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Research Interests

I consider myself a community ecologist with broad interests in natural history, theoretical ecology, and natural resource management. A primary aim of my research is to understand mechanisms controlling patterns of communities and ecosystems. One major objective of my research is to link basic and applied ecology by asking questions related to human impacts on communities and ecosystems—with an ultimate goal of conservation of ecosystems and sustainable use of natural resources.

My current and past research projects include:

1. Effects of logging on diversity and community stability of Appalachian forests (with Bob Jones, Tom Wieboldt, Carola Haas, Tom Fox, Jessica Homyack, Chad Atwood, and Eric Sucre). We are investigating how alternative timber harvesting options (and oak regeneration methods) affect diversity and compositional stability of Appalachian oak forests in Virginia and West Virginia. Funded by USDA-NRI grant. (2005-present)

2. Ecological thresholds and management of Colorado Plateau dryland ecosystems (USGS/NPS post-doctoral work with Mark Miller, Steve Garman, and Chris Lauver). We are investigating how perturbations to ecosystems of the Colorado Plateau potentially influence threshold dynamics in community (species composition) and ecosystem properties (soil stability, fire regimes). A primary goal of this research is to provide the National Park Service with management “triggers” so that they can better protect ecological communities of the region. Funded by NPS and USGS. (2008-present)

3. Macroecology and human land use (with Steve Prisley, Kirsten de Beurs, Matt Fitzpatrick, and The Wilderness Society). We are currently using GIS tools and remote sensing resources to explore relationships between land use and communities and ecosystems. For example, how does land use (e.g., agriculture, development, timber extraction, and wilderness protection) interact with natural patterns of soil type and climate to influence productivity (and carbon sequestration) and species diversity? Funded by The Wilderness Society’s Gloria Barron Scholarship. (2008-present)

4. Local and regional controls on species diversity (with Nathan Sanders and Bob Jones). We’ve used a nested sampling design that measures species diversity at various spatial scales (1 m² to 2 hectares) across a disturbance gradient and through time to understand how local and regional processes determine species diversity. Funded by USDA-NRI grant. (2008-present)

5. Efficacy of tamarisk removal restoration in Grand Canyon National Park (with Lori Makarick and Chris Lauver). How do native plant communities respond to tamarisk removal restoration, and what factors mediate this response in Grand Canyon National Park? Funded by NPS. (2008-present)

6. Interactions between diversity and disturbance on invasibility of forest understories. I am studying how the diversity of native species and disturbance intensity interact to determine how many and which non-native species invade deciduous forests. Funded by USDA-NRI grant. (2005-present)

7. Climate change, ecological communities, and invasive species (with Jake Weltzin, Rich Norby, Lara Souza, Nate Sanders, and Aimée Classen). I conducted research at the Oak Ridge free-air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) facility investigating the response of the understory plant and insect community to predicted atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Funded by DOE. (2001-2003; 2008-present).

8. Litter layers and nonnative earthworms. I conducted an experiment investigating the effects of changes in the litter layer caused by compositional shifts (including “extinction” of American chestnuts) and exotic earthworm invasion on the success of nonnative plant species. Funded by Virginia Tech WPI Environmental Fellowship. (2007)

9. Vegetation classification and mapping of national parks. I worked for 2 years (2003-2005) on data collection and classification of vegetation in Grand Teton, Canyonlands, Black Canyon National Parks, and other national monuments in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. Funded by NPS. (2003-2005)

Publications

Belote, R.T., N.J. Sanders, and R.H. Jones. 2009. Disturbance alters local-regional richness relationships in Appalachian forests. Ecology 90: xxx-xxx (in press)

Belote, R.T. and R.H. Jones. 2008. Tree leaf litter composition and nonnative earthworms influence plant invasion in experimental forest floor mesocosms. Biological Invasions 10: xxx-xxx (in press)

Belote, R.T., R.H. Jones, S.M. Hood, and B.W. Wender. 2008. Diversity-invasibility along an experimental disturbance gradient in Appalachian forests. Ecology 89: 183-192 [pdf]

Weltzin, J.F., R.T. Belote, L.M. Thomas, J.K. Keller, C.E. Engel. 2007. Ensuring that “authors” write – the authors reply. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 5: 11

Belote, R.T. and J.F. Weltzin. 2006. Interactions between two co-dominant, invasive plants in a temperate deciduous forest. Biological Invasions 8: 1629-1641 [pdf]

Weltzin, J.F., R.T. Belote, L.M. Thomas, J.K. Keller, C.E. Engel. 2006. Authorship in ecology: attribution, accountability, and responsibility. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 4: 435-441 [pdf]

Belote, R.T., J.F. Weltzin, and R.J. Norby. 2004. Response of an understory plant community to elevated [CO2] depends on differential responses of dominant invasive species and is mediated by soil water availability. New Phytologist 161: 827-835. [pdf]

Sanders, N.J., R.T. Belote, and J.F. Weltzin. 2004. Multi-trophic effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on understory plant and arthropod communities. Environmental Entomology 33: 1609-1616. [pdf]

Weltzin, J.F., R.T. Belote, N.J. Sanders. 2003. Biological invaders in a greenhouse world: will elevated CO2 fuel plant invasions? Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 1:146-153. [pdf]

Un-refereed Publications-Technical Reports

Belote, R.T. 2008. Diversity, invasibility, and stability of Appalachian forests across an experimental disturbance gradient. Dissertation. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.

Belote, R.T. 2003. Effects of elevated CO2 on a forest understory community dominated by two invasive plants. Thesis. University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Belote, Travis and Jim Von Loh. 2005. Plant Association Illustrated Field Key – Arches National Park. Report to National Park Service, Northern Colorado Plateau Network. Moab, UT.

Belote, Travis and Jim Von Loh. 2005. Plant Association Illustrated Field Key – Capitol Reef National Park. Report to National Park Service, Northern Colorado Plateau Network. Moab, UT.

Coles, J., K. Decker, and T. Belote. 2005. Final Vegetation Classification for Canyonlands National Park. Report to National Park Service, Northern Colorado Plateau Network. Moab, UT.

Belote, Travis and Jim Von Loh. 2003. Preliminary Vegetation Classification Report for Hovenweep National Monument. Report to National Park Service, Northern Colorado Plateau Network. Moab, UT.