARCIAMENDEZ, G., Maass, J. M., Matson, P. A., Vitousek, P. M. 1991; 88 (3): 362-366

    Abstract

    Emissions of nitrous oxide and soil nitrogen pools and transformations were measured over an annual cycle in two forests and one pasture in tropical deciduous forest near Chamela, México. Nitrous oxide flux was moderately high (0.5-2.5 ng cm-2 h-1) during the wet season and low (<0.3 ng cm-2 h-1) during the dry season. Annual emissions of nitrogen as nitrous oxide were calculated to be 0.5-0.7 kg ha-1 y-1, with no substantial difference between the forests and pasture. Wetting of dry soil caused a large but short-lived pulse of N2O flux that accounted for <2% of annual flux. Variation in soil water through the season was the primary controlling factor for pool sizes of ammonium and nitrate, nitrogen transformations, and N2O flux.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1991GP20700009

  • ECOSYSTEM APPROACH TO A GLOBAL NITROUS-OXIDE BUDGET BIOSCIENCE Matson, P. A., Vitousek, P. M. 1990; 40 (9): 667-671
  • SOURCES OF VARIATION IN NITROUS-OXIDE FLUX FROM AMAZONIAN ECOSYSTEMS JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES Matson, P. A., Vitousek, P. M., Livingston, G. P., SWANBERG, N. A. 1990; 95 (D10): 16789-16798
  • BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS AND ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES - TOWARDS AN INTEGRATION OF POPULATION BIOLOGY AND ECOSYSTEM STUDIES OIKOS Vitousek, P. M. 1990; 57 (1): 7-13
  • VARIATION IN FOLIAR DELTA-C-13 IN HAWAIIAN METROSIDEROS-POLYMORPHA - A CASE OF INTERNAL RESISTANCE OECOLOGIA Vitousek, P. M., Field, C. B., Matson, P. A. 1990; 84 (3): 362-370

    Abstract

    Sun leaves of Metrosideros polymorpha were collected in 51 sites on 9 lava flows that represented gradients of elevation, precipitation, substrate age, and substrate texture on Mauna Loa volcano, Hawai'i. Leaf mass per unit leaf area increased with increasing elevation on all flows, while foliar nitrogen concentration decreased with increasing elevation and increased with increasing substrate age. Foliar δ(13)C became less negative with increasing elevation on the wet east-side lava flows, but not the dry northwest-side flows; it did not reflect patterns of precipitation or presumed water availability. δ(13)C was very strongly correlated with leaf mass per area across all of the sites. Limited gas-exchange information suggested that calculated ci/ca did not decrease with elevation in association with less-negative δ(13)C, and photosynthesis per unit of nitrogen was significantly reduced in high-elevation plants. These results are consistent with a substantial internal resistance to CO2 diffusion in the thick Metrosideros polymorpha leaves in high elevation sites.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1990EC00700009

  • NITROGEN AVAILABILITY AND NITRIFICATION DURING SUCCESSION - PRIMARY, SECONDARY, AND OLD-FIELD SERES PLANT AND SOIL Vitousek, P. M., Matson, P. A., VANCLEVE, K. 1989; 115 (2): 229-239
  • FOLIAR N-15 NATURAL ABUNDANCE IN HAWAIIAN RAINFOREST - PATTERNS AND POSSIBLE MECHANISMS OECOLOGIA Vitousek, P. M., Shearer, G., Kohl, D. H. 1989; 78 (3): 383-388

    Abstract

    Foliar samples were obtained from symbiotic nitrogen-fixers and control plants (non-fixers) along elevational and primary successional gradients in volcanic sites in Hawai'i. Most control plants had negative δ15N values (range-10.1 to +0.7‰), while most nitrogen-fixers were near 0‰. Foliar 15N in the native tree Metrosideros polymorpha did not vary with elevation (from sea level to tree-line), but it did increase substantially towards 0‰ on older soils. The soil in an 197-yr-old site had a δ15N value of approximately-2‰, while in a ∼67000-yr-old site it was +3.6‰. We suggest that inputs of 15N-depleted nitrogen from precipitation coupled with very low nitrogen outputs cause the strongly negative δ15N values in non-nitrogen-fixing plants on early successional sites.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1989T479200014

  • Nitrous oxide flux following tropical land clearing Global Biogeochemical Cycles Luizao, F., Matson, P., Livingston, G., Luizao, R., Vitousek, P. 1989; 3: 281-285

    View details for DOI 10.1029/gb003i003p00281

  • NITROUS-OXIDE FLUX AND NITROGEN TRANSFORMATIONS ACROSS A LANDSCAPE GRADIENT IN AMAZONIA JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES Livingston, G. P., Vitousek, P. M., Matson, P. A. 1988; 93 (D2): 1593-1599
  • ELEMENT INTERACTIONS IN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS - SUCCESSION, ALLOMETRY AND INPUT-OUTPUT BUDGETS BIOGEOCHEMISTRY Vitousek, P. M., Fahey, T., Johnson, D. W., Swift, M. J. 1988; 5 (1): 7-34
  • ELEVATIONAL AND AGE GRADIENTS IN HAWAIIAN MONTANE RAINFOREST - FOLIAR AND SOIL NUTRIENTS OECOLOGIA Vitousek, P. M., Matson, P. A., Turner, D. R. 1988; 77 (4): 565-570

