The United States' use of coal results in many environmental alterations. In the Appalachian coal belt region, one widespread alteration is conversion of forest to reclaimed mineland. The goal of this study was to quantify the changes to ecosystem structure and function associated with a conversion from forest to reclaimed mine grassland by comparing a small watershed containing a 15-year-old reclaimed mine with a forested, reference watershed in western Maryland. Major differences were apparent between the two watersheds in terms of biogeochemistry. Total C, N, and P pools were all substantially lower at the mined site, mainly due to the removal of woody biomass but also, in the case of P, to reductions in soil pools. Mineral soil C, N, and P pools were 96%, 79%, and 69% of native soils, respectively. Although annual runoff from the watersheds was similar, the mined watershed exhibited taller, narrower storm peaks as a result of a higher soil bulk density and decreased infiltration rates. Stream export of N was much lower in the mined watershed due to lower net nitrification rates and nitrate concentrations in soil. However, stream export of sediment and P and summer stream temperature were much higher. Stream leaf decomposition was reduced and macroinvertebrate community structure was altered as a result of these changes to the stream environment. This land use change leads to substantial, long-term changes in ecosystem capital and function.

Total leaf production, vertical foliage profiles, and the timing of leaf production and loss were compared in fertilized and unfertilized 3-year-old sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.) saplings. Nitrogen (N) fertilization increased total leaf area and mass through increased leaf size rather than changes in leaf number or specific leaf mass. Both the vertical and temporal distribution of foliage shifted in response to N. Fertilization increased leaf area primarily in the mid- to upper crown. The midheight of the tree crowns shifted upward throughout the season as leaf abscission occurred from the base to the top of the tree and acropetally along the branches. Peak leaf display occurred in July regardless of N supply. However, fertilized trees had twice the leaf area of the unfertilized trees by early autumn. Leaf area production and loss were modeled separately as a function of fertilization and crown height and the equations combined to model temporal changes in leaf area display.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the nitrogen (N) biogeochemistry of an 18-22 year old forested watershed in western Maryland. We hypothesized that this watershed should not exhibit symptoms of N saturation. This watershed was a strong source of nitrate (NO 3 À ) to the stream in all years, with a mean annual export of 9.5 kg N ha À1 year À1 and a range of 4.4-18.4 kg N ha À1 year À1 . During the 2001 and 2002 water years, wet deposition of inorganic N was 9.0 kg N ha À1 year À1 and 6.3 kg N ha À1 year À1 , respectively. Watershed N export rates in 2001 and 2002 water years were 4.2 kg N ha À1 year À1 and 5.3 kg N ha À1 year À1 , respectively. During the wetter water years of 2003 and 2004, the watershed exported 15.0 kg N ha À1 year À1 and 18.4 kg N ha À1 year À1 , rates that exceeded annual wet deposition of N by a factor of two (7.5 kg N ha À1 year À1 in 2003) and three (5.5 kg N ha À1 year À1 in 2004). Consistent with the high rates of N export, were high concentrations (2.1-3.3%) of N in foliage, wood (0.3%) and fine roots, low C:N ratios in the forest floor (17-24) and mineral soil (14), high percentages (83-96%) of the amount of mineralized N that was nitrified and elevated N concentrations (up to 3 mg N l À1 ) in soil solution. Although this watershed contained a young aggrading forest, it exhibited several symptoms of N saturation commonly observed in more mature forests.

Ecologists at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) are well positioned to form collaborative networks and make transformative contributions to the study and teaching of ecology. The spatial and temporal complexity of ecological phenomena rewards a collaborative research approach. A network of PUI ecologists can incorporate closely supervised data collection into undergraduate courses, thereby generating data across spatial gradients to answer crucial questions. These data can offer unprecedented insight into fine-and large-scale spatial processes for publications, resource management, and policy decisions. Undergraduate students benefit from the collaborative research experience as they gain experiential learning in team building, project design, implementation, data collection, and analysis. With appropriate funding, collaborative networks make excellent use of the intellectual and experiential capital of PUI faculty for the benefit of science, pedagogy, and society.Keywords: primarily undergraduate institutions, collaborative research networks, spatiotemporal dynamics, transformative research, research efficiency a postbaccalaureate workforce. For example, approximately 110 papers have been contributed to peer-reviewed journals in 118 cumulative years of employment by 10 of the authors of this article (admittedly not a random poll) during their employment at PUIs. This is an average of 0.9 papers per year, despite typical teaching loads of two to four courses per semester and without graduate teaching assistants, graders, laboratory technicians, graduate students, or postdoctoral fellows. Additionally, many PUI faculty, experiencing less institutional pressure to produce peer-reviewed publications, instead publish textbooks, management plans, reports, and nonrefereed articles, all of which contribute to science by directly informing decisionmakers, resource managers, and the general public. These alternative research outcomes stimulate conversation and dialogue among scientists and a more diverse group of stakeholders, and thereby help to improve national scientific literacy and popular support for the funding of scientific research.We argue that the high-quality research and teaching currently conducted at independent undergraduate institutions can have deeper and broader impacts if collaborative research networks are established among institutions. By actively participating in a research network, faculty members can gain insight and share expertise, learn new pedagogical approaches to improve education, make more meaningful T he research capacity of ecologists at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) is vast but currently underutilized. Many PUI ecologists conduct their research locally, at small scales, and in isolation from other ecologists. Yet ecological science has entered an era in which collaborative research is essential for tackling important, emerging ecological questions (Carpenter 2008, Peters et al. 2008), requiring coordinated data across spatial scales and gradients (Craine et al. ...

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