Current Projects

We are participating in a large, collaborative nutrient addition project called the Nutrient Network (NutNet)

organized by Drs. Elizabeth Borer and Eric Seabloom. The purpose of this international project is to assess

the general factors that drive community processes in herbaceous-dominated ecosystems. Nutrient

additions (N, P, and K) and grazing exclosures were implemented beginning in 2008 in order to assess

top-down (consumer) vs. bottom-up (nutrient) controls in these systems. We have set up two sites in

Kentucky that contribute data to this endeavor: one in a managed pasture (dominated by

cool-season, non-native species) located here in Lexington, and a second in a restored native

warm-season grassland in western KY. We monitor tall fescue endophyte infection frequencies at

the mananged grassland site, and levels of seed predation by rodents at both sites in addition to the full

suite of NutNet measurements (biomass, species composition, light availability, etc.). Jim Nelson is the

primary contact for this project.

Visit the NutNet webpage: http://www.nutnet.org

Managed pasture site at Spindletop Farm, Lexington, KY		Native warm-season grassland site in Auburn, KY.

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