    Abstract

    Soils and plants were sampled along an elevational gradient from 265-1675 m on a 133-and a 3100-year-old lava flow on Mauna Loa, Hawai'i. Soil organic matter and nutrients accumulated more rapidly at low elevation on the young flow, but reached higher levels at higher elevation on the old flow. Foliar nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were less and specific leaf weight greater for Metrosideros polymorpha leaves collected at high versus low elevations and on the young versus the old flow. Foliar δ13C was strongly correlated with specific leaf weight across the range of sites sampled.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1988R443600019

  • NITROGEN TRANSFORMATIONS IN A RANGE OF TROPICAL FOREST SOILS SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY Vitousek, P. M., Matson, P. A. 1988; 20 (3): 361-367
  • EXCHANGE OF MATERIALS BETWEEN TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS AND THE ATMOSPHERE SCIENCE Mooney, H. A., Vitousek, P. M., Matson, P. A. 1987; 238 (4829): 926-932

    Abstract

    Many biogenic trace gases are increasing in concentration or flux or both in the atmosphere as a consequence of human activities. Most of these gases have demonstrated or potential effects on atmospheric chemistry, climate, and the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Focused studies of the interactions between the atmosphere and the biosphere that regulate trace gases can improve both our understanding of terrestrial ecosystems and our ability to predict regional-and global-scale canges in atmospheric chemistry.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1987K781000026

    View details for PubMedID 17829357

  • BIOLOGICAL INVASION BY MYRICA-FAYA ALTERS ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT IN HAWAII SCIENCE Vitousek, P. M., Walker, L. R., WHITEAKER, L. D., MUELLERDOMBOIS, D., Matson, P. A. 1987; 238 (4828): 802-804

    Abstract

    The exotic nitrogen-fixing tree Myrica faya invades young volcanic sites where the growth of native plants is limited by a lack of nitrogen. Myrica quadruples the amount of nitrogen entering certain sites and increases the overall biological availability of nitrogen, thereby altering the nature of ecosystem development after volcanic eruptions.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1987K681000034

    View details for PubMedID 17814707

  • INTRODUCED SPECIES IN HAWAII - BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION Vitousek, P. M., Loope, L. L., STONE, C. P. 1987; 2 (7): 224-227

    Abstract

    The articles in this volume illustrate that the Hawaiian islands are perhaps the most extraordinary living museum of evolution on the planet. However, Hawaii's value as a museum has diminished as the products of millions of years of evolutionary radiation have been lost to habitat destruction and biological invasions by exotic species. Human-caused habitat destruction can largely be controlled in parks and preserves, but exotic species do not respect park boundaries and can degrade native communities within protected areas. On the other hand, invasions by exotic species provide a dynamic laboratory of ecological processes at the same time as they erode the value of the evolutionary museum.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1987J338200012

    View details for PubMedID 21227856

  • DIFFERENCES IN EXTRACTABLE PHOSPHORUS AMONG SOILS OF THE LA SELVA BIOLOGICAL STATION, COSTA-RICA BIOTROPICA Vitousek, P. M., Denslow, J. S. 1987; 19 (2): 167-170
  • NITROGEN TRANSFORMATIONS FOLLOWING TROPICAL FOREST FELLING AND BURNING ON A VOLCANIC SOIL ECOLOGY Matson, P. A., Vitousek, P. M., Ewel, J. J., Mazzarino, M. J., Robertson, G. P. 1987; 68 (3): 491-502
  • Cross-system comparisons of soil nitrogen transformationas and nitrous oxide flux in tropical forest ecosystems Global Biogeochemical Cycles Matson, P. A., Vitousek, P. M. 1987; 1: 163-170

    View details for DOI 10.1029/gb001i002p00163

  • NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS AVAILABILITY IN TREEFALL GAPS OF A LOWLAND TROPICAL RAIN-FOREST JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY Vitousek, P. M., Denslow, J. S. 1986; 74 (4): 1167-1178
  • HUMAN APPROPRIATION OF THE PRODUCTS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS BIOSCIENCE Vitousek, P. M., Ehrlich, P. R., EHRLICH, A. H., Matson, P. A. 1986; 36 (6): 368-373
  • THE RESPONSE OF PLANTS TO ELEVATED CO2 .2. 2 DECIDUOUS-FOREST TREE COMMUNITIES OECOLOGIA Williams, W. E., Garbutt, K., Bazzaz, F. A., Vitousek, P. M. 1986; 69 (3): 454-459
  • DISTURBANCE, NITROGEN AVAILABILITY, AND NITROGEN LOSSES IN AN INTENSIVELY MANAGED LOBLOLLY-PINE PLANTATION ECOLOGY Vitousek, P. M., Matson, P. A. 1985; 66 (4): 1360-1376
  • FINE-ROOT BIOMASS AND NUTRIENT CYCLING IN ARISTIDA-STRICTA IN A NORTH-CAROLINA COASTAL-PLAIN SAVANNA CANADIAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY-REVUE CANADIENNE DE BOTANIQUE SATERSON, K. A., Vitousek, P. M. 1984; 62 (4): 823-829
  • MECHANISMS OF NITROGEN-RETENTION IN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS - A FIELD EXPERIMENT SCIENCE Vitousek, P. M., Matson, P. A. 1984; 225 (4657): 51-52

    Abstract

    Intensive forest management led to elevated losses of nitrogen from a recently harvested loblolly pine plantation in North Carolina. Measurements of nitrogen-15 retention in the field demonstrated that microbial uptake of nitrogen during the decomposition of residual organic material was the most important process retaining nitrogen. Management practices that remove this material cause increased losses of nitrogen to aquatic ecosystems and the atmosphere.

    View details for Web of Science ID A1984SX61000030

    View details for PubMedID 17775660