REU: Collaborative Research: Interaction of Climate and Nutrition on Forest Production: Comparison of Controlling Factors in Contrasting Environments

森林生态系统碳收支的最大不确定性似乎在于控制碳向地上和地下生产分配的大小和因素。高尔、朗恩和戈尔兹建议在气候差异很大的四种森林(每种森林都有对照林和化肥林)测量关键的碳预算指标。他们的分析将集中在通过相同的测量产生的对比地点的相对碳预算，而不是一个地点的详细碳预算。他们将估计俄勒冈州、蒙大拿州、威斯康星州和佛罗里达州针叶林的地上和地下净初级生产力以及树冠光合作用生产和树干、树枝和根呼吸损失的指数。已建立的计算森林中水、碳和氮循环的生态系统过程模型将用于整合实地数据，在测量期之间进行内插，并评估他们关于不同气候下不同碳分配模式的假设。佛罗里达州正在进行的一项密集研究的详细数据将被用来将他们的相对预算放在背景中。结果应有助于更好地了解环境控制对森林生产力的影响，从而更好地预测森林对空气污染和气候变化等干扰的反应。

The greatest uncertainty of carbon budgets in forest ecosystems appears to be in the magnitude and factors controlling partitioning of carbon to above- versus belowground production. Dr. Gower, Running, and Gholz propose to measure key carbon budget indices at four forests of widely contrasting climate (each with control and fertilized stands). Their analyses will concentrate on relative carbon budgets of the contrasting sites, produced by identical measurements, rather than a detailed carbon budget on one site. They will estimate above- and belowground net primary production and indices of canopy photosynthetic production and stem, branch, and root respiration losses of conifer forests in Oregon, Montana, Wisconsin and Florida. An established ecosystem process model that calculates water, carbon and nitrogen cycles in forests will be used to integrate field data, interpolate between measurement periods and evaluate their hypotheses on variable carbon partitioning patterns in diverse climates. Detailed data from an on-going intensive study at the Florida site will be used to place their relative budgets into context. Results should provide improved fundamental understanding of environmental controls on forest productivity, allowing better projections of forest responses to perturbations such as air pollution and climate change.