More than 50 Arizona State University faculty, staff, and students attended the first-ever CAP-LTER Summer Summit on Human-Ecosystem Interaction on 21 July 1998. The summit was designed to:
- Promote future collaborations between CAP LTER social and natural scientists to develop interdisciplinary projects (e.g., concept papers, review papers, and research opportunities);
- Develop research questions and protocols that address how socioeconomic factors affect urban ecosystem structure and function.
Social scientists met with natural scientists from five core research areas:
- Bird and Insect Populations
- Nutrient Transport and Budgets
- Geomorphology and River Dynamics
- Plant Populations
- Primary Production and Soils
to discuss how these projects currently are integrating social and natural science and to explore ways for further integration. The social scientists then formed groups that focused on three ways in which humans alter urban landscapes (Open Space, Urban Infill, and Urban Growth), with the natural scientists discussing how ecological patterns may affect these topics.
The summit was well received, with a consensus that its most valuable contribution was in bringing together social and natural scientists and introducing the various LTER research topics in a think-tank environment. A list of interdisciplinary research questions and recommendations for future summits are found at http://caplter.asu.edu/new/