This year the Biogeosciences section of AGU is planning to host two
isotope sessions, one focusing on biospheric fluxes to the atmosphere
(Pataki and Ehleringer) and this one (see below) focusing on ecosystem
change.  I would like to encourage you to submit an abstract!

Session in the Biogeosciences section of the American Geophysical Union
Meeting in Dec 8-12 2003 in San Francisco CA.

Ecosystems in Flux: Isotopes as Indicators of Ecosystem Change

Climate change, deterioration of air and water quality, and recent
changes in land use have threatened the health and function of many
ecosystems.  These trends are likely to continue into the future.
Isotopes have proven to be a powerful tool for detecting changes in
ecosystem function over a variety of time scales.  For example, isotopic
fluxes from ecosystems have been show to vary in response to short term
climate fluctuations within days, while isotopic records in tree rings,
ice cores, and lake sediments can indicate changes in ecosystem function
over decades to millennia.  Isotopic shifts in carbon, oxygen, nitrogen,
hydrogen, sulfur, strontium, and iron each provide unique indicators of
biogeochemical processes at scales spanning from microbial to regional,
and are particularly powerful when used in combination.  For example,
the ecosystem functions associated with carbon accumulation and storage
have received much attention recently because of the Kyoto Protocol and
global need to reduce CO2 accumulation in the atmosphere.  Isotopes are
providing new and interesting insights to the complexity of processes
controlling carbon storage within ecosystems, and how land use and land
use change can alter these processes.  Further, isotopic tools can help
elucidate recent and historic ecosystem changes, and potentially can
help separate natural variance from anthropogenic effects.  This session
will focus on isotopic indicators of ecosystem processes with particular
emphasis on ecosystem change and stability.  We especially encourage
submissions that highlight the use of multiple isotopes or multiple
timescales to understand ecosystem changes or ecosystem processes.

Abstract Due Dates:
28 August   Abstract Deadline for abstract not submitted electronically
4 September Abstract Deadline for Electronic Submissions due at 1400 UT
            0700h Pacific daylight
            1000h Eastern Daylight
****Note early time for Pacific Coast people - plan to submit Sept 3rd.
****

Session Conveners:
J. Renee Brooks
Western Ecology Division
U.S. EPA/NHEERL
200 SW 35th St.
Corvallis, OR 97333
(541) 754-4684 (Office)
(541) 754-4799 (FAX)
[log in to unmask]

Elizabeth Sulzman
Environmental Soil Science
Department of Crop and Soil Science
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331
(541) 737-8936
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