Protocols

Measurement of plant species-specific cover, identification of focal species, and collection of plant biomass and functional traits including specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content.

Comprehensive measurement of vegetative traits including specific leaf area, trichome density, water use efficiency, and percent water content from field-collected leaves using scanning, drying, weigh...

Microscopic assessment of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization and other fungal colonization of plant roots using crosshair intercept method and grid line-intercept method for soil fungi.

Systematic monitoring of plant disease dynamics across elevation gradient to capture environmental variation effects. Involves establishment of standardized transects with complete plant population ma...

Surface sterilization of plant tissues followed by DNA extraction and high-throughput sequencing of the ITS region to characterize fungal endophyte communities. Community composition and diversity met...

Infrared heaters suspended above experimental plots to simulate warming effects on montane vegetation communities across moisture gradients. Heating power adjusted over time to maintain consistent war...

Continuous automated monitoring of soil temperature, moisture, and gas concentrations at multiple depths using sensor arrays. Provides high-resolution temporal data on soil microenvironmental conditio...

Continuous collection of local weather data at 5-minute intervals throughout growing seasons to capture fine-scale environmental variation affecting disease dynamics.

Systematic point count surveys conducted along an elevational gradient to assess current species distributions. Each site has four sampling points with standardized observation periods, replicated acr...

29-year experimental warming using overhead infrared radiators to increase soil temperature by 2°C in subalpine grassland plots. Heat flux of 22 W/m² applied continuously from 1991-2019.

Standardized measurement of floral reflectance spectra using fiber optic probe positioned at fixed distance and angle from flower surface. Spectra collected across 300-700 nm range for input into visu...

A novel approach to measure light response curves for entire plant communities rather than individual plants using tent-based gas exchange measurements across multiple light levels. This method contro...

Calculation of multiple phylogenetic diversity metrics for plant communities using established phylogenetic trees and null model approaches to test for phylogenetic clustering or overdispersion.

Complete census of all individual plants in gridded plots with spatial mapping, tissue sampling, and photosynthetic area measurement for metabolic rate estimation in herbaceous plant communities.

Multi-parameter assessment of beaver pond physical characteristics including area, depth, flow velocity, and beaver activity indicators to control for habitat differences in community analyses.

Application of METE mathematical framework to predict species-area relationships and species-abundance distributions based on community state variables and entropy maximization principles.

Measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence using LI-600 to assess photosynthetic efficiency by quantifying light emission from chlorophyll molecules excited by solar radiation.

Collection of soil inocula from resident (high elevation) and novel (low elevation) sites across elevation gradients in mountain ecosystems, with subsequent sterilization treatments to isolate microbi...

Systematic measurement of plant morphological characteristics (leaf number, leaf area, stalk count, etc.) before plant extraction to develop predictive relationships with total plant biomass. Differen...

Nested sampling design to construct species-area relationships across multiple spatial scales by subdividing plots into equal-area quadrats and averaging species counts across equivalent areas.

Factorial greenhouse experiment testing effects of soil inoculum source and sterilization on alpine grass growth, traits, and fungal colonization. Plants grown in standardized sand-inoculum mixtures w...

Standard bird capture protocol using Potter's traps baited with seed, followed by individual banding and morphological measurements for population monitoring and identification.

A controlled field experiment transplanting grass species across elevational gradients with manipulated fungal soil communities to test effects of plant-fungi mismatches on plant performance during cl...

Multivariate analysis technique to quantify community responses over time. Treatment weights indicate response magnitude and species weights show individual taxa responses.

Complete excavation of plants followed by separation into above-ground, below-ground, and reproductive components, with subsequent drying and weighing to determine biomass allocation patterns.

Continuous infrared thermal imaging of vegetation plots at 5-second intervals from sunrise to sunset using elevated FLIR cameras to capture leaf temperature dynamics across environmental gradients.

Systematic collection and spectrophotometric analysis of flowers across elevation gradients to quantify color variation. Targets pollinator-visible flower regions and converts reflectance to pollinato...

Photographs of soil pit faces are overlaid with 1×1 cm grids to systematically score presence or absence of fine and coarse roots in each grid cell, providing depth-resolved estimates of root spatial ...

Quantitative analysis of the relationship between sapsucker damage patterns on aspen trees and proximity to willow habitat, using distance measurements and damage assessment.

Random plot establishment along elevational gradients followed by soil coring and root extraction to quantify coarse and fine root biomass allocation patterns. Ground cover composition is estimated to...

Vegetation composition and diversity are compared between paired 1m² plots with and without Castilleja presence to assess community-level effects of parasitism. Plots are positioned as close as possib...

Field experiment testing seed germination of different genotypes/treatments in natural microhabitats of related species to assess niche requirements and differentiation.

Standard gravimetric determination of soil moisture content using oven-drying method at 100°C for 24 hours with 2mm sieving to remove rocks and organic debris.

Standardized protocol for determining dry mass of plant tissues through controlled oven drying at 60°C for 48 hours followed by precision weighing to calculate dry matter content and mass ratios.

Systematic presentation of conspecific, heterospecific competitor, and control songs to territorial males followed by standardized behavioral observation and scoring. Uses randomized treatment order w...

Opportunistic collection of adult and larval mosquitoes across elevational gradients using standardized collection techniques. Adults collected during blood-feeding attempts, larvae sampled from diver...

Seeds were treated with Benomyl fungicide at 4°C to remove endophytic fungi, creating endophyte-free plants for comparison with naturally endophyte-positive and endophyte-negative plants.

Measurement of distances from bird survey points to nearest riparian features using aerial photography, field measurements, and GIS analysis to quantify habitat proximity effects.

Method for extracting and analyzing historical herbarium specimen data to reconstruct the life and career patterns of past collectors, including temporal and spatial analysis of collecting activities.

Systematic sampling of lichen cover and species composition along fixed 1-meter transects on rock surfaces, with digital photography and image analysis for precise measurement of lichen thallus length...

Extraction of iron and manganese from sediments using 0.5 N HCl with hydroxylamine hydrochloride in anaerobic conditions, followed by ICP-AES analysis. This method targets metals associated with reduc...

Standard measurements of bird morphology including wing chord, tail length, tarsus length, and body condition assessment. Birds banded with color combinations and USGS bands for individual identificat...

Collection of adult mosquitoes during blood-seeking behavior and other activities to complement larval surveys and confirm species identifications.

Root systems around Castilleja plants are excavated, cleaned, and examined microscopically to identify haustorium-host connections for direct detection of parasitic relationships. Host species are ide...

Comprehensive measurement of nest tree characteristics and landscape context including tree size, nest height, cavity orientation, and distances to key habitat features. Multi-scale habitat characteri...

Controlled temperature treatments from 15-65°C applied to detached leaves for 1 hour, with temperature ramped at 2°C/hour. Used to determine lethal temperature thresholds via electrolyte leakage measu...

Systematic collection of soils and seeds across elevational gradients spanning current and projected future species ranges to capture natural variation in soil microbial communities and plant populati...

Systematic measurement of slope and aspect at grid cell centers using compass and clinometer with clipboard to minimize micro-scale surface variation effects.

Mixed-bed ion-exchange resin bags deployed at 5 cm soil depth to assess NO3-N and NH4-N availability. Resins are extracted with KCl and analyzed using flow injection autoanalyzer.

Field identification of lichen species using chemical spot tests with potassium hydroxide, morphological examination with hand lens, and comparison to field guide keys.