Regulation of Water Use by Rhododendron maximum on an Elevation Gradient at Coweeta (LTER)

Coweeta (LTER) 海拔梯度上杜鹃花最大用水量的调节

• 批准号: 9407129
• 负责人: Erik Nilsen
• 金额: $ 10万
• 依托单位: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1994
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1994-07-01 至 1996-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9407129&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Regulation; Water; Use; Rhododendron; maximum

9407129 Nilsen Regulation of Seasonal and Spatial Water Use by R. maximum at Two Elevations at Coweeta (LTER) The understory of the Appalachian forest is dominated by two ericaceous shrubs Kalmia latifolia and Rhododendron maximum. In particular, R. maximum covers over half a million hectares of southern Appalachian forest. Dense thickets of this species, called "slicks", inhibit the growth of canopy trees. These dense growths are often close to streams making R. maximum a keystone species in the interface between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the southern Appalachian mountains. Although R. maximum must have a significant impact on several ecosystem processes, the "role" of R. maximum in functions of the Appalachian forest have been only rarely studied. The influence of R. maximum on ecosystem hydrology may be one of the important impacts of this species on the Appalachian forest system. The objectives of this proposal are: 1. to determine the factors that regulate water use patterns in R. maximum; 2. to develop mathematical functions that predict water use patterns from environmental conditions; 3. to collect evidence for possible competition for water between R. maximum and an important canopy species. Experiments are designed to fit into the currently funded research program at the LTER site at Coweeta Hydrological Laboratory. Results from this proposal will clarify the importance of R. maximum in the ecosystem water budget for the regulation mechanisms therefore for R. maximum water use, and determine if competition for water between this important understory species and a canopy dominant species is likely. ***

9407129 Nilsen 对 Coweeta 两个海拔处 R. max 的季节性和空间用水的调节 (LTER) 阿巴拉契亚森林的林下植被以两种杜鹃花灌木 Kalmia latifolia 和 Rhododendron max 为主。特别是，R. maximum 覆盖了超过 50 万公顷的阿巴拉契亚南部森林。该物种的茂密灌木丛（称为“浮油”）会抑制冠层树木的生长。这些茂密的生长物通常靠近溪流，使最大的R.maximum成为阿巴拉契亚山脉南部陆地和水生生态系统交界处的关键物种。尽管R.maximum一定对几个生态系统过程产生重大影响，但R.maximum在阿巴拉契亚森林功能中的“作用”却很少被研究。 R. max 对生态系统水文的影响可能是该物种对阿巴拉契亚森林系统的重要影响之一。本提案的目标是： 1. 确定调节 R. max 用水模式的因素； 2. 开发根据环境条件预测用水模式的数学函数； 3. 收集R. maximum 和重要树冠物种之间可能存在的水竞争证据。实验旨在适应 Coweeta 水文实验室 LTER 站点目前资助的研究项目。该提案的结果将阐明R.最大在生态系统水预算中对于R.最大用水调节机制的重要性，并确定这一重要的林下物种和冠层优势物种之间是否可能发生水竞争。 ***