Elsa E. Cleland Assistant Professor, Ecology, Behavior & Evolution Section University of CA, San Diego Current address: National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis 735 State St. Suite 300 Office phone: 805-892-2522 Fax: 805-892-2510 email: cleland at nceas.ucsb.edu Ph.D. Stanford University (2005) B.S. Duke University (1996) Photo at left: Stephen Francis Photography

I study the responses of plant communities and ecosystems to global environmental changes, such as nitrogen deposition, elevated CO2, and invasive species. I am also interested in strategies for restoration of native plant communities in the context of present and future environmental changes. Research areas: Impacts of nitrogen enrichment on plant communities: A cross-site synthesis of fertilization experiments at Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites Nitrogen (N) is a limiting nutrient to plant growth in many ecosystems, and human-caused N enrichment has the potential to fundamentally alter the structure and functioning of plant communities. PDT-Net (Productivity, Diversity & Traits Network) was founded to synthesize datasets from N fertilization experiments across North America , many from LTER sites. Although responses to N addition were highly variable, we found that N addition consistently increased productivity, reduced plant species diversity, and that plant species with particular functional traits (e.g. N-fixation ability, native and annual species) declined with fertilization, while others increased in dominance. Differences among responses of particular species common to several sites, as well as responses of species diversity in general, could be explained by differences in environmental context across sites. Currently, I am utilizing the PDTnet datasets to understand the relative roles of native plant functional traits versus soil nutrients on the invasion by non-native species. Cleland, E.E., C.M. Clark, S.L. Collins, J.E. Fargione, L. Gough, K.L. Gross, D.G. Milchunas, S.C. Pennings, B. Bowman, I.C. Burke, W.K. Lauenroth, P. Robertson, J. Simpson, D. Tilman & K.N. Suding (2008). Species responses to nitrogen fertilization in herbaceous plant communities, and associated species traits (Data Publication). Ecology 89:1175. Collins, S.L., K.N. Suding, E.E. Cleland, M. Batty, S.C. Pennings, K.L. Gross, J.S. Grace, L. Gough, J.E. Fargione, and C.M. Clark (2008). Rank clocks and plant community dynamics. Ecology (in press) Chalcraft, D.R., S.B. Cox, C.M. Clark, E.E. Cleland, K.N. Suding, E. Weiher & D. Pennington (2008). Nitrogen enrichment studies often overestimate plant species loss at large spatial scales: the importance of beta diversity. Ecology (in press) Clark, C.M., E.E. Cleland, S.L. Collins, J.E. Fargione, L. Gough, K.L. Gross, S.C. Pennings, K.N. Suding, & J.B. Grace (2007). Environmental and plant community determinants of species loss following nitrogen enrichment. Ecology Letters 10: 596-607. Pennings, S.C., C. M. Clark, E.E. Cleland, S. L. Collins, L. Gough, K. L. Gross, D. G. Milchunas & K. N. Suding (2005). Do individual plant species show predictable responses to nitrogen addition across multiple experiments? Oikos 110: 547-555. Suding, K. N., S. L. Collins, L. Gough, C. Clark, E.E. Cleland, K. L. Gross, D. G. Milchunas & S. Pennings (2005). Functional- and abundance-based mechanisms explain diversity loss due to N fertilization. P.N.A.S. 102: 4387-4392. Phenology and Global Change Phenology (or the timing of growth and development during the life-cycles of organisms) is an essential, and often overlooked, aspect of plant ecology. Shifts in phenology observed worldwide provides some of the most compelling evidence that global changes are already impacting species and ecosystems. During my dissertation I worked to understand how multiple aspects of global change influence plant species phenology, and the consequences for plant communities (see section below). I am continuing to investigate the importance of shifting phenology for plant communities, by collaborating with David Inouye to investigate a long-term dataset of flowering time in Rocky Mountain wildflowers. Cleland E.E., Chuine I., Menzel A., Mooney H.A. & M.D. Schwartz (2007). Shifting plant phenology in response to global change. TREE 22:357-365. pdf Cleland, E.E., N.R. Chiariello, S.R. Loarie, H.A. Mooney & C.B. Field (2006). Diverse responses of phenology to global changes in a grassland ecosystem. P.N.A.S.103(37):13740-13744. pdf Restoration at the urban-wildland interface: The role of plant traits and soil nutrients in the restoration of native plant communities along the edges of nature reserves As a post-doctoral researcher at the University of California Irvine, I worked with Prof. Katharine Suding to understand the relative roles of plant traits and soil nutrient availability in plant invasions. To do this, we have undertaken an experimental restoration of the edge of the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve (IRLR), funded jointly by the IRLR and The Nature Conservancy. Road-side edges of nature reserves are frequently invaded by non-native species, as these edges are subject to high propagule pressure, disturbance and nitrogen deposition. We hypothesized that the creation of “buffer strips” of native vegetation could limit the rate of invasion from reserve edges to reserve interiors. We seeded varying abundances of the same 20 native species representing several functional trait groupings, with the hypothesis that high functional diversity will confer invasion resistance. The seed addition treatments are factorially crossed with carbon additions, with the goal of reducing soil nitrogen availability and increasing competition for limiting nutrients between the natives and non-natives that subsequently arrive. Initial results suggest that non-native invaders are the most deterred by early-active native forbs, potentially because these species grow quickly during the