SGER: Short- and Long-Term Effects of Hurricane Opal on a Forest Ecosystem

SGER：飓风蛋白石对森林生态系统的短期和长期影响

• 批准号: 9615661
• 负责人: Mark Hunter
• 金额: $ 2.5万
• 依托单位: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-08-15 至 1998-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9615661&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SGER; Short; Long; Term; Effects

9615661 Hunter This project will investigate the short term effects of Hurricane Opal on ecosystem processes at the Coweeta LTER site, North Carolina. The hurricane was a rare and dramatic event that resulted in considerable deposition of woody detritus and green leaves on the forest floor. The rare nature of this event, and the need to initiate studies of its effects as soon as possible, make this research well suited for SGER funding. This research will investigate the short-term effects of hurricane-derived greenfall on nutrient availability and decomposition processes on the forest floor. The investigators will test the prediction that loss of green leaf tissue from hurricane Opal will influence the carbon-nutrient balance of trees because nutrients were not resorbed for internal recycling prior to senescence. Rather, nutrients were lost to the forest floor. The nutrient stress caused by the loss of green tissue may result in high carbon:nutrient ratios in trees, and the allocation of carbon to tannins and other polyphenols instead of allocation to growth. This allocation of carbon to defenses may influence the subsequent quality of leaf tissue for herbivores, and levels of defoliation in the forest canopy. This project represents a unique opportunity to study the effects of altered ecosystem processes on plant physiology and plant herbivore dynamics following an extreme climatic event.

9615661猎人这个项目将调查飓风Opal对北卡罗来纳州Coweeta LTER地点生态系统过程的短期影响。飓风是一次罕见的戏剧性事件，导致大量木质碎屑和绿叶沉积在森林地面上。这一事件的罕见性质，以及需要尽快启动对其影响的研究，使这项研究非常适合SGER资金。这项研究将调查飓风引发的绿雨对森林地表养分有效性和分解过程的短期影响。研究人员将验证这样的预测，即飓风Opal造成的绿叶组织损失将影响树木的碳营养平衡，因为养分在衰老之前没有被吸收用于内部循环。相反，营养物质流失到了森林地面。由于失去绿色组织而造成的营养胁迫可能会导致树木的高碳营养比，并将碳分配给单宁和其他多酚，而不是分配给生长。这种用于防御的碳分配可能会影响食草动物随后的叶组织质量，以及森林树冠上的落叶程度。该项目是研究极端气候事件后改变的生态系统过程对植物生理学和植物食草动物动态影响的独特机会。