start of the growing season and preempt both space and other resources so they can not be used by later arriving invaders. Cleland, E.E & K.N. Suding (2007). The role of plant traits and nitrogen availability in the success of native species restoration along roadside edges of the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve. Final Report to the Nature Conservancy and the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve 19 pages. pdf The influence of multiple, interacting global changes in a California annual-grassland ecosystem In my dissertation research I worked to understand how environmental changes altered plant community composition and ecosystem function. My dissertation investigated the consequences of experimentally simulated global changes on a grassland ecosystem in California , as part of the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment. The simulated global changes altered the cycling of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in this ecosystem, and in order to understand the mechanisms underlying these shifts, I explored the influence of community-level processes on ecosystem function. For instance, my research has investigated how shifts in plant community composition influence decomposition feedbacks to global change, how shifts in plant phenology impact the timing of primary production, how shifts in soil nutrient availability alter plant-microbe interactions, and how shifts in plant tissue chemistry alter patterns of herbivory. Peters, H.A., G. Hsu, E.E. Cleland, N.R. Chiariello, H.A. Mooney, & C.B. Field (2007). Responses of temporal distribution of gastropods to individual and combined effects of elevated CO2 and N deposition in annual grassland. Acta Oecologica 31: 343-352. Barnard, R., X. Le Roux, B. Hungate, E. Cleland, J. Blankinship, L. Barthes, P. Leadley (2006). Several components of global change alter nitrifying and denitrifying activities in an annual grassland. Functional Ecology 20:557-564. Cleland, E.E., N.R. Chiariello, S.R. Loarie, H.A. Mooney & C.B. Field (2006). Diverse responses of phenology to global changes in a grassland ecosystem. P.N.A.S.103(37):13740-13744. pdf Cleland, E.E., H.A. Peters, H.A. Mooney, & C.B. Field (2006). Gastropod herbivory in response to elevated CO2 and N deposition: impacts on plant community composition. Ecology 87:686-694. pdf Peters, H.A., E.E. Cleland, H.A. Mooney, & C.B. Field (2006). Herbivore control of annual grassland composition in current and future environments. Ecology Letters 9: 86-94 Dukes, J.S., N.R. Chiariello, E.E. Cleland, L.A. Moore, M.R. Shaw, S. Thayer, T. Tobeck, H.A. Mooney, C.B. Field (2005). Responses of grassland production to single and multiple global environmental changes. P.L.o.S. Biology 3(10): e319 Henry, H. A. L, E. E. Cleland, C. B. Field & P. M. Vitousek (2005). Interactive effects of elevated CO2, N deposition and climate change on plant litter quality in a California annual grassland. Oecologia 142: 465-473. Zavaleta E.S., M.R. Shaw, N.R. Chiariello, B.D. Thomas, E.E. Cleland, C.B. Field, & H.A. Mooney (2003). Responses of a California annual grassland community to three years of warming, elevated CO2, precipitation increase, and N deposition. Ecological Monographs, 73:585-604. Field, C.B., M.R. Shaw, H.A. Mooney, E.S. Zavaleta, N.R. Chiariello, & E.E. Cleland (2002). Assessing environmental changes in grasslands: Response. Science 299:1844-1845 Shaw, R., E.S. Zavaleta, N.R. Chiarello, E.E. Cleland, H.A. Mooney, & C.B. Field. (2002). Grassland responses to global environmental changes suppressed by elevated CO2. Science 298:1987-1990 Additional Publications Gruner, D.S., J.E. Smith, E.W. Seabloom, S.A. Sandin, J.T. Ngai, H. Hillebrand, W.S. Harpole, J.J. Elser, E.E. Cleland, M.E.S. Bracken, E.T. Borer & B.M. Bolker (2008). A cross-system synthesis of consumer and nutrient resource control on producer biomass. Ecology Letters 11:740-755. Drake, J.M., E.E. Cleland, M.C. Horner-Devine, E. Fleishman, C. Bowles, M.D. Smith, K. Carney, S. Emery, J. Gramling & D.B. Vandermast. (2008). Do Non-native plant species affect the shape of productivity-diversity relationships? The American Midland Naturalist 159: 55–66. Elser, J.J., M.E. Bracken, E.E. Cleland, D.S. Gruner, W.S. Harpole, H. Hillebrand, J.T. Ngai, E.W. Seabloom, J.B. Shurin, & J.E. Smith (2007). Global analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus limitation of primary producers in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems. Ecology Letters 10: 1115-1211. Hillebrand, H., D.S. Gruner, M.E. Bracken, E.E. Cleland, J.J. Elser, W.S. Harpole, J.T. Ngai, E.W. Seabloom, J.B. Shurin, & J.E. Smith (2007). Consumer versus resource control of producer diversity depends on ecosystem type and producer community structure. P.N.A.S. 104:10904-10909. Cleland, E. E., M. D. Smith, S. J. Andelman, C. Bowles, K. M. Carney, M. C. Horner-Devine, J. M. Drake, S. Emery and D. B. Vandermast (2004). Invasion in space and time: Non-native species richness and relative abundance respond to interannual variation in productivity and diversity. Ecology Letters 7:947-957. pdf Hayhoe, K., D. Cayan, C. B. Field, P. C. Frumhoff, E. P. Maurer, N. L. Miller, S. C. Moser, S. H. Schneider, K. N. Cahill, E. E. Cleland, L. Dale, R Drapek, R. M. Hanemann, L. S. Kalkstein, J. Lenihan, C. K. Lunch, R. P. Neilson, S. C. Sheridan, & J. H. Verville (2004). Emissions pathways, climate change, and impacts on California . P.N.A.S. 101:12422–12427. Mooney, H.A., & E.E. Cleland (2001). The evolutionary impact of invasive species. P.N.A.S. 98:5446-5451. Novacek, M. J. & E.E. Cleland (2001). The current biodiversity extinction event: Scenarios for mitigation and recovery. P.N.A.S. 98:5466-6590. von Hippel, F. A., H. Frederick & E. Cleland (2000). Population decline of the black and white colobus monkey (Colobus guereza) in the Kakamega Forest, Kenya. African Zoology 35:69-75 Links http://www.tropicalforestgroup.